Disclaimer: If you recognise it, I don't own it.
Closer
22.
Fly her to a cheap motel. Not like Mexico.
"What if they miss me?"
You'll kill everyone. "They won't."
Make as much noise as you want. Break furniture.
Wish you were here, Pete – on the other side of the wall. Pin Claire to it. She knows you've changed, sick girl, and she begs you for things but this time letting her go isn't one of them.
Changed?
Falter.
Her nails break skin. Diamonds catch the light. "Don't stop, you son of a bitch," she hisses.
Lose time.
Find it.
Claire knows. And you make her – forget to call you Nathan.
23.
Claire's never been good at self-control. She knows some things are wrong, but if she wants them, she can't stop herself. It's wrong to throw yourself off a bridge, in front of a train. It's wrong to love your uncle. And lying in this cooling bed is so many shades of wrong she's given up counting them.
She has her back to him. He could be anyone. "Give him back."
His breath stirs her hair. His hand hovers over her hip. But he doesn't touch her. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Something changes.
"Good?" Drowsy stretch.
Claire relaxes into Nathan. "Yes."
24.
This new Nathan loves Claire exactly the way she needs him to. And he will never grow old. Never die. Never leave her. Claire can spend forever with a man she loves and trusts. And Sylar is not going to take this from her.
She calls Matt. It's an emergency. Her heart flutter-flutters and her hands flex and clench on the gun. I'm so sorry, Matt.
"Tell Angela I heard about the murder. Tell her I wanted you to fix me. To fix Nathan."
"Claire – "
"I'm not threatening your wife, Matt. Or your son."
Yet.
I'm so sorry.
25.
Wake feeling clear. Cleansed. Diamond studs clutched tight. Why are you holding them?
"Did I fall asleep?"
She said it was an emergency. Why were you sleeping?
Claire smiles. Why is Parkman here?
"Feel better?"
Yes. Why does she have a gun?
Parkman swallows hard. "I better go."
She thanks him. For what? "Did he brainwash you?"
Door shuts. Gun down. Eyes darken. "No."
Desire drowns you. Guess he didn't brainwash you, either. But – "What did he do to me?"
"You've been losing time. I know. Sylar did something to you, hypnotised you. You're better now."
Yes.
Yes, you are.
26.
Claire seems happy and normal again. When Angela asks her why Nathan sent her those earrings, she frowns. Looks confused. Shrugs. "Guess he just felt like doing something nice for me."
Angela relaxes. Takes her to Washington, watches her with Nathan, sees only the growing friendship between them she saw before Coyote Sands.
There are no more Sylar killings. Angela has her son back. She has her family together again. Nathan shows Claire off like any proud father, and if sometimes he snaps at Peter for staring at her, it's no more than Angela would do.
It's over.
For now.
27.
He feels good. Integrated. Whatever Parkman did to him, it's made him a better Nathan Petrelli than he's ever been. He's very discreet with Claire. He's very discreet on his personal errands, disfiguring the bodies in 'accidents', playing with the new abilities far away from home. Even Parkman can't catch him out. He thinks, says, does all the right things.
Sylar knows who he is.
He's Nathan. Sometimes. When it suits him. When it suits her.
But how much of that Claire understands, he doesn't know. Sometimes there's an extra secret in her smile. A deeper darkness in her eyes.
28.
There's a storm coming.
He says her name more often. The fixation – obsession – is more intense. Claire crosses all the lines. Blurs all the boundaries. Anything for him. Who he is – who she is – she only pretends to know.
Breathless. Helpless.
Claire.
Whose voice it is, she only pretends to know.
In the dark he could be anyone, but more often now he's not. Claire can't stop. Won't let him stop. As if he could, as if they could now.
Blink.
Nathan.
Blink.
Sylar.
Butterfly fast.
Claire closes her eyes. Butterfly caught.
There's a storm coming.
And it's coming closer.