A/N: I know I said this would take a while, but surprisingly, my little bout with writer's block disappeared pretty easily. Especially thanks to tonight's wonderful episode. I don't think I could've possibly been happier with it, since the two things I've hated this season are most likely over. Yay! Anyway, this chapter isn't much, really just a bridge, but I hope you guys like it. Thanks for all the reviews!
Sylar looked down at the girl in his arms. This was completely insane. He knew it was. He knew it made absolutely no sense, defied all odds, and would be anything but easy. She should hate him. He should hate her.
He had never previously been the forgiving type. In fact, he was the type to hold a grudge until the opportunity to spill blood presented itself. But when he looked into her ridiculously deep blue eyes, saw the tears threatening to spill out as she confessed her feelings to him, something inside him broke. He gave in.
Because really, how could he hold one little indiscretion against her, especially when she wasn't technically his, when he had nearly killed her. If she could forgive him of everything he had done, certainly he could forgive her.
"Where do we go from here?" she asked against his chest.
"That's the beauty of it, Claire. Anywhere we want."
She hesitated. Claire knew where she wanted to go. Had to go. But she knew he wouldn't like the idea and truthfully, neither did she. "I need to go see my parents."
Sylar sighed. "I know." He'd been dreading those words. Not because he was afraid of Noah Bennet. He wasn't afraid of anyone. He just didn't need the drama. But it had to be done.
*
A week later, after spending a wonderful five days in bed together, Sylar and Claire found themselves standing outside her front door.
"Um, so you should probably wait here," Claire told him nervously. There had been a large debate about whether he should come or go and whether or not they should tell Noah about their current status. In the end, it was decided that Noah had probably already gotten wind of it, so it was best to just come clean.
"Claire, it's not like he can kill me," Sylar replied in an exasperated tone. Though, when she shot him a glare, he nodded. "Alright, fine."
She took a deep breath and turned the knob. She wasn't sure what she expected to see. Common sense told her the blood would be gone by now, Lyle would be gone by now. But as she stepped over the threshold, he was all she could see.
"Claire." Her father's voice jolted her out of her memories and before she could even mutter a greeting, she was wrapped in a familiar pair of strong arms.
"Are you okay? We were so worried about you. What happened? Where have you been?"
Noah's questions were rolling out faster than Claire could process them. She took a deep breath, realizing how many of those she was going to need to get through this. Now, where to begin?
Claire didn't have much time to consider it before she heard the door open behind her. Noah threw her to the side in a millisecond and withdrew a gun from its holster at his side.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Noah growled, his gun trained on Sylar's head, eyes daring the other man to make a move.
Sylar didn't even respond, he just turned his head and gave Claire a smirk. "Sorry, I got bored."
"It's been like two minutes!"
Sylar shrugged. "I have a short attention span."
Noah's eyes darted back and forth between the two, trying to make sense of their little exchange.
"Honey, what's all the noi-? Claire? Oh my god, why is he here?"
Claire sighed once more. Apparently her mother had chosen the absolute worst moment to enter the conversation.
"Okay, calm down everyone. I can explain," Claire began. "Dad, seriously, it's okay. He's with me."
"What in the hell do you mean he's with you? Claire, he's a killer. You can't trust him," Noah argued, his gun still pointed at Sylar.
Claire glanced at Sylar to see his reaction. He looked amused. It annoyed the hell out of her. "I can trust him. Can't you trust me for once? I'm not a little girl anymore. I can make my own choices. Just give me a chance to explain."
Noah's expression stayed threatening, but after a few moments, he relaxed and lowered his weapon. He motioned for them to head towards the kitchen, taking care to not take his eyes off Sylar.
The strange group took seats around the kitchen table, each one exchanging glances with the next. It was tense, awkward, and nearly unbearable for Claire.
Apparently, Sandra was feeling it too, because instead of letting the silence reign on, she did what any southern woman would do. "Would anyone like something to drink? I'm just going to get some drinks."
Noah opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it and let his wife play hostess. After clunking around the kitchen for a few moments, she returned to the table with four glasses in hand. She distributed the beverages and took her seat once more.
"Thank you," Sylar said from his seat next to Claire, trying to play the good guy for once.
All he got in return was an icy glare from Noah and a confused glance from Sandra.
"Okay, I guess I have some explaining to do," Claire began hesitantly, still trying to figure out how she was going to spin this tale for her folks. "After the Company took me, I caused an accident. Like with Brody. And I ran."
"Why didn't you come home, Claire?" her mother asked, not hiding the pain in her voice.
"So they could come back and kill one of you? I couldn't let that happen. Not again," Claire's voice was strained, telling the story hurt more than she anticipated. Sylar wanted to wrap an arm around her and pull her close, but knew it wouldn't go over well, so he just sat there.
"How does he fit into this?" Noah asked the question that had been plaguing him since their appearance.
"I wanted to stop them. I wanted to hurt them. I wanted revenge. I decided there was only one person who could help me with that. So I broke him out of Level 5."
"Wait a minute, you're telling me that you single-handedly helped the most dangerous person in Level 5 escape? And without getting killed or captured?" Noah's tone was incredulous, but nobody missed the pride seeping through either.
"She had some help," Sylar reminded them.
"Right, once he was out of his cell, it's not like they could stop us," Claire added, a hint of smile on her lips.
"Claire, didn't it occur to you that he might kill you?" Noah questioned.
"Of course. But I was confident that he wouldn't. I mean, he had the perfect opportunity before and he didn't do it. Why would he when I was helping him escape from the Company?"
Despite his rage, Noah had to admit she was right and he was surprised at how mature she had become. He didn't remember her being so calculating before, so wise, but he was proud.
"And once she told me what she had in mind, I was happy to help."
"So we spent the week hiding in a hotel room until we were ready." As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake and winced as she prepared for the inevitable.
"You spent a week, in a hotel room, with a serial killer?"
The words were exactly what she had expected. However, what she wasn't prepared for, was her mother glaring at her, face bright red with anger and eyeballs bulging from her face. Noah was supposed to be the one screaming maniacally at her right now.
"Sylar, you better tell me right now that you didn't lay a hand on my daughter," Noah's voice was low and venomous and though he'd never admit, Sylar was a tad bit intimidated. Just a tad.
"I…well…"
Claire couldn't believe it. Her father, the one without special powers, was making the most feared man in the world stutter. She would've laughed if murder wasn't clearly written across her father's face with her lover as the target.
"You raped my daughter?!" Noah's voice was booming as he leapt to his feet. Claire was certain the windows were actually shaking and she found herself cowering.
"No, I would never do that to Claire." Sylar was on his feet now and Claire found herself sandwiched between two of the most intimidating men she had ever met.
She sighed as she stood and placed a hand on each man's chest, pushing them apart. "Dad, he didn't rape me. Sylar, calm down. Both of you, sit down."
Surprisingly, they both listened and took their seats, though not without glaring at each other.
"Claire, please tell me you didn't let this bastard touch you," Noah pleaded through clenched teeth. When she lowered her head without saying a word, he felt something inside crumble to pieces. "After everything he has done to you, to this family, all the people he's killed…how could you?"
"Dad please, he's not what you think he is. He protected me, he saved me. I didn't want it to happen. It just did." Claire's eyes were filling with tears as she begged her father to understand.
"You can stay here, with us, but you can never see him again. Ever," Noah's tone was final, absolute and Claire knew there was no arguing.
She nodded and stood, Sylar following suit. "I expected you to say that. I just came here so you'd know I was safe and so I could tell you I love you, but I'm staying with him."
Without another word uttered, Noah and Sandra Bennet watched their daughter walk out of their lives with the man they'd spent three years running from.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Sandra turned to her husband, eyes brimming with tears. "Noah, we can't lose her again. I can't lose another child."
"As much as I hate to say it, there isn't much we can do. Claire is a grown woman now and she has made her choices. She's chosen that monster over us." Noah's face was pale, his words cold and his tone icy.
"We can't just let her walk out! I'm not giving up on my child!" And with that, Sandra raced for the door, hoping to catch them in time.
She pulled the front door open and was relieved to see they were still in the driveway, though she was a little less than happy to see her baby girl wrapped in the arms of a killer.
"Claire, honey, don't leave yet. Give me a few minutes to talk to your father," Sandra called from the doorway.
Claire turned her head to see her mother and nodded through her surprise.
Sandra disappeared back into the house and found her husband still sitting at the kitchen table.
"I can not accept this," Noah said quietly, resolutely, without turning.
"I don't expect you to, but at the same time, you can't turn your back on your daughter again. Your job was always more important than her, you were never hear for her, for any of us and I will not let you push her away."
Noah rose from his seat, knocking the chair down in the process. "I was never here because I was trying to protect her from him. Now you expect me to be fine with the fact that she's sleeping with the man who tried to kill her?"
"Darn it, Noah, it's your fault! You made him, watched him become a killer and did nothing. Why don't you give Claire a chance to fix him?" Sandra challenged, her eyes glowing with determination.
"How do you know about that? Did you read my files?" Noah accused, eyes narrowed behind his thick glasses.
"I wanted to know what we were protecting her from. I couldn't believe it at first, that you just let him get so out of control, but I never mentioned it. Never blamed you. But right now, I don't care anymore. I just want my baby safe and let's face it, Noah, he can protect her far better than we ever could."
"Not if he's the one who going to hurt her," Noah argued, refusing to listen to his wife's reasoning.
"I know you and Claire don't think I know much about these…abilities, and I don't. But if there is one thing I do know, it's how a man looks at the woman he loves. And he loves her. The same way you love me."
"You can't possibly be comparing me to a serial killer."
"You are so stubborn. Just go out there and tell your daughter you love her."
Noah sighed. There was no arguing with that tone. He took careful, measured steps to the door and let out another sigh as he turned the knob.
When the door slid open, he saw his daughter, his beautiful little girl, sitting on a black motorcycle, smiling at his worst enemy. Her expression changed as soon as her eyes found him, she looked nervous, worried.
"Claire, you're my daughter and I love you. No matter what," Noah told her, his tone sincere and full of fatherly love.
She jumped from the bike and ran to her father. He was waiting with outstretched arms and scooped her up, savoring the moment.
"I love you too, Daddy."
Noah broke away from Claire and his eyes locked onto Sylar. "You and I need to have a talk."
Sylar simply nodded, having expected as much and followed as Noah motioned him to the side of the front yard.
"If you ever hurt her, if you cause her to feel one single ounce of pain, I will hunt you down and I will make sure you'll never heal again. Do you understand me?" Noah's words were final, his tone dangerous and his stance aggressive.
Sylar wasn't afraid, but he found he had the slightest bit of respect for this man. Doing whatever he could to protect his child, even at the cost of his own life. Sylar decided to cut him a break. "I understand."
*
"They are so predictable," Elle commented absently to her partner. "Little cheerleader just couldn't stay away from daddy."
"I just can't believe Noah isn't trying to kill that monster."
"You don't know fathers and daughters. Noah will do whatever he can to keep her, even if he has to embrace what he hates."
"It's disgusting."
Elle laughed. "You're just jealous she chose the bad guy over you."
Trevor met her gaze, his own stare hard and angry. "You're even more unbelievable. He killed your father and you practically throw yourself at him." He snorted in disgust.
"What do you think she did with that mouth before she kissed you?" Elle asked, a devilish gleam in her eyes and a smug, amused smile on her face.
Trevor shook his head. "That's disgusting. Claire would never do anything like that."
Elle laughed again. "And that's why she wants him. You're too much of a boy scout."
"And why do you want him? Because you're a psychopath?"
"Takes one to know one," she replied easily. "And he's hot."
"Better get those notions out of your head. We're here to capture them, not play matchmaker."
