Nathan handed out high-tech walkie-talkies, and they all strapped them onto their belts.
Matt stepped up, since he had the most experience leading a team. "We each have a partner. Peter, you and Claire are a team, Nathan and I are a team. Teams stick together at all times. IF you are separated, contact your team member, or a member of the other team with the walkie-talkie. It will be ten times easier for Sylar to kill you if you're alone, so stick together! If your team needs backup, don't hesitate. Contact the other team. Understood?"
Peter, Claire, and Nathan nodded in unison and Matt looked around the circle. "If we don't make it back, it was a pleasure."
A tear rolled down Claire's cheek, and she wiped it away quickly.
Nathan cleared his throat. "Matt and I are going to head west. Peter, you and Claire head east."
Nathan stepped forward, pulling his younger brother into a tight hug. "I love you, Peter."
Peter returned the embrace, and then Nathan moved on to Claire. He hugged the petite girl, pulling away a little awkwardly. "Take care of my brother, kid."
She smiled up at the older man, nodding. Peter shook hands with Matt, and Claire hugged the policeman gently.
When they pulled apart, Matt leaned in, whispering in her ear. "I hope you two make it through this so you can finally, you know…"
Claire turned bright red, shaking her head. "Yeah, me too."
The teams parted ways, not knowing if they would ever see eachother again.
Claire held Peter's hand tightly as they began walking east.
Peter looked her over as they walked. She wore a white tank top, with green shorts. Her blonde curls were pulled into a ponytail. She looked adorable, and he smiled.
She looked over at him, catching him smiling. "What?"
He smirked. "Oh, nothing. Just thinking about how beautiful you are."
She grinned. "Oh yeah?"
He nodded.
She grinned. "You know, Matt told me he hopes we make it through this so we can…" Her cheeks turned pink.
Peter wasn't letting her off that easily. "So we can…what?"
She wouldn't meet his gaze. "You know…"
He feigned ignorance. "I don't know what you mean…"
She stopped, smacking his chest. "You're horrible. So we can…make love…"
Peter smiled softly, pulling her to him. He bent down, kissing her lovingly on the mouth. "I hope so too. I REALLY hope so."
Claire giggled, her cheeks still rosy.
Peter shook his head. "It's amazing how cute you are when you blush."
She reached up, kissing him again.
The kiss deepened as Peter slid his hands down to her waist. Claire's tongue pressed against Peter's lips, begging for entrance.
Peter pushed her away lightly. "Claire…"
She shook her head. "Peter, I don't want to never know. If something happens to one of us, I don't want to never be able to know what it was like."
Peter's eyebrows furrowed. "What what was like?"
Claire's hand moved to the buttons on his shirt. "What it's like making love with you."
Peter's mouth fell open. "Oh, Claire…"
He pulled her close, as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Hey, hey look at me."
He pulled her face away from his chest, forcing her to look at him. "Nothing's going to happen to us. We'll take care of eachother, okay? We'll make sure we both get to feel what it's like."
He kissed her desperately.
A loud, evil laugh caused them to pull apart, as Claire was thrown roughly away from Peter.
"How touching. The two of you fell in love, didn't you? Too bad you'll have to watch eachother die."
Claire pulled herself up off of the ground, her hands shaking. "Sylar…"
Peter dove at Sylar, tackling him to the ground. "Claire, run for help!"
Sylar rolled them over, so he was straddling Peter. He pointed his finger at Peter's forehead, and blood began to trickle down Peter's face.
Claire ran towards them. "PETER!"
Sylar lunged at Claire, but she moved out of the way.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she took off running in the opposite direction.
Peter pushed himself up on his elbows, his wound beginning to heal itself. He saw Sylar flying rapidly towards Claire, and his heart nearly stopped. "NO!"
A splitting headache began to take shape, and he suddenly felt very warm. He saw Claire stop dead in her tracks, as Sylar pounced on her.
He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing as hard as he could on Sylar.
He heard Claire screaming, and his eyes flew open.
"Oh God!" He ran as fast as he could, and tackled the man to the ground.
Claire ran a few feet, and then turned around to see what was happening. What she saw made her heart stop.
Flames were shooting out of Peter's eyes, consuming his entire body.
She screamed, and Peter turned towards her. She clamped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, Peter!"
Sylar took advantage of Peter's distraction and swung back, hitting Peter with a vicious blow to the back of the head.
Peter fell to the ground again, and then picked himself up, turning towards Sylar. He lunged at Sylar, tackling him to the ground.
He rolled Sylar over, and concentrated as hard as possible on Sylar's powers.
Claire watched as Peter bore a hole into the back of Sylar's skull.
Suddenly, Sylar went limp. His body began to shake violently, and then his body exploded into a cloud of soot, ash, and blood.
Claire dropped to her knees. He's gone. Sylar is gone.
The flames that consumed Peter began to subside, and he collapsed.
Claire pulled herself to her feet, running to him. She pulled his head into her lap. "You did it, Peter. You killed him. You saved me."
His eyelids fluttered. "Claire, if I don't…" His voice cracked, and Claire noticed for the first time the blood gushing out of his head, the blisters all over his body where the flames had been.
She covered her mouth, and tears trickled down her cheeks. "Oh, Peter…"
He was fighting to keep his eyes open. "I love you, Claire."
She shook her head sobbing. "I love you too. Peter, don't leave me!"
His eyes closed, his head lolling to the side. She put her head on his chest, and was comforted by the sound of his heart beating.
She grabbed the walkie-talkie strapped to her belt. "Matt, Nathan, come in! Please…"
Matt's voice crackled over the radio. "Claire? What's wrong?"
She pushed Peter's hair away from his forehead. "It's Peter. I think he's… I need help."
There was silence for a second, and then Nathan's voice came over the radio. "We're on our way, Claire. What about Sylar?"
Claire struggled to speak through her tears as she clung to Peter. "He's dead. Forever. Peter killed him."
Claire trailed close behind Nathan as he carried Peter to one of the many bedrooms. She was clutching Peter's hand possessively, knawing on her bottom lip until it bled.
Peter hadn't opened his eyes when Nathan and Matt had arrived at the scene, or when they boarded Nathan's private jet to fly back to New York, or even when they had arrived at Nathan and Heidi's house.
Nathan placed Peter carefully on the bed, and stepped back, letting Claire climb onto the bed next to him.
Nathan's heart ached for his brother, and for the young girl in front of him, clutching onto Peter's hand, trying to help him absorb her healing powers.
He watched as Claire bent down, pressing a gentle kiss to Peter's brow. She smoothed his bangs out of his face, and then laid her head down on his chest.
Nathan fought against the lump forming in his throat as he backed out of the room.
He walked the long hallway to his office, closing the door behind him.
He dropped to his knees, and for the first time in years, Nathan Petrelli prayed.
Review! Review! Review! Review! I shall most likely post at least one more chapter before I leave tomorrow. Again, I won't have internet access until Sunday, so I want to make up for it by updating a lot.