I apologise for the long wait, I have been very busy with end of the year school stuff and other stories. As you may have noticed, I have begun some other stories on my profile, so I hope you enjoy them as well as this one. :) One is a Heroes x Narnia fic where Claire goes to Narnia as the protector of the Pevensies and Caspian, and the other is an Inheritance Cycle fic that will be crossed over with Narnia for the sequel, but stands alone at the moment.

So here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy. Please leave a review and let me know what you think! If you feel that it is going a little too fast, let me know. :) Thank you.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except the plot. Everything and everyone else belongs to either Tolkien or Kring. Thank you.

Gretchen groaned. She had been standing in her room for hours and she still couldn't decide on what to wear to dinner with Haldir and his friend. She had managed to narrow her options down to three dresses.

One of them was a red, knee length dress that was simple and plain, since the colour, texture and cut was nice enough the way it was. The second option was a nice yellow dress that was bright and cheerful, and the last dress was similar to the red one but instead was a deep blue green. Oh, how she wished Claire was there to help her decide! She always knew what to pick.

Sighing, she thought to herself, I'll just decide in the morning. I am way too tired to decide now even though I have just wasted 3 hours of my life going through my wardrobe.

She looked over at the clock on her wall. 8:32. It wasn't even that late and she was already exhausted. She had gone on an extra long jog though, and she was now very sore because of it.

Gretchen grabbed the three dresses on her bed, put them back on their coat hangers and placed them back in the cupboard where they would stay until the morning. She then walked to the kitchen to get herself a cup of tea to help calm her down as she was very nervous about her upcoming dinner with Haldir and his friend.

The whole situation was really odd actually. Gretchen had been through every conceivable excuse as to why all of a sudden someone would decide to just walk up to her door and announce that she is the descendant of some royalty or something like that. Part of her was saying that it was all some childish prank and that she should just ignore it, while another part of her desperately wanted it to be true.

I wish Claire was here. She would know how to calm me down, or at least looking at her would remind me that a dinner with a guy is nothing compared to what she has done. Gretchen had a great deal of respect for her friend. Claire was so strong and courageous, and Gretchen wondered if maybe Haldir had gotten them mixed up. Being the descendant of royalty would almost fit with Claire's past. Maybe the royalty had special abilities or something? But then again, abilities had only been discovered in the past 100 years as far as she was aware, so that wasn't likely.

With a sigh she decided to turn in and at least try to sleep. Over thinking everything wasn't going to help anything. Tipping out the remaining contents of her mug, she set it out to be washed up in the morning and walked to her room where she prepared for bed and went to sleep. Well, tried to anyway.

The next morning when Gretchen woke up, she had a massive head ache. Oh crap! She went into the kitchen and grabbed the painkillers. Tipping two into her hand she downed them with a glass of water and sat down on the chair at the table. She looked up at the clock on the wall to see the time. 10:34. She had slept in longer than she had intended.

After a while her head ache began to fade and she walked back to her room and got changed out of her pyjamas and into a pair of old jeans and a green t-shirt. She then got herself some breakfast and settled down on the couch to eat it. She turned on the television and found an old episode of The Cosby Show.

When she was part way through it her phone rang and she got up to answer it.

"Hello this is Gretchen."

"Gretchen! It's me, Haldir."

"Oh, hi Haldir!"

"I hope I am not interrupting anything?"

"Nope everything is alright here."

"Good. I am afraid I have some bad news."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I called the restaurants and they are all booked for tonight. It's a public holiday after all."

"Oh well that's no good." Gretchen said, disappointed.

"Yes I agree. Maybe we could meet another time? There is an opening at one of them for two nights time."

Gretchen frowned. "Well, that would be nice, but if you want you and your friend...what did you say his name was?"

"Legolas."

Gretchen smiled. They had such strange names. "Well if you want you and your friend Legolas can come over for dinner here."

"Are you sure? I mean, it would be lovely but we would not want to put you to any trouble."

"Oh no it's fine. We can order some Chinese or something. It won't be as good as food from the restaurants, but I suppose it is still edible."

"Well if that is the case and you are sure that you do not mind, we will be there. What time would you like us to come?"

"Ahhh, any time after 6:30 will be good."

"Alright well you can expect us to be there at 6:30. Don't go out of your way for us Gretchen."

"I won't."

"Well thank you for your wonderful offer and I look forward to seeing you tonight. I have to go pick Legolas up form the airport now. I shall see you tonight."

"Bye Haldir."

"Good bye Gretchen." The unmistakable beeping from an ended call filled her ear and she put down the phone. Now all she had to do was pick out which dress to wear.

Claire woke up with a start when she heard a bang from the other side of the room she was in. After a moment of confusion she realised that she was supposed to be working, and so she turned back to computer screen and examined it once more.

It was Sunday afternoon and she was sitting at a desk in Texas. She had flown back in that morning and once they discovered exactly what had happened on her last mission, which she had been told was in France, she was able to go home and relax for a few days before getting back to work. Here she was just a few hours flight away from home, and hoping that she would be able to actually be home in a few days.

She had typed up everything she remembered since she got the phone call, and then had typed everything she had been told, and was researching possible ways to make her forget the things she couldn't recall. It was highly unlikely that it had anything to do with trauma. If her brain was going to forget traumatic experiences then she would be missing most of her life. She was strong and all the events over the years had strengthened her to a point where she recovered quickly from things not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. She doubted that just because an experience was bad it would just make her forget everything.

After getting her out of the coffin Peter and Hiro had taken her back to the office in Texas where they had been ever since. Just thinking, talking and wondering. And still they had come up with nothing. Claire rubbed her face and tried to focus on the screen in front of her.

"Claire, are you alright?" Matt's concerned voice came from behind her and she turned to see him standing there watching her.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired." Claire replied half heartedly.

"Well, that's understandable. You were locked in a coffin for God knows how long."

"Yeah I know."

"Come on, let's get you some coffee." Matt grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the chair. Despite her protests he got her into the small kitchen they had there at the office. He sat her down at the small table and began to make two cups of coffee. "Well Claire, I think you should go home."

"Why? I can do more good here."

"No Claire, seriously, you need some rest at your home in your own environment doing normal things, not thinking about whether someone's out to get you or not. We will take care of things here. You know Peter will let you go if you ask him to."

"Matt I can't. I just can't go home like this. I am tired and worried, but going home will just make it worse. I have to keep doing things or it gets worse."

"I understand, but you have to stop some time."

"I know, and I love that all you guys look out for me, but I am stronger than you think."

"I know Claire. Believe me, I know." Matt looked sad for a moment. "It's just that...Claire, you're young. You should be out partying and having fun with friends, not sitting in an office trying to work out who tried to kill you. Your father has tried so hard to let you have a normal life, and yet here you are choosing to live a double life full of deception and secrets that could ruin you for good. You might be invincible physically, but Claire, no matter what happens you are still a young woman on the inside, and I want the best for you. You're like the sister I've never had."

"I am really touched by your words Matt, honestly. I just...sometimes I don't want to have to face Gretchen. I mean, she has such a normal life and I have to pretend that I do too, and she is my best friend and I hate lying to her."

"Then don't." Matt said simply, placing the steaming cups of coffee on the table and sitting down with her.

"Matt, you know why I have to. If she finds out about Primatech..." Claire trailed off, biting her lip.

"What are you so worried about Claire? I think Gretchen is stronger than you give her credit for. She would understand if you told her the truth."

"It's just that she loves adventure, but to be honest she believes people too easily. If she becomes involved with Primatech at all then it would be dangerous for her and other people. I mean, she talked to me before and told me that I guy came to her door and told her she is the descendant of some royalty or something and now she is going to dinner with him and a friend of his. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard, and the worst part of it is that it is true!"

"Come on Claire, I doubt that she is going to want to join Primatech if you tell her about it. She is more likely to be excited and demand details from you, and if that is a problem then you can tell her and she won't. You became best friends with her for a reason, and don't forget it. She helps you through things when you need it, just like we do. She just does it in a different way."

"I know, I just don't want her to ever be worried about me. I guess I want a normal life for her as well."

Matt sighed. "When is she going to dinner?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Then I have a suggestion. Go with her."

"Well Matt I would but I am currently on the other side of the country. That's kind of a problem."

"Yeah, a problem with a simple answer. We do have a master of time and space for a reason."

"I couldn't ask Hiro to do that for me."

Hiro chose this moment to enter the kitchen. "Did I hear my name?"

Claire opened her mouth to speak but Matt beat her to it. "Yeah, Claire here was wondering if you would take her back home so she doesn't have to get a plane back. She needs to be somewhere for tonight."

"I wouldn't mind at all. It's very easy Claire. When would you like to leave?" Hiro said happily.

"Oh no Hiro I couldn't ask you to do that. I will just catch a plane or something. It'll be alright."

"You'll never get there in time." Hiro reasoned.

"I don't even want to go. There's too much to do here." Claire responded, trying to make them understand.

"Claire you don't sleep at night, you barely eat. You need a vacation. When you're home, you work. When you're in the field, you work. When you're here, you work. You need a break." Matt told her sternly.

"No. I can't. Please guys, understand. I have to keep going. If I stop to think then I just..."

Matt nodded. "I know Claire, but you have to learn to relax. You're no good all stressed and freaked out."

Claire sighed. "Yeah I know. I guess I'll go back for a bit."

Matt grinned triumphantly. "I knew you'd come 'round!"

"Just for a day."

"A week."

"No!"

"Come on Claire!"

"Fine, I will go for four days max."

"Five."

"Matt!" Claire said, whacking him on the arm as Hiro laughed at their bickering. Claire saw the look on Matt's face and finally agreed. "Fine, I will go for five. But then I will come back and I will work non stop and I won't sleep or eat or look after myself and you won't complain."

"Okay I won't. I'll just have to report everything you do to Peter." Matt said with a cheeky grin.

"You devil!" Claire half yelled, chuckling. She pretended to be annoyed, but deep down she was grateful. She was strong, and told people that they didn't need to look after her, but she really did and she knew it. She loved how her uncle and her friends watched her back, and even though they often pestered her about looking after herself she knew they meant well.

"Well Claire when do you want to leave?" Hiro asked her, "Any time is good for me."

"Well I have to finish up some stuff around her, say good bye to some people and then get my things from my room. Are you good for in 2 and a half hours?"

"That will be good. I'll meet you at your apartment then?"

"Yeah that should be good. Thanks so much Hiro. Now I have to go ask Peter."

"He'll be fine with it." Matt assured as he stood. "I'll see you when you get back kiddo. Don't die," he joked and Claire smiled.

"Bye Matt." Claire leaned forward and gave him a hug before going to see her uncle in his office.

She walked through the halls and to Peter's office. Knocking on the door she opened it before waiting to hear a reply.

Her uncle stood by the window with a phone in his hand. "Yes, I am aware of the situation, but-" he stopped as though he had been interrupted by the person on the other end of the phone. He turned at the sound of the door opening and when he saw Claire a brief smile crossed his face before his expression returned to an annoyed one. Claire bit her lip to prevent the smile that wished to show itself on her features.

"Look sorry Mom but I am going to have to call you back. Claire wants to talk to me, and considering she spent Friday night and a good deal of yesterday locked in a coffin with a dead man I think she deserves my undivided attention." Peter listen to the reply and sighed heavily before turning to Claire. "Your grandmother wants to speak with you."

Claire laughed at his facial expression and took the phone. "Grandma?"

"Hello dear. I know you have some pressing matter to speak with Peter about but I just wanted to check in and see if you are alright."

"I'm fine."

"Now young lady, I know they trained you to be strong and cope and all that, but I am not one of them. Not any more anyway. I want the truth, not some firmly spoken lie."

Claire sighed yet again. "I am tired."

"You sound it, and no doubt you look it."

"So I have been told."

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Would you come here and clobber me if I said no?"

"Most certainly."

"Then yes, grandma, I slept perfectly well."

"Now now, none of that smart mouth of yours. You get it from me you know."

"Yes I know."

"Well, I have to go, but you are going to look after yourself, you understand?"

"Yes Grandma."

"Alright. I'll see you when I see you and probably speak with you before then."

"Good bye Grandma."

"Good bye dear." Claire smiled as she heard the fond tone in her grandmother's voice. She then heard the click from the other end as the phone hung up, and she handed it to Peter.

"Can I help you with anything Claire?" her uncle asked.

"Ummm, yeah. I was just talking to Matt and Hiro and they convinced me to go home for a few days, if I can get your permission. But if I can't then that's completely okay because I think that I am fine but they don't and-"

"Claire, you can go."

"What?"

"I said, you can go."

"Oh come on Peter."

"Okay, Claire, forgive me for being slightly confused with the current situation. You came in here to ask permission for something, and now that I have said yes, you are begging me to say no. Is that correct or am I losing my mind?"

Claire sighed and sat on the chair in front of his desk. "Well, yeah. I guess it is. It's just that I want to keep working, but Matt won't stop annoying me and saying that I need to go home and rest and stuff, but I swear I feel fine. Just a little tired. And then Hiro came up and we started talking and I don't know why but somehow I agreed to go if you said that I could."

"How long will you be gone for?"

"Five days. I wanted less, but Matt knows how to argue."

Peter smirked at this. "Yeah he does. And I happen to agree with him completely." Claire opened her mouth to say something, but Peter held up his hand to stop her. "No, Claire, this is final. You work too hard. You were buried alive for God's sake! You need a break, and that is why you have to go home, just for a little while. Please."

"Fine, I will go. But I will be back in five days time and I swear I will be such a pain in your rear you will regret making me go." Claire resolved.

"Sure you will Claire." Peter's eyes sparkled as though he were trying hard not to laugh. "Well, you best head off kiddo. Go get your stuff together and all that. I'll see you when you get back." He stepped forward and enveloped his niece in a hug and she returned it gladly.

"Bye Pete. Don't you go and spend too much time working either. Nobody likes a hypocrite." Claire grinned as she said the last bit before leaving the room to go and pack her things.

Gretchen's arm felt as though it were on fire as she scrubbed the table as hard as she could with the piece of cloth. The table had been bought cheaply at a second hand shop and had many different kinds of stains on it, from circles where a piece of beetroot has been dropped onto it to a patch of light yellow where someone spilt orange juice. No matter how hard Gretchen tried she couldn't get rid of the stains, and her arm was beginning to beg her to stop.

Giving in to the wishes of her arm (she was not too strong willed) she grunted and went to find a table cloth to put on the table to cover up the stains. She walked down to the small, dark basement and turned on the light. She had dumped a lot of junk down here from upstairs so the house would look neater, and now it was difficult to move around and find things. She had to dig for half an hour to find a suitable table cloth, and even then she had to wash and bleach it first.

As the table cloth was in the washing machine she walked quickly back through the house and looked for more things to do. There wasn't much she could do to make it look very good, but she could make it as good as possible. She moved on to the bathroom and cleaned everything in there as well before she came out and got herself a small snack from the kitchen to keep her going until dinner. She pulled out the crackers and dip and ate a few as she thought about the best way to tackle the rest of the house.

Gretchen looked over to the clock for the time and found that it was already 5:15. Groaning, she put away the food and renewed her efforts to clean the house.

An hour later, Haldir and Legolas were sitting in the car as they drove from the hotel they were staying at to Gretchen's house, and they were discussing the current situation.

"Well, she seems a little shy, but she warms up. She is very modest, maybe too modest. She seemed very doubtful that she is the heir to Aragorn and Arwen." Haldir said as he drove.

"Well that is kind of expected with a background like hers. She is just a normal human."

"Come now mellon, we both know that is not true at all. A descendant of Aragorn and Arwen is no mere mortal, but one to be treasured and honoured."

"I agree that the children of Estel and Arwen are not normal humans, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that she is as amazing as you say. I personally have not met her, but from what you have told me about her reactions to things she sounds like a very normal, frightened person."

"Well I did just show up on her doorstep and start telling her about it, so I believe that her reaction was called for and fitted the situation. She seems like a reasonable person, but of course we will not know unless she comes to France for the tests and such. Which brings me to another important point. When I spoke with her about France, she said that she might come, but also might not, but she said that if she does come then she will only come if her friend is permitted to come with her."

Legolas snorted. "Probably just to show off her possible new found wealth."

"That is where I believe you are wrong mellon nin. She acted as though she would not be comfortable under any circumstances unless her friend, Claire I believe, came with her. She lives with Claire by the way."

"So this Claire will be there tonight?"

"No, I don't think so. When I first visited and I asked where her friend was, she said that she was out and would be back soon, which I believe was a lie but a smart one considering she didn't know who I was and if I thought that Claire was coming back any minute I wouldn't hurt her. But then later in our conversation she told me that Claire was out of town and would be back on Tuesday, so I think that was the truth. She hasn't mentioned anything about Claire being present for tonight so I assume that it will just be her."

Legolas nodded. "Well if this Claire must come then we have to run a background check and such to ensure that she is trustworthy and the secret is kept safe, especially since Gretchen is likely to tell her everything."

"I agree, and I explained that to Gretchen and she understood completely. But I must say that she looked a little nervous when I said that we could have to run a background check on her friend. I think there is something going on that we don't know about, and we will have to look into it."

"Agreed."

Gretchen was sitting in the front room, wondering how in the world she had managed to clean the whole house in the time she had had. In the end she had picked out the deep blue green dress, mainly because it was a better colour than the others and she had been told that it complemented her hair. It was also not silk, which meant that it didn't seem quite as formal as the others she had been choosing from.

Haldir and Legolas were due to arrive at any moment, and she was incredibly nervous. She knew that it was probably a stupid thing to invite them over, but she didn't care. She trusted Haldir, and she didn't even know why. But she was still nervous about them coming to see her.

Gretchen was startled out of her thoughts by a knock on the door, and she immediately fought for control. She stood calmly and walked to the front of the house and opened the door to reveal the two men.

Legolas looked similar to Haldir as he had blonde hair, but his eyes were a bright, piercing blue. He was about the same height and build, and the two were both dressed fairly casually in jeans and a nice shirt each.

"Umm, hi! Come on in!" Gretchen smiled at them and waved them through the door, shutting it behind them.

"Hello Gretchen. How are you?" Haldir asked.

"I am good thank you." Gretchen replied. "How are you?"

"I am fine. Great actually. Gretchen, please meet my good friend Legolas."

Legolas was surprised when Gretchen spoke first. "Hello Legolas. It's nice to meet you."

"It is nice to meet you also, Miss Berg."

Gretchen gave a small smile and her cheeks went a light pink. "Please, no one, and I mean no one, calls me that. Just Gretchen will be fine."

Legolas nodded, warming up to the young human woman. He understood now what Haldir had been talking about. She reminded the two men of Arwen. She didn't look too much like their old friends, but she had Arwen's attitude, and Legolas was sure that if he spent more time with her he would find some of Estel's qualities in her also.

"So, come on through to the lounge room." Gretchen said as she led them through the house and gave them a very quick tour of the place as she went. "I am sorry it isn't much. My friend and I don't get paid very much, so we can't exactly afford a mansion or a castle in some foreign fancy place, so we make do with this here. It's not much, but we still love it just the same."

Haldir nodded. "It is a nice home."

Gretchen smiled half heartedly as she knew that he was just being polite. "Claire isn't here at the moment, but she will be back on Tuesday if you want to meet her and ask her about anything. I don't know if she will want to come or not, and she might have something to do that means that she can't, and as I told you before I won't be going anywhere without her. I still haven't decided if I really want to go or not, even though it does sound like a lot of fun."

"We understand if you are not comfortable in coming with us, and if you say no now then you can always call us and ask at a later point in time. You have Haldir's number, do you not?" Legolas asked.

"Oh yeah I do. He wrote it down for me and I put it into my phone this morning. Thank you for not putting the pressure on me, this situation is a little weird."

"I believe I would use the term extraordinary." Haldir said, grinning at her.

"Us what you will to describe it. Whatever name you give it does not change the situation, only one's view of it." Gretchen smiled. "My English teacher would be so proud." She said, laughing.

And so, the three of them settled down at the table and began to have a look at the menus and decide what they wished to eat, and Gretchen felt more and more comfortable with the minute.

Claire shoved more of her clothes back in the suitcase and looked around the room she was in. She could no longer see anything of hers in there, so she walked through the rest of the small hotel room searching for anything she might have left behind. After finding nothing, she zipped up her suit case and moved to the front, waiting for Hiro to come.

She wasn't sure if she would be too late to go with Gretchen to dinner by the time she got there, but she would try. She wanted her early arrival to be a surprise, so she didn't ring ahead.

Knock knock knock. Claire got up and answered the door. "Hey Hiro! Come on in."

The Japanese time traveller walked into the small hotel room and looked around. "Do you have everything?"

"Yeah I just did a check through to make sure. I left my key on the front desk and told the receptionist that I would be leaving this afternoon. She said to leave the room unlocked for the cleaners, so we will."

"Alright." Hiro said as he stepped forward and placed a hand on Claire's shoulder. She picked up her bags and waited. As usual she had to try hard not to laugh at the expression on Hiro's face as he began to teleport them.

The next thing she knew she was on a deserted corner at the end of her street. She looked around to make sure no one saw them appear, and was satisfied when she found no one. Turning to Hiro, she said, "Thank you so much. I will see you when I get back." She quickly hugged him.

"No problem. Bye Claire." He nodded and disappeared.

Claire sighed, checked for people once more and walked up the street. Her house was pretty far up the street, but she and Hiro had arranged for it to be like that so it looked like she walked from the bus station.

Claire silently cursed herself for wearing high heels that would only get in the way, and extended the handle on her suitcase and she walked along the path. It took her a while, but she eventually got there.

Claire frowned as she looked into the driveway. There were two cars. One was Gretchen's, and the other was an expensive looking silver one.

She walked quickly up the drive way and stopped at the steps as she pushed down the long handle on her bag and pick it up by the short one, lugging it behind her as she walked up the stairs.

She walked up to the front door and pulled her key from her pocket, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

Gretchen had ordered the Chinese over the phone and now they were sitting in the lounge room with coffee talking about a whole range of things. She found Haldir and Legolas to be nice people and it was easy to keep up a conversation with them, even though their speech often seemed a little posh and proper.

And so, they were deep in conversation when Gretchen heard the door open and she stood and went to investigate. Haldir and Legolas heard her exclamation. "Claire! I wasn't expecting you to be back until Tuesday. God! You look like you've been through hell!"

Claire ignored her last comment. "Don't tell me you threw a party in my absence or something."

"Claire, are you alright?" Gretchen asked, with concern on her face.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired. I walked from the bus stop."

"God Claire you're such an idiot. You walked all the way up the street in heels when you could've just asked me to come and pick you up!"

"Well, that would have ruined the point of surprised, wouldn't it?"

Haldir and Legolas watched as the two women walked through the door and into the lounge room. Claire was not how they expected. She was shorter than Gretchen with golden blonde hair and tanned skin. Her eyes were hazel and she was dressed in a nice black dress with black heels, like she had come from working in an office. Her hair was pulled into a bun, but some bits were falling out. The bags under her eyes suggested days without rest, and her face was a little pale and hollow.

Claire stopped when she saw the two men in the lounge room.

"Umm, Claire, these are the people I told you about on the phone. This is Haldir and this is his friend Legolas. The restaurants were all booked for tonight, so they came over here. We ordered Chinese, but I ordered extra so there will be enough for you to join us."

Claire nodded, smiling half heartedly at the two men. "Hi. Yeah Gretchen I am just going to go settle in my room for a few minutes and change my shoes to something that doesn't try to murder my feet, but I'll be back out."

"Okay. By the way, you are going to tell me why you look like hell." Gretchen said firmly.

Claire shrugged. "I've just missed some sleep."

"Why on earth would you go to visit your father and come back like this?"

Claire glanced over to Haldir and Legolas, who were watching intently. "It's a long story."

"Yeah, well, I have a while."

Claire glared at her friend and but her tongue to stop herself from giving a nasty reply. "Look, Gretchen, you are my best friend and I love you to death, God, I would die for you if I had to, but I have had a crap weekend, okay? I am not in the mood to argue, really. I just need to relax, please. I am going to go change my shoes and wash my face."

With that, Claire walked out of the lounge room and into her own bedroom. She quickly opened her suit case and pulled out a pair of flat shoes that weren't as annoying as the heeled ones. She slipped them on and walked to the bathroom, where she splashed cold water on her face and scrubbed any make up off. She took a good, long look at herself.

She was tired, and it was obvious in her face. Her eyes were puffy and she had large, dark circles. Her face was pale and drawn. Claire moved her hand and reached out toward her reflection, mesmerised by the person standing there. Her reflection didn't even look like her. Her reflection was weak and exhausted, and their eyes looked pained. Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision as she looked at herself. Her hands shook. She had to know who tried to kill her. She had to know who did this to her.

Claire groaned and slammed her hand into the wall. Tears streamed down her cheeks as all she could think was one thing. My hand hurts. It really hurts!

"Claire? Are you alright? Claire!" Gretchen's voice came through the door.

Claire was so scared that she might as well have been locked back into the coffin, buried alive with a dead man. Why had it hurt? Why? She suddenly found it difficult to breathe as pain exploded in her head and she leaned against the wall for support, sliding down it as she clutched her head and tried desperately to scream, but failed.

A few minutes earlier...

"I am sorry about her. She is a bit strange sometimes. She and her father don't exactly get along very well, so I am guessing that she is here because she walked out on him in anger. She is sad, I can tell from her face. Sometimes I wish I could whack her father so hard." Gretchen explained.

"Why don't they get along?" Legolas asked.

"She won't be too happy with me telling you this, but her father is a pretty big liar. He lied ot her, her brother and her mother and it ruined his marriage. He hardly sees his son, so Claire goes to him because she feels she has to, but she is the one that he has hurt the most."

The men nodded sadly. "Unfortunately these things happen." Haldir said, looking truly sad for Claire.

"But she deals with it well. It just hits her hard sometimes, you know? But she'll be alright." It was then that they heard a thump from the bathroom and Gretchen frowned, getting up. She walked over to the the door, and Haldir and Legolas could still partly see her as she stood at the door to the bathroom.

"Claire? Are you alright? Claire!" There was no response. "Claire Bennet you open this door this instant, do you hear me? CLAIRE!"

The two men stood, walking over. "Would you like us to break down the door or something?" Legolas asked, and while this would have been funny under other circumstances, all of them were dead serious.

Gretchen considered it for a moment. "No, she would freak out if we broke the door. I have another idea." She walked quickly to Claire's bedroom and came out with a silver cell phone in her hand. She flipped it open and looked through the list of contacts, trying to find someone. She found who she was looking for and immediately rang them.

"Claire? Is that you?" A male voice spoke.

"No Peter, it isn't Claire, this is Gretchen. Look, Peter, there is something wrong with her. She's locked herself in the bathroom and me and some friends are trying to get her out but she won't respond. I don't know what's going on."

Gretchen heard Peter take a deep breath. "Don't call the ambulance, whatever you do. Stay at the door and keep talking to her. I'll be there in a few minutes." With that, he hung up and went to find Hiro and get his ability.

Gretchen moved forward to the door. "Claire? Can you please say something for me?" There was silence. "Okay, listen to me then. I called Peter, and he's on his way. You hear that? He's coming to save you again. How does that sound? He's gonna look after you Claire, coz Lord knows I can't. Anyway, he said to keep talking to you, so I will. Okay, here goes. Hey, do you remember Annie? The one that had her whole life mapped out for her on that stupid chart on her wall in college? Yeah, well I know we have some unpleasant memories about that, but remember mucking around all the time when I moved into your room instead of her? That was fun. I will never forget that. And remember when we said that we were going to grow old together? And we both wanted to be one of those creepy old ladies that get their hair died a funky colour and then go around poking people with their walking stick. That was fun, wasn't it? And remember the time..." Gretchen went on and on about all their memories from the past few years, but what she didn't know was that Claire couldn't hear her.

A few minutes later, Peter showed up at the front door with Mohinder. Hoe he had managed to get there so fast with the Indian doctor, Gretchen would never know, but man was she grateful!

Haldir and Legolas moved back and watched curiously. They knew there was something going on that they didn't know about, and they were determined to find out what it was.

Peter walked up to the door and grabbed the handle firmly, twisting it until it creaked. "Claire, I need you to open this door for me, alright?" When there was no reply, he turned to Gretchen. "I am sorry about this, but I will pay for the repairs." And he slammed himself into the door and it fell down with a bang. He walked in and was shocked at what he saw.

Claire lay on the floor of the bathroom, limp and unmoving.

So there it is folks! I hope you enjoyed it! I will get to writing the next chapter immediately.

Please leave a review and let me know if you have any thoughts, any at all! :)