By the time Gretchen and Gin make their way back to the bungalow, Claire is awake and already dressed in her own kimono. The opposite of Gretchen's, it is gold with purple patterns. Despite the nightmares and lack of sleep, whatever rest she did get seems to have helped. Because, as Gretchen enters behind Gin, Claire smiles at her and does a little spin to show off her new outfit, batting her eyes.
Feeling her heart swell a thousand times with hope, Gretchen smiles widely; and stupidly, back at her. But, having been filled in on Gin's plan on the way here, she knows this moment will Not last long. So she just takes a mental photograph of the moment, and holds on to it. This moment will come back, a hundred fold, if you just keep your head for her.
And, sure enough, stepping in to ruin Claire's mood, Gin giggles and says, "Oh no, Claire Bennet. That kimono is not meant for you… yet. You wear simple jumpsuit, for now. You may wear the kimono up for breakfast, if you wish. Makes no difference to Gin. But after breakfast, only jumpsuit from now on." And then, she grins, showing her teeth behind the hood.
In typical fashion, Claire's eyes narrow as her mood shifts. "Then, why did you lay it out for me?"
Gin shrugs, still grinning, and supposes, "Motivation?"
"Motivation for what?"
"To complete training, of course," Gin replies, as if this should be obvious. Then, she turns, saying, "Come. Come with Gin. She will give you breakfast, and then… training."
With Gretchen watching on, Claire blinks. Her nostrils flare, and she stomps after Gin out the door, still barefoot. Gin turns and pulls her hood back, looking Claire over curiously. "Do you always walk outdoors without footwear, Claire Bennet? That seems… odd to Gin."
Claire stutters, "Will you STOP using my full name? That is Seriously getting on my nerves!"
But her anger only makes Gin chuckle and grin wider. She waits for Claire's breathing to calm, and then she looks down, next to where Claire stands. Claire's eyes follow, seeing the sandals, but it only irritates her more. She looks back up, intending to shout at Gin, but she speaks first.
"No time for arguments over footwear today," Gin says, turning again; taking the first steps up towards the temple. "Too much training to do. Quickly, quickly. Or no breakfast for you." Then, she giggles madly.
Eyes still narrow, Claire reluctantly puts on the sandals and follows, with Gretchen close behind her. "But… but…" Claire stutters, "Why does Gretchen get to wear a kimono, and I don't?"
"Really?" Gretchen puts in, eyebrows arching. "With all the weirdness surrounding us at the moment, you're stuck on the kimono thing?"
Gin just laughs from a couple steps above them. "Gretchen's training complete, Claire Bennet. Complete from Hiro, her Master. So, kimono she has earned."
Hearing that, Gretchen stands a little straighter as she climbs the steps, and allows a small smile of pride to creep in. But, Claire is not nearly as impressed with the news.
"Uhm… excuse me," she says to Gin, closing in on her from behind, "Hiro was My Master first, and… I'm pretty sure I spent a lot more time with him than Gretch." Then she looks behind her, and says, "No offense, babe," and apologetically bites down on her bottom lip.
Quickly erasing the look of pride on her own face, Gretchen gives her a bashful shrug instead. "None taken," she replies, clearing her throat.
Surprising them both, Gin turns, stopping everyone in place, as if frozen. She crosses her arms, the temple still looming behind her. They are only half way up. "I am sorry, Claire Bennet, but from Hiro this message comes, not from Gin: Given Claire's issue with impatience…"
"Impatience?" she shouts back, interrupting. "But… I…"
Undeterred, Gin continues, "… and given her habit of acting on emotional impulse…"
Claire gasps, as if this news shocks her. Meanwhile, Gretchen tries not to laugh behind her. "I may be impulsive sometimes, but I am Not some emotional basketcase!" Claire interrupts again, intent on defending herself.
"… It was impossible to complete her training," Gin goes on, finally silencing her protests. "It was impossible to keep her still long enough."
Then, they all fall silent, and a warm breeze sweeps up the steps, scattering dried leaves in a swirl around them. Just as quickly, the breeze dies, and the leaves drop. Gin fixes her eyes back on Claire.
"You see, Claire Bennet," Gin says, "Where you are impatient, Gretchen is cautious. Where you are impulsive, Gretchen thinks. But do not be disheartened by your girlfriend's accomplishments! No competition here. Feel glad! Look around you! There has never been more hope!"
And with that, she giggles madly again, pulls the hood back over her head, and starts back up the steps.
Not knowing how to respond to that, Claire stands frozen as Gretchen catches up to her. "I know she rubs you the wrong way," Gretchen starts to say.
Claire turns, narrowing eyes at her now. "You think?"
"But… Hiro obviously trusts her, which means WE should trust her," Gretchen then continues, gently taking Claire's arm, pulling her forward. "For now, at least? Until she gives us a reason Not to? I mean, a Real reason, and not just her obnoxious personality… which… I admit… can even annoy your super patient girlfriend."
That makes Claire laugh, finally easing some of the tension. And, after pretending to look apologetic (which Gretchen is sure she is Not), Claire says, "Fine. For Now. But. If she doesn't stop using my full name, I swear to God, I'm gonna punch her in the mouth."
Gretchen laughs back, "Okay," and hooks arms with Claire, walking up the steps together. "But. Just remember. She Can turn into a tiger."
(break)
Gin doesn't eat breakfast, but instead just stands in a dark corner of the room, like a menacing cloud. It makes Gretchen wonder if Gin eats at all while in the forest. Does it make her literally immortal, so she doesn't even need food? What does she eat? Maybe she just lives on alcohol…
Suddenly, Gin clears her throat and leans into the light. "Have you not learned to guard your thoughts from Gin yet? No, Gin does Not live on alcohol. Alcohol is just Gin's friend, that's all…" and she giggles again, then clarifies, "Gin eats when hungry, but… hardly ever hungry. Any more questions for Gin?"
"Yeah," says Claire, sitting her empty rice bowl down. "A LOT of questions. But, let's just focus on one at a time. What am I training FOR, specifically? What does this have to do with Peter, or… the… baby?"
Gin grins back at her. "That was Not just one question," she giggles. "But, it makes no difference, because… the answer remains the same. It has everything to do with your Uncle, and the baby. You must train, and train hard, or you will risk losing them both. Now… Are you ready, Claire Bennet?"
Claire narrows her eyes one more time, as she stands up from the small circle of plates and cups. "On one condition," she tells Gin.
For the first time, Gin looks surprised. But she nods for Claire to continue.
"Stop. Calling me. By my full. Name!" Claire demands, putting her fists on her hips.
"Agreed," replies Gin, and amusement gleams in her strange looking eyes. "Then, we will start at once! Change into the jumpsuit and meet Gin at the bottom of the steps! Hurry! Hurry! No time to waste, friend Claire…" And, with that, Gin shoots one more grin at Claire, and morphs into a gecko once again, scampering quickly away.
Claire blinks, still not use to that trick, and then gives Gretchen a shrug. "Well, I guess 'friend Claire' is a slight improvement."
"Yeah…" agrees Gretchen, standing as well. "And, I don't think she was kidding about hurrying. Think of it like ripping a band-aid off. If you just…"
With one look, Claire silences her. It is a warm and loving look, but also clearly intended to shut her up. "I get it, ok?" says Claire, laughing, and already stripping herself of the kimono. "You don't have to keep defending her."
"I'm not…" Gretchen starts to say, but then is distracted by the sight of her girlfriend suddenly nude. Claire, however, mistakes the trailing off of her sentence as an admission, so simply continues to reach for the jumpsuit, and keeps on talking.
Claire turns her back towards Gretchen, and begins to slide into the jumpsuit. It only now occurrs to Gretchen that Gin did not bother to hand out any underwear, and her head tilts in appreciation of Claire's backside as she continues, "BUT… we are going to have a talk about Peter and… this baby. Like, TONIGHT."
Then, Claire turns around, and gives Gretchen a look that dares her to argue. But, the jumpsuit fits more like a catsuit, and Gretchen has to take a moment to shake the previous image out of her head before she can respond. In the same moment, Claire finally realizes why her sentence really trailed off, and she gives her girlfriend a look of amusement, mixed with her typical impatience, though mildly so.
"Have you even been listening to a word I've said?" Claire asks her, with a smirk.
Gretchen blushes, eyes darting away. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry…"
But Claire only rolls her eyes and laughs, saying, "Shut up." Then she comes closer, puts a reassuring hand on her girlfriend's arm, and squeezes it. "You don't have to be sorry for finding me attractive, Gretch… Not ever."
Gretchen lets out a breath she didn't know she held, and focuses back on the topic at hand. "I did hear you," she finally answers. "But… did you mean talk to Gin, or talk to me?"
And at that, Claire leans up, and kisses Gretchen's cheek, warming it. "I meant You," she says, parting from the kiss slowly. Then, she takes a step back from Gretchen, eyes twinkling, and adds, "After all, you've already talked to Gin for me. Think I don't know that? She's already told you everything she knows, earlier, while I was sleeping. Now. Race you down the steps?"
Leaving Gretchen blinking in surprise, Claire then races off, giggling almost as madly as Gin does sometimes. After a couple of beats, Gretchen finally takes after her, shouting, "That is So not fair! You know I can't keep things from you!"
"Not my problem!" Claire shouts back. But she is far ahead, and almost outside of the temple already.
Gretchen curses to herself as she tries to catch up, knowing she never will. As long as she lives, she will never catch up with Claire Bennet. And, as that thought settles over her, her cursing ceases, and she begins to grin. And, she recalls Gin's words from earlier: "There has never been more hope…"
Maybe Claire staying ahead of her was actually key to Gin's words having a chance.
(break)
Claire's first day of training lasted from after breakfast and well into nightfall. At every step, Gretchen followed; watching closely, but saying nothing. A few times- especially when Claire got hungry, and Gin refused to stop for food- the two exchanged heated words. Although most (if not all) of the heat, of course, came from Claire. Gin remained calm, always, with that mental grin shining out from her hood.
The first half of Claire's day was spent running, up and down the 300+ steps of the temple, over and over again. Until she was panting. Until she was bent over in sharp, gagging pains. Then she begged Gin (or rather tried Demanding) for food. But Gin only gave her water, and told her to meet her by the rope bridge in 30 minutes. Then her gecko self went scampering off into the forest again.
Claire was steaming mad by the time she and Gretchen reached the bridge. But, Gin, in her usual manner, managed to avert Claire's attention to the next task at hand. At this stop, Claire was to attach herself to a harness, and then go hand to hand over the bridge from underneath. If she lost her grip, the harness would catch her, but she'd have to start over, from the beginning. And it was a WIDE gap between both ends. Even Gretchen shuddered at the thought, and looked up to the sky, to check the time. The sun was already pretty low already.
But Claire took it as a challenge. And Gretchen thought she heard her mutter under her breath, as she turned to get into the harness, "Rip off the band-aid…"
It took her several tries, but Claire possessed a sudden determination. And, by sundown, she finally made it across. To show off, she had come back the same way, and had only lost grip once. It made Gretchen laugh out loud, but Gin's quick glare reminded her: Cocky Claire was not exactly what anyone needed right now, especially Claire herself.
Nevertheless, once back on the right side of the bridge, Gin had agreed to food, but also warned… there would be one more task before the day could be called done.
Gretchen had already eaten, while waiting for Claire to finish the bridge challenge. So when Claire sat down to eat inside the bungalow, Gretchen and Gin could only stand by and watch; Gretchen in astonishment, Gin in amusement; as Claire ravenously consumed two entire chicken legs, a bowl of rice, and a chunk of bread… all in 6 minutes flat.
Then she had wiped her mouth, and said, "What's next?"
What's next had been a battle, between she and Gin. No holds barred. And Claire had lost, horribly.
Now, Claire is soaking in the tub again, head back in a pleasant sigh of relief; eyes closed. During the battle, she had received many bruises, cuts, and scrapes. They are all just a memory now, and her pink skin glows healthy over the steaming water. Gretchen just sits nearby, as she had been requested to do, waiting… and not really in a hurry to talk, for a couple of reasons.
But Claire, as it turns out, is in a hurry. And she opens her eyes after the sigh, turning them on Gretchen without accusation. "So… whose idea was it to physically exhaust me so that I would sleep better at night?" she begins by asking.
"Gin's," Gretchen admits, shoulders slumping under her own sigh. "Although… it is basic physiology. A very simple but effective solution."
Claire cocks an eyebrow at her, but her eyes remain warm. "And you can't count on me to be sensible enough to agree to that?"
"I'm sorry, Claire," replies Gretchen, face scrunched in regret. "It's just that… well Gin said…"
"What else did Gin say?" Claire asks next, face turning a little more serious.
"A lot of things… some of which I'm still trying to understand myself," Gretchen sighs, honestly.
Claire seems to notice how bare her girlfriend's eyes are; and it makes her smile, relaxing again. Gretchen wasn't lying when she said she couldn't keep things from her. And right now, that is the trait in her that Claire needs the most, in order to stay sane herself. She needs one person she can count on to never lie to her.
"Gretchen," she says softly, "I love you. Do you understand that? That, no matter what happens, I will Always love you?"
Gretchen blinks, and even blushes under Claire's stare. Because, the truth is, Gretchen's eyes are always bare to Claire, but it doesn't always work the other way around. And just now, it is. Claire's eyes are full on her, waiting for her answer, which she is tragically tripping over.
Finally, she answers, emphatically, "Yes. Yes, Claire… I know. And I will Always love you. That is a given…"
"Then don't be afraid," Claire says next, almost sounding like a plea. "Whatever Gin told you, we can face it together, Gretch. You just have to tell me."
So Gretchen begins to tell her. All of it. What Peter's painters had seen; the visions of Claire's son "sucking souls", while both his mothers stood idly by, allowing it to happen. And about how Gin disagreed, and interpreted the visions in a more positive light; in which their son was a healer of souls. Thus, Gin's words, about hope.
By the end, exhaustion is more than apparent on Claire's face.
"What do you think?" Gretchen asks, not knowing what else to say; still hesitant.
First taking a deep breath, Claire stands, and steps out of the tub. Gretchen hands her a towel, standing as well. And she can't help but smile when Claire uses the towel to wrap up her hair, instead of starting to towel off right away.
"I still don't fully trust Gin," Claire says, crossing the bathroom for another towel. "I have to admit, that it's tempting to Want to trust her. I mean…" and she starts to dry off, one limb at a time, continuing with her opinion at the same time, "… let's get real here. We both know we'd rather this baby be a healer like me, than an evil soul sucker like his Father. But, Gretch, we can't ignore the fact his Father IS Sylar, the spawn of Satan himself."
"First of all, you're exaggerating," Gretchen counters. "Sylar was evil, okay. But, hardly of the underworld, or made of hellfire. And… I saw the paintings. He has your hair."
"See? You're already doing it," Claire gasps, almost laughing. And she crosses the room again, and puts on her robe. "You're already sure the child will take after me. And, baby… Fuck, I love you for being that way. I really do. But…"
It's then Gretchen realizes, with shock, that she's left out one piece of this puzzle. A very important one. And her eyes go wide on Claire, in a sudden plea for forgiveness, for forgetting until this moment.
"What?" Claire asks, her own eyes urgent; noting the plea.
Gretchen comes closer, still a little hesitant to talk about things she herself doesn't understand. "Have you noticed, Claire…" she begins by saying, still edging closer, "… that I'm not having trouble sleeping, or having nightmares? That I don't seem to be effected by what happened with Elle?"
Claire swallows hard, and her eyes slowly drift up as Gretchen approaches. "As a matter of fact," she replies, "I kind of have… but… I just figured you were stronger than me."
Gretchen laughs at that, takes one of her hands, and brings it up and to kiss the knuckles before speaking again. "Stronger than the indestructible girl? Not possible," she tells her, searching her eyes so she will know it's the truth. "Claire… it's not because I'm stronger. It's because of your son." And she takes Claire's hand, and places it on her still flat, but very pregnant belly.
Claire jumps slightly, but doesn't attempt to remove her hand. She looks down, and then back up, questioningly.
Gretchen gives her a reassuring smile in return, and says, as simply as she can, "I don't know how, but… I know your son healed me, Claire. Somehow, he pulled all the bad feelings from Elle Out of me. Like, ripping out a cancer."
Claire looks back down again, at her hand on the small round of Gretchen's stomach. "He healed your soul," she whispers, suddenly less skeptical.
Gretchen feels a tear touch her cheek, but smiles as she nods and says, "I think so."
Claire stands back, and nods as well, her eyes still captivated on the spot, even as she draws her hand away. "Then, I will continue with my training here, and wait for Hiro… and Peter."
"And your son," Gretchen reminds her, still smiling.
Claire looks back up one more time, and smiles too. "Yes, but… stop calling him my son, please. Even the painters already know that he's your son too. He is our son, for better or for worse, right?"
"Have faith, Claire," Gretchen replies, in another plea.
Claire nods again, and waves towards the bedroom. "Come. Cuddles. Must sleep. Now." And she laughs as she disappears across the threshold.
Gretchen suddenly feels the pangs of tiredness pull at her as well, as if in sympathy. And she groans out a yawn, then laughs back, "Yes, dear", and follows.
Claire still had nightmares, but her sleep improved. Night by night, and month by month, it improved. Until, finally, one night, she slept without waking at all; without a single nightmare.
Hope was already winning.
