Chapter 4

The next morning I managed to buy the medication recommended by the doctor, and gave Peter his first dose around breakfast. My teachers would probably kill me for taking this much time off fro school, but Angela promised to give them an explination.

Peter's temperature went up drastically at night, and he seemed to feel worse in general between dinner time and midnight.

When we reached the forth day of this flu from hell, I started to loose hope that he would recover at all. I sat in my own bedroom after a while, needing some time to decompress.

Fiddling with my cell phone, I thought about making another call to Nathan, needing to talk to someone who understood Peter better than anyone.

When I finally did get up the guts to call his number, I sat looking up at the blue ceiling. This had been one of the worst weeks of my life, not counting the homecoming incident where I lost one of my good friends due to Sylar.

"Hello?" Nathan responded immediately again, and I tried to keep my voice steady as I spoke.

"I'm sorry I'm calling you again," I admitted, feeling stupid.

"It's okay," he promised. "How's Pete?"

I closed my eyes, the tears threatening to spill out all over again. "He's still sick," I whispered.

"Worse than before or is he improving at all?" Nathan sounded as though he were driving, because I could hear the rumble of an engine in the background.

"I'm so scared," I choked, and the tears finally came. "Sorry," I squeaked. "I just...I don't know what else to do. The doctor came a few days ago, and I've been afraid to call him again."

"Whoa, whoa, Claire, calm down," Nathan begged. "It's going to be fine, okay? I'm back in New York."

My heart leapt with relief...he was home! I immediately started to cry again, all of my fear and anxiety deciding to come out after being pent up for the entire week.

"Claire, please stop crying," Nathan told me. "You're breaking my heart here."

The comment made my breath catch in my throat...I didn't think Nathan cared much about his illegitimate daughter, considering how distant he acted around me when we first met.

"I'm just so tired," I sobbed. "I can't do this alone anymore. I need..."

"I'm coming over," Nathan promised. "Just hang in there until then, okay hon?"

I nodded, though no one was around to see it. "Okay," I squeaked, and after Nathan told me to expect him in the next half hour, we hung up. I sat staring at my cell phone, thoroughly mortified that I had lost it like that. Very rarely did I break down, but this entire ordeal was ripping me apart thread by thread.

I managed to stand up after a few minutes, and went into my Uncle's room. Peter moved slightly when I squeezed his hand, but he didn't open his eyes.

"I know you'll probably kill me for this later," I started, "but Nathan's coming."

Peter merely coughed in response, and I leaned back in my chair, not letting go of his hand.

Nathan arrived around one thirty, dressed in a formal business suit. He came right through the door without hesitation, and encouraged me to step back for a few minutes. "Pete, what the hell are you doing to your niece?" he asked, feeling his brother's forehead, and cursing under his breath. "Has he woken up at all today?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Only once, but he can't keep his eyes open for too long." I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling slightly sick to my stomach.

"And the doctor said...what?" He asked, and I looked at Nathan.

"He said to call him again if Peter wasn't getting better after I gave him the medicine he suggested," I admitted, blushing. Peter started to cough again, and Nathan rolled the covers down, easing his brother into a sitting position so he could breathe a little easier.

"So you didn't call Dr. Mendez again I take it?" Nathan asked, and I shook my head. "Why?"

"Because I was hoping for a miracle," I squeaked. "I didn't want Peter to have to go to the hospital."

"Well, looks like he may have to go there anyway," Nathan replied, and I sniffed, looking down at my feet. "Claire, the house calls were on me. You shouldn't have hesitated if you thought Peter was getting worse. I know you're probably scared, and believe me...I dealt with this guy my entire life. This is probably the worst I've seen him since he was a kid."

"He did mention he had to go to doctor's a lot when he was younger," I replied, and Nathan nodded, rubbing a hand over his face once Peter was laying down again.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Okay, we're going to have to bring him to the ER, and maybe they can give him an IV or something. The fever's what's worrying me...his heart might not be able to handle it for too long at this rate."

I sniffed hard, and watched as my biological father collected some clean clothes from Peter's drawers, shoving them into one of his backpacks.

The two of us eased Peter out of bed, which was no easy task. "Hang in there, buddy," Nathan encouraged, as Peter clung helplessly to him.

"What are you doing here, Nathan?" Peter whispered, and my father looked at my Uncle with a raised eyebrow.

"Your niece gave me a call," he replied, and Peter looked at me. "She sounded kind of hysterical, so I figured I'd give her a hand."

"Hmmm." Peter coughed hard when we got outside, and I immediately wrapped my arm around him to try and include more body heat.

He nearly collapsed halfway from the apartment to Nathan's car, and my father had to carry him the rest of the way. "Jesus," Nathan grunted once we were all inside the black corvet, and I looked at my father once he started to climb into the driver's seat.

"Can I drive?" I asked, and he raised an eyebrow with uncertainty. "I have my license, you know...and I don't think I'll get a chance to drive something like this again."

Nathan laughed, and handed me the keys. "Sure," he replied, and I grinned, taking over what he started.

I had to be careful driving such a nice car in this kind of weather, especially with one passenger who was barely lucid. Nathan gave me directions to the local hospital, and told me to take my time.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I don't think I'll be speeding much in this weather."

"You're a good driver," Nathan complimented, and I felt my cheeks grow warm. "How old are you now?"

"Sixteen," I replied. "I turn seventeen in April."

"Good for you." Nathan smiled, glancing over his shoulder to check on Peter, who used the backseat as a bed for the time being. "Dammit...we really should have gotten him to the hospital sooner," he muttered, and I kept my eyes on the road, not wanting to make any mistakes.

We pulled into the ER parking lot, and once I found a spot close enough, we eased Peter out of the car.

"Do you think this has something to do with..." I stopped in mid-sentence, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention, and Nathan looked at me.

"Something like this did happen before," He admitted. "Only a little worse than what we're dealing with."

"When?" I gasped, surprised Peter hadn't mentioned it. Of course, I knew he wouldn't bring something like that up out of the blue.

"Once they let him out of jail after he apparently rescued you. He passed out on the sidewalk, and was in a coma for two weeks."

I stopped walking, my breath making white puffs in mid air. Nathan encouraged me to follow him, not wanting to waste anymore time. There was a small crowd in the waiting room, and Nathan went to sign his brother in at the front desk. I sat with Peter, keeping his hand in mine, and an arm around his shoulders as he shivered practically non stop.

"There's a wait, of course," Nathan growled. "Apparently everyone and their mother is here with this flu." He looked at me, and I sniffed, using my free hand to rub my nose. "Claire, he's going to be fine. He's been through hell and back before, and has scared me shitless more than once when we were kids."

I nodded, using Peter's shoulder as a leaning post. The heat coming from his body actually felt nice, considering how cold I was.

"Thanks for being here," I said, and Nathan nodded.

"It's the least I could do," He replied.

The doctor finally took us in, and hooked Peter up to an IV in one of the open cubicles. If my Uncle were actually awake and alert right now, he would have been positively humiliated. Nathan kept his arm around me while we watched them draw blood, and run other tests that would help with treatment. Once the tests were done, all we could do was sit and wait. Thankfully Nathan had no immediate plans, and contacted his wife so she wouldn't worry about him.

"She wants to meet you," He explained, after hanging up the phone, and I stared.

"Your wife?" I asked, and he nodded.

"She knew about your Mom, but as I didn't realize you even existed until now, I couldn't tell her."

I smiled, listening as Peter coughed a couple of times, his eyes opening halfway. "Peter!" I gasped, and rushed to the side of the bed, peering down at his face.

"Where am I?" he croaked, and Nathan joined me a few moments later, his arms folded.

"I had to drag your ass to the emergency room," he explained, and Peter looked around, startled by the change in location. "You had Claire scared half to death, little brother." Nathan felt Peter's forehead, sighing.

"Munchkin?" Peter whispered, and I nodded.

"Munchkin?" Nathan repeated, and I rolled my eyes a little.

"It's his nickname for me," I explained, and Nathan snorted.

"Cute," he replied, and I stuck out my tongue.

"I'm right here," I explained, and Peter reached up to touch my face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and I choked on a sob bubbling up in my throat, but I refused to start crying in front of him. Not when we were so uncertain.

"Not really," I admitted, and I felt Nathan rubbing my back.

"I'm so sorry," Peter apologized, swallowing past his sore throat, and I smiled.

"You have to take better care of yourself," Nathan warned. "You can't always be in two places at once." he winked at me, and I leaned against my biological father, feeling a surge of comfort. Nothing like I felt when I was with my adoptive parents, but it was something. A connection that I didn't share with my other family.

When the doctor finally returned with Peter's test results, it was determined that he did have the flu as we expected. "He's teetering on the edge of pneumonia, so good thing you came in," he announced, and I felt Nathan's grip strengthen on my shoulder. "Mr. Petrelli, I would like to keep you overnight for observation. Your temperature is still high, and we'd like to keep you on IV for a while."

Peter looked at me with anxious eyes, and I kissed his cheek.

"I'll be okay," I promised, and Nathan nodded.

"We'll get you in the morning," he added, and Peter squeezed my hand.

"I love you," he croaked, and I gave my Uncle a hug, burrying my face against his shoulder. Nathan watched as the two of us said good night, and Peter made his brother promise to keep an eye on me that night while he was missing.

"Peter, I wouldn't mind except I have my own family I've been neglecting all week with the business trip," Nathan argued, and Peter narrowed his eyes once I put my coat and hat on.

"I don't need a babysitter," I insisted. "I've stayed home by myself before."

"I'll make sure she gets in safely, Pete," Nathan promsied, and gave his brother a hug.

"Thanks," Peter replied, watching us leave the hospital with sad eyes.