Previously on Heroes (Storm Clouds Gathering): After reassuring his wife that he loves Phoebe as a sister only and promising Peter to do whatever it takes to save her, Nathan takes off to save Phoebe from the will-drain of WIll the Snatcher, who has set her in a clearing sapped of her willpower. When Nathan gets to Phoebe, she is slipping away into a dangerous sleep. He does everything it takes--shakes her, slaps her, and eventually kisses her. Phoebe awakens and Nathan quickly flies her up into the air with him. Meanwhile, back at the motel, Peter is ailing. He passes out--and falls through a wall. HRG, Heidi, and Sasha care for him, and he makes a sudden recovery at Nathan and Phoebe's arrival. The heroes are reunited, except for Hiro and Claire, who still have no clue as to what is going on...

This is a short, transitional chapter, but full of character developments and that sort of good stuff. As always, thanks to my heroic readers and reviewers!

CHAPTER TEN

"What I would have done?" Peter crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows, suddenly curious. He knew what hewould have done… He narrowed his eyes on Nathan. "I'd like to know… exactly what happened."

Nathan seemed totally calm. He motioned past Peter. "Why don't you ask Phoebe?"

Peter glanced over his shoulder. Phoebe was standing in the midst of Sasha, Heidi, and Noah, animatedly discussing something, her dark brows lowered in concern. Peter turned back to Nathan. "I'd rather ask you right now."

Nathan shrugged casually. "Ask away."

"What happened to her, Nathan?" Peter asked quietly, leading his brother a few yards away from the others.

"She told me someone took away her will. A man," Nathan explained, frowning. "I think the whole thing is kind of fuzzy for her. She was… drifting away when I got there."

"She was alone?"

Nathan nodded. "Yes. She kept saying she wanted to just sleep." He shook his head, his expression grim. "Pete, I was scared she was going to slip away from me. She was completely out of it."

"So…" Peter tried to refrain his impatience. "What did you do?"

Nathan hesitated, narrowing his eyes momentarily, then explained. "Well, for one thing, I told her that I wasn't you. At first, she seemed to think I was you, come to rescue her."

Peter couldn't help but grin at that.

"Then she realized it was me, and she started to drift again, so I--so I shook her a bit, and she snapped out of it for just a second." Nathan's eyes darkened, as if he was remembering something that profoundly disturbed him. "She grabbed onto me and begged me not to let her go. She…" He sighed. "Then she was gone again, so… I did what I had to do." He paused, biting his lip and looking at Peter closely.

"And what was that?" Peter asked.

"Well, I--" Nathan sighed heavily. "Darn it, Pete, just read my mind and get it over with."

"Okay. I will," said Peter, dropping his arms to his side and closing his eyes as he concentrated on Nathan's thoughts. As soon as he read them, his eyes flew opened. "You slapped her!?" he hissed in a barely restrained whisper.

Nathan held up his hands, leaning backward from his brother. "I had to, Peter."

Peter moved closer to Nathan, until he was standing toe to toe with him. "And you kissed her! Did you have to do that, Nathan? Huh?"

Nathan looked as if he was not sure whether to laugh or fight back. He finally chose the middle ground. "I did," he told Peter firmly. His lips twitched with a repressed grin. "And it worked, didn't it?"

Peter sighed, a bit mollified. "Well… Yeah, but…" He frowned. "Why? Why kiss her?"

Nathan shrugged, seeming annoyed. "I don't know, Pete. She was about to go into a coma right in front of me, and I had to think fast. I was upset. I was impatient. I was thinking of her, thinking of you." He threw up his hands. "It just… happened."

Peter nodded, rolling it over in his mind. He crossed his arms again, pensive. "And… She kissed you back."

Nathan raised his eyebrows. "Ah, yes… She did." He cleared his throat nervously. "Peter, she thought I was you." He gave his brother a pat on the shoulder. "You just saw it all in my mind. You know there was nothing… inappropriate about it."

Peter nodded, chewing on his lower lip.

"Pete, there's nothing to get upset about," Nathan told him quietly, placing both hands on the younger Petrelli's shoulders. "But there's plenty to be happy about. Phoebe is safe and--"

"Hiro and Claire!" Peter exclaimed, eyes widening.

"Phoebe?" Claire went to the bathroom door and knocked. "Phoebe, are you in there?" Frowning, she turned the door handle and pushed the door open. It swung into an empty room. Where was Phoebe?

"Phoebe Agnew! Cheerleader!" came a cheerful call from the other side of the bedroom door.

"Hiro, I can't find Phoebe," Claire called in reply. She felt, ridiculously, like checking under the bed, then decided that that would be… ridiculous. "We have to find her." She rushed to the door and flung it open.

Hiro stood just outside the bedroom with wide eyes. "What has happened to Phoebe Agnew?"

Claire shook her head, her face a study of worry. "I don't know. She was having bad dreams about Peter. Maybe--maybe she left to find him."

Hiro frowned. "But she cannot bend space and time!"

"What's going on here?"

Hiro spun around, and over his head, Claire saw Meredith standing in the hallway, arms crossed.

"Phoebe Agnew is missing," Hiro declared dramatically.

Meredith raised an eyebrow. "She probably just went for a walk or something. There's no need to be worried."

Claire shook her head. "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"I know!" Hiro exclaimed brightly. "We teleport to location of Phoebe Agnew!"

"Isn't that a little overreactive?" asked Meredith, a troubled look darkening her features.

"Not with us," said Claire quietly. "We're always getting involved in… crazy situations."

"I see." Meredith gave a half smile, a bittersweet gesture. "Well, I'm glad I could answer your questions, Claire."

"Me, too," Claire replied. She lifted her chin as she stepped closer to Hiro. "And I have one more: Will you come with us?"

Meredith's eyebrows raised, and for a moment, she was quiet. Then she slowly shook her head. "Not this time, Claire baby."

"Why not?" Claire asked indignantly.

Meredith smiled slightly. "You said only one more question."

Claire sighed. "I did, didn't I?"

"Go on and find your friend," Meredith said. "Maybe someday…" She left the sentence unfinished, smiling at her daughter. "You're a real hero, Claire. And you, too, Hiro."

"Thank-you," said Hiro proudly.

Claire simply nodded and reached to place a hand on Hiro's shoulder. And then they were gone.

Almost as soon as the words "Hiro and Claire" were out of Peter's mouth, the two heroes appeared right in front of him, nearly knocking Nathan over backward.

"Peter--Where's Phoebe?" Claire exclaimed instantly, turning on her uncle and grabbing hold of his arms.

"She's fine, Claire," Peter told her. "Nathan went and got her."

Claire turned to face her biological father. "Why did you have to get Phoebe?" she asked with a confused frown. "What's going on?"

"She was in trouble," Nathan told his daughter gravely. "I had to do something. And Peter wasn't doing so well himself."

"This is big mess!" Hiro remarked, shaking his head.

"I think I can clear up some of it," said Phoebe, stepping forward. Everyone turned to face her. "Claire, Hiro… I did something really stupid. I've watched enough movies to know that it's never a good idea to go walking by yourself in the woods, and…" The jovial tone of her voice faded, and her green eyes darkened. "I was attacked."

"But you look fine, Phoebe Agnew," said Hiro.

"It wasn't really a physical attack," Phoebe explained. "This guy calling himself Will sort of… snatched my will. He made me want to sleep, so… I started to slip away. Then Nathan came and shook me out of it and flew me back here." She cast the politician a grateful smile.

"This is really strange," said Claire, crossing her arms. "Why didn't he attack us, when we were so close by? And why didn't--?" Her eyes widened as she suddenly realized who was standing behind Phoebe. "Dad!!"

Noah smiled at her. "Claire. I'm glad you're alright."

"Dad, what are you doing here!?" Claire exclaimed.

"I think we'd better take this inside," Noah told her calmly.

She frowned, confused.

"Looks like rain," said Noah.

They all looked up at the sky. And indeed, it was darkening with clouds.

Peter shivered involuntarily and thought of the weatherman…

"Where are you going?" asked Nathan, looking up from the travel magazine he had found in the motel. Peter had emerged from the bathroom fully dressed, with that serious look on his face Nathan knew meant trouble.

"I'm sleeping in Phoebe and Claire's room," said Peter determinedly. "I don't think Phoebe's over the shock of her attack yet, so… I want to be there to let her know that she's safe now."

Nathan stared at Peter for a second, then smiled slightly. "Good. I'm proud of you, Pete."

"Thanks." Peter grinned, then moved toward the door. He hesitated for a moment before turning the handle. "Hey, Nathan… Thanks for everything today." He turned to face his brother, his dark eyes filled with warmth and sincerity. "I owe you."

Nathan shook his head, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "No you don't. I've given up on keeping tabs. We've saved each other's lives so many times I've lost count. "

"Yeah, but this time… This time, it was Phoebe."

"I know," said Nathan, the jovial tone fading from his voice.

"So I really owe you," Peter said fervently.

"Peter, Phoebe is my friend," Nathan said, raising an eyebrow. "There is no way I would have left her out there to die. You don't owe me anything."

Peter smiled suddenly, crookedly. "You watch your back, Nathan. I might just sneak up on you and save your life sometime soon."

Nathan grinned. "We'll see about that."

Heidi sat up in bed, suddenly cold inside. She swung her legs to the edge of the bed and stood slowly and quietly, glancing over at Sasha, who was sleeping soundly in the other bed. Silently, she made her way across the room to where her white silk robe was draped over the back of a chair. She slipped it on her shoulders, praying that she was doing the right thing. She took a deep breath as she slipped her feet into dainty bedroom slippers. This had to be right.

Shaking inside and out, she crept toward the door. Before she could reach for the handle, she caught a sudden glimpse of herself in the motel room's floor length mirror. She stopped, breathing heavily, and stared at her reflection, hazy in the dim light streaming from the half-opened bathroom door. She looked pale and haunted, she thought, standing there in a short, low cut silk negligee, pearly white, with her matching robe and slippers. No, I look haunting, she thought with a wry smile. Like a ghost who's afraid of herself…

Her breath caught at the thought.

She was afraid of herself, afraid of what she was going to do.

Then she thought of him, thought of his eyes and his voice and his hands and his smile. And she remembered. Closing her eyes and sighing, she remembered.

Then she opened her eyes and faced her reflection determinedly. "It can be that way again," she whispered to herself. "It will be that way again."

Straightening her shoulders, she slipped quietly out of the motel room and made her way down the sidewalk, to the door of another room. She knew he would be alone. She had watched Peter go to Phoebe and Claire's room. Of course Peter would do that. He was Peter. He would always protect Phoebe and Claire.

So Nathan was alone.

Heidi knocked on the door before she even realized what she was doing. This was suddenly not a scary thing to do. It was suddenly natural. It was right. We're married, darn it.

After a few moments, the door slowly swung inward.

Heidi caught her breath. Nathan was standing there in the doorway in nothing but a pair of pajama bottoms. His hair was ruffled from sleep. His eyes were narrowed in confusion.

"Heidi? What are you--?"

"Sh. Don't." She placed a finger on his lips with one hand and pushed him back into the room with the other, stepping around the door and closing it behind her.

Nathan gently removed her hand from his lips and held it. He was blinking rapidly. "What are you doing here?" he asked quickly.

"I'm your wife, Nathan," said Heidi quietly.

"Yes. I know that. But--"

Heidi moved closer to him and slid her hands up to his shoulders. "I remember, Nathan," she whispered, her voice catching slightly. "I remember the way we were. I remember…" She blinked back sudden tears, tears of passion, of regret, of forgiveness, of love. "I remember how I loved you."

"Heidi…" There was not much else he could say. He just stood there, staring at her in her white robe and gown. She looked beautiful and brave and… strangely bridal. So he swept her into his arms and kissed her.

Peter had a sudden feeling that something wrong had been made right. He smiled as he drifted into dreams on the couch of Phoebe and Claire's room. The dreams that took him became visions of the future…

John Shoe nervously watched the dark man pace. The dark man was angry.

"I half expected our weather man to fail. His ego is disproportionate to his skills, but you? You, Will?" The dark man shook his head and faced the blond man. "I expected much more from you."

"We were too close to the cabin, sir," said Will nonchalantly. "If I had done anything more drastic, the others might have noticed and stopped me."

"Well someone stopped you anyway, didn't they?" growled the dark man.

John closed his eyes and turned back to the late night television show he had been watching. He hoped the dark man would not notice him, hoped he would not be chosen for the next mission. He knew now that he had to get away from these people--and fast. They would help him, he was sure, but not after exacting a price. And if that price was his personal integrity, his sense of justice, or his loyalty to his friends, he would not pay it.