Author's Note: All the questions shall be answered in this chapter. Also reviews help.

CHAPTER 3: Those Who Love

"Don't stop believin'. Hold on to the feelin'." – Don't Stop Believin', Journey

Sylar came back to the apartment to the sound of sizzling. Eggs. He smelt them and could now hear the difference. The spatula racked against the surface of the pan moving the eggs around in a slow steady even pace. She hummed. The woman making the eggs. A tune he long since forgotten.

"What should be our first dance?" Elle had asked one night while trying to put together a meal. She had failed yet again to go through a preparation without a problem, but that was what he loved about her. She had been admiring the ring too much to notice the pork chops were burnt to a crisp. He was helping her toss a salad to go with the pasta they had ordered from the Italian eatery close by.

"Don't know." He never really thought about it. Music was music. Black and white. No in between though he imagined there wasn't a song on earth that could describe his love for Elle. She admired the ring again as he tossed the salad of goat cheese and pine nuts. He wasn't the finest cook, but he knew what went and what didn't. Elle liked nuts and cheese.

"You like Journey right?" She asked smiling as the diamonds bounced off beautiful little sparkles in the light. He peered at her snatching the oil and vinegar from beside her.

"Yeah." He nodded softly. Annie had placed albums of Journey songs on his iPod before they left. Not to mention some of every kind of music. He enjoyed Journey. So it was a fair answer.

"What about Don't Stop Believin'?" She wondered trying to find the lyrics in her pretty little head. She hummed it softly. "Or is it not sappy enough?" He remembered the first dance was always supposed to be emotional, but he wasn't going to cry on the happiest day of his life.

"Who says it has to be sappy?" He wondered pouring oil and vinegar into the salad bowl. He mixed it up with the thongs.

"Right, but you know it can't be anything too out there." Elle grinned looking back at her grin than at her fiancé. He smiled when he saw her eyes light up. Just looking at him made her happy. "I'm not going to be a very good wife am I?" She asked looking down at her hand. "Not many good wives burn dinner every night."

"I don't care if you burn dinner." He concluded wrapping his arms around her petite body. "All that matters it that you'll be mine." He kissed her forehead as she hugged him sniffing in his scent. "You know I love that song."

"Me too." She said pressing her body to his in a tender loving embrace.

Sylar came out of the day dream. Memory. He remembered that conversation. He knew they would have danced so wonderfully to that song. Holding her to him as she whispered joyful happiness. Now someone else was humming the tune. In her voice.

He opened the door to see the illusion making eggs. She slipped the scrambled eggs from the pan to a white plate with a blue trim. Elle's plates. The one her grandmother had given to her. He remembered a story with that too. How she said that whenever she found a man to share her life with she should share her dishes with him. Every part of her.

"What are you doing?" He asked slumping into the apartment. Her eyes fluttered over him stopping her hum. Good. He didn't want her to even hum that tune. Her eyes the delicious blue he adored.

"Making breakfast." She said as if it were obvious. It was, but Sylar wouldn't admit it. "Not like I was thinking of you coming home." She poured the remainder of the eggs on the plate.

"Well gimme some eggs. I'm hungry." He wasn't going to lie. He was starved. He hadn't eaten in about a good six hours. He was going to eat whatever it was she'd give him. Candice let the illusion smile grabbing a second plate as he sat at the table. She pushed the eggs onto the other plate pushing the scrambled eggs in front of him. It was a good portion.

"What?" She asked with a shrug. "I'm a growing girl." Yes Gabriel knew Candice ate a lot and often. He wondered if her real self was tons bigger than the slim girls she usually formed herself into. He got up from the table making his way to the refrigerator.

He remembered days with scrambled eggs and memories. He only made breakfast when He was especially happy. Usually with Elle it was every day. He liked pancakes and waffles. They needed more work than simply watching eggs or bacon sizzle and crunch. Though he learned Elle's favorites quickly. Waffles, eggs, and sausages were a good breakfast in her book. Lots of syrup. He remembered finding out how Elle liked her eggs.

It had been when they had just moved to Texas after they had found Annie's gifts. She had done the grocery shopping finally. He always insisted on doing the shopping. As if buy sugary cereals and candy. He learned to trust her judgment in food. She picked good things. Things they liked. Things he liked.

She had been asleep when he started making breakfast. Dark gray sweats and a white shirt smiling like a fool. A night of pleasure had passed and he often found himself excited to surprise her. Breakfast seemed like a good surprise for that Sunday morning. Elle had broken the waffle maker with frustrated sparks. All that was in the refrigerator was eggs. Not many either.

He moved them about as he heard her yawn. He peered up biting his lip looking as she stretched her arms out yawning. She was in his dark blue button down long sleeved shirt from last night. Only that it seemed. It fit her nicely. Her eyes were still dreamy.

"Good morning." He grinned waving a spatula at her as he peered at her through wide opening where the counter sat. Her eyes became bedroomish. Very sexy than she gave a cute smile defeating an sexual means she had planned.

"Do I smell eggs?" She asked bouncing into the kitchen. Her bare feet against the cold blue and white tiles woke her up. He laughed to himself turning the stove off. He went to her.

He kissed her holding her face lightly. She pecked his lips a couple times. He wasn't getting away from her so easily. She pat his chest as if telling him he was a good boy.

"I thought you deserved a nice breakfast." He concluded to her peering back to the eggs than brushing his fingers through her hair. Light blonde curls. She smiled softly.

"Ah, I see." She said with mild sarcasm. "But if we are judging on performance last night I'd have to say you deserve a healthy meal five times more than me." She ran her fingers down his chest in a brushing loving way.

"Team work right?" He grinned kissing her lips to which she pouted. "Don't give me that look. You earned your meal with last night and how you are dressed." He wasn't going to ignore how sexy she looked in his shirt. Just his shirt. "You look better in that then I do." He wasn't shy about checking her out any more. Not when they had lived in New York. That seemed like a different person now.

"Noted." She curled her fingers around the collar of his shirt kissing him with a feverous passion. Her tongue telling him dirty little secrets. Curling inside his mouth. Her mouth opening for him. She nibbled against his lip and he felt a sudden rush of joy. Stupid masochistic tendencies.

"Breakfast, babe?" He asked wondering if she planned on eating him for breakfast. She nodded kissing him again holding his face this time.

She sat down as he prepared the eggs for one plate. As if she remembered something she hurried to the ice box to retrieve a bottle. She sat down at the table as he pushed the plate in front of her. A good portion of golden eggs. She smiled at him as he sat. The forks already on the table. She started to open the small lid off the oddly shaped bottle.

"Hot sauce?" He wondered raising his thick eyebrows. She shrugged and poured.

"It's good." She insisted pouring too much into her yellowy soft eggs. "Grandma used to call it hot stuff. She said I'd burn my tongue off, but I love it." She twisted the lid back on looking at him very sexy. "I like hot stuff." He swallowed down whatever his instincts told him to do. "Want to try?"

He had at her request to which she watched in wonder. He hadn't liked it, but falsely admitted he did. She caught his lie. He could never hide anything from her. Not even when she had tried to make eggs and he had spent hours in the bathroom throwing up claiming he had a flu. He'd never want to hurt her by saying that her eggs had made him sick.

So why was he holding a bottle of hot sauce as he closed the refrigerator? Maybe he was willing to try it again. Maybe he missed her quirky behavior. He missed the hot stuff.

"Hot sauce?" Candice asked eyeing him up quickly. In her voice. The voice that liked the hot stuff. "Really, Sylar?" At least she wasn't calling him Gabriel anymore.

"Yeah." He took it back to the table. He sat himself as far from Candice as he could without making her pissy. "Elle used to put it on her eggs." She nodded noting the explanation. She didn't ask for it as he poured a little on his eggs. She shoved food in her mouth. Pig.

"So," She said swallowing down her bites. With his new hearing he could hear every chew. He winced chewing softly on his hot eggs. "What did you get?" Sylar looked up at her.

"Hearing." She wrinkled her nose as if saying 'that was it?'. "There's a couple fighting below us." He insisted. He could hear the woman shout cussing at the man. She threw something at him to which he called her a stupid bitch.

"Want more?" She asked not waving the list in front of her. He did truly need more abilities. The hunger was only sated for so long. "Double dating?"

"With who?" Who in their right mind would want to double date with Candice? She was a pain in his ass, but something he needed. The illusion was clearly false, but he couldn't live without seeing her face.

"Annie and Ryan." Ah yes. Elle's best friend, who he had lied to over and over again. Saying Elle had merely wanted them to move back to New York. She missed it. Annie was now manager at the department store Elle used to work at. Candice was posing as Elle, who was working as a bank teller. Sylar wasn't sure if Candice actually had a job there, but he didn't care.

"No." He said not looking at the woman. He couldn't. She started to say something, but he couldn't make it out. "I'll take you somewhere myself. Just us." He mentally vomited at the word us.

He just couldn't do that to Annie. She was one of the few people he wouldn't kill. The Bennets were on his list of the unkillable. Them and his mother. Even Candice hadn't made the list. If he could manage to function without needing to see her physically. Pretending that he could touch. Pretending the illusion was real.

"Sounds fine to me." She concluded with a smile. Sylar leaned forward to kiss her. Just because he needed to. Because he could even though it made him stick to kiss anyone, but Elle.

--

Claire pushed her hair back into a pony tail. She had to find Gabriel. Two days since she had seen Elle. Begging for her and Zach to find Gabriel. She needed to be free. Claire had to find out where Gabriel was and more about Eden.

She couldn't be helping Elle if she was still so scared. Locked in a locked house. That couldn't help anyone. What Elle needed was interaction. What she needed was the man she loved. She hadn't told her father about Elle. Two months keeping a secret when her father had been keeping one for years. He finally came up describing his real job. At least he had admitted it to his family. Currently he was still working. Taking calls, going overseas, all normal.

Claire still didn't tell him about her ability, but he had taken her aside saying he knew. He was going to protect her. Claire didn't think much about herself these days. She was worried about the shaky girl living in Eden's condo just outside Odessa.

"No," She heard her father say as she snuck to the door of the office. She could hear him speaking to someone on the phone. "Yes I know." He continued. She could hear him pace as she lowered herself down to her knees. "No. I don't know. They used to live in New York. Elle and Gabriel." Yes this was what she needed. "Queens. Did you check there?" A long pause. She listened closely. "His old apartment? Why haven't you. . ." He was interrupted. Claire could tell. "Yes I understand. It's not my district, but he's . . ." Another pause. Claire's heart fluttered. So her father was still looking for him. Queens, his old apartment.

"Okay. I understand." She heard him coming toward the door. She crawled away. She popped up as Mr. Muggles barked at her. "Claire?" Noah looked at his daughter who was standing two feet from his door.

"Hi Dad." She said with a smile hugging him with an enormous smile.

"When did you get home?" Noah hadn't heard her come home. Maybe it was because of the phone call.

"A while ago." Ten whole minutes ago. "Can I talk to you?" She wondered as Noah nodded softly. Sandra was dropping Lyle off at soccer practice.

"Anything Claire Bear." He said trying to smile thought was a little worried.

"Eden." Claire said with a breath. Noah nodded. Claire had met Eden at the house with Noah. He had explained she worked with him. Once as his partner. "She has an ability, right?" She asked. Noah nodded. "What is it?"

"She has persuasion. She says a command and people have to do it." That explained a lot. Why Elle couldn't leave. "Why do you want to know?" Claire shrugged.

"No reason." She said simply. "I mean a lot of the people at the Company have powers, but not all, right?" He nodded. "Have you told them about me?" She decided to change the subject.

"No," He shook his head. "If they knew you had an ability they'd take you away."

"Oh." She said softly. She didn't want to be taken away. Not from the people she loved. She decided in that moment she'd rescue Elle. She needed to be reunited with the person she loved.