Because You Found Me

Chapter 11

By obi's girl

Matt looked back at the Haitian as he drove. Even though he was still unconscious, the Haitian wasn't dead. It still worried Matt what would happen when this guy woke up. Audrey looked back at the Haitian via the car mirror and then looked over at Matt.

"Worried about something, Parkman?" she asked.

Matt shrugged, coming to a stop as they hit a red light. "Actually, yes," he said, "We have this guy, but the minute he wakes up, what are we going to do with him? Legally, he hasn't committed any crime."

"Yet," Audrey added as an afterthought. "We know that he's associated with Claire's father because we saw them together in Texas, which means that the only reason he would be here would be to retrieve Claire and return her to her father."

Matt pulled over, turned off the car and turned back to the Haitian. "There's more to this," he said. "I know there is."

"What do you suggest then?" she shot back.

Claire removed the tie on her hair, digging through her cheerleading bag for her hairbrush. After making the decision to come find Peter, Claire hadn't had much time to thoroughly check her bag to see what she actually brought with her. Her cheerleading bag wasn't big, and she wasn't surprised to find that her hairbrush wasn't there. Claire zipped the bag and started looking through Peter's drawers for something to comb her hair with.

Peter heard her looking through the drawers in the next room and came in. Claire looked at him sourly, holding the tie in her hand. "I feel like an idiot. I ran away from home with one of the most essential items a girl should always have on her: a hair brush. Do you have a comb or something that I can use?" Claire explained.

Peter smiled, reached through the top drawer and pulled out a spare black comb. Claire thanked him and started brushing her hair. Peter leaned back against the doorframe, watching her. "Tomorrow we can go shopping for anything that you need. Hairbrushes included," he said.

"Thanks," she said. "I even forgot to turn off my laptop before sneaking out," Claire frowned and turned to Peter. "Oh my God, I forgot to turn off my laptop."

"So?" he mused. "I never turn off my computer."

"Peter, that's how the Haitian found us earlier. That means my fath—" Claire panicked.

Peter stepped forward, grabbing her arms, holding her. "Hey, hey, it's all right," he soothed, letting her hug him. "I told you not to worry about that stuff now."

Claire started crying. "I can't help it," she whispered.

"Breathe," he said, "Just breathe."

Claire sighed, breathing slowly. Slowly, her heart calmed down but she started feel something else. It was warm in Peter's arm. Claire smiled. "Thank you, Peter," she said and smiled, remembering what he said earlier. "So tomorrow I can shop for whatever I want?"

"Need, Claire," he corrected her. "Whatever you need."

"Oh," she said and moved away. Claire started looking for her hair tie, but couldn't find it.

"Don't worry about it," Peter said. "You look better with your hair down."

Claire looked at him oddly and then blushed. "Sometimes I do, but once I started cheerleading, it always seemed to get in the way, especially during windy days," she added.

Peter grinned. "Um, I'm warming up some pizza for dinner. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Claire replied. Peter stood up and left.

Matt parked the car across the street from the apartment building. Earlier, he and Audrey found a local police station and dropped off the Haitian, telling the officer on duty that he was charged with attempted kidnapping. Matt and Audrey couldn't watch the Haitian 24/7 while tracking Claire at the same time, so they decided to drop him there and hoped that no other problems came up.

Now, Matt didn't believe for one minute that the Haitian was the only one that Mr. Bennet sent to retrieve Claire. If the Haitian failed (which he had), then it was likely that Mr. Bennet would come himself to get her. The best thing that he and Audrey could do was stake out Petrelli's apartment until he arrived.

"How do you know that Mr. Bennet will come after her?" Audrey asked her partner. "Did the Haitian think that before we found him?"

"No. It's just a feeling," he said.

Peter noticed the police car parked across the street. He knew it was the same two policemen from before. The fact that they came back after arresting the Haitian scared him. What if the Haitian told him that he was some criminal and had kidnapped Claire, and they were just waiting for him to make a move? Peter moved back from the window. //Now I sound paranoid//, he thought.

Claire came out dressed in a fuzzy pink tank top and blue jeans. Peter went to the microwave, removing the leftover slices of pizza. He set three place mats on the table and the pizza in the middle. Claire sat down on one side, waiting as Peter set two plates and placed some napkins on the side.

She took one slice, grabbed some napkins, one for her lap and left some on the side of her plate. The pizza wasn't too bad, as far as pizza goes. "Sorry, I don't have much groceries," Peter admitted. "I usually grab a sandwich from wherever I am while at work."

"Where do you work?" Claire asked.

"No where in particular," he said. "I'm a hospice nurse. I have patients everywhere throughout the city."

"That makes sense," she mused.

Peter went to the refrigerator and grabbed two sodas. Claire thanked him and took the other soda as Peter sat back down, opening his. "Why does that make sense?" Peter asked, taking a sip.

"You help people," Claire said. "You're already a hero to so many."

Peter half-smiled. "I never really thought of it that way."

Claire ate a little more of her pizza. "I've never really thought about what I want to study after high school. Most people know when they're younger," she said.

"That's normal I think," Peter added. "I didn't know what I wanted to be when I was in high school. No one does."

"Why did you decide to be a hospice nurse?"

Peter shrugged. "I've always wanted to do something great with my life, and helping people, being there for them as they're dying, even to take their pain away for a little bit and give them some happiness…it's an amazing feeling," he explained.

Claire smiled. "That sounds wonderful," she said dreamily and continued eating her pizza.

tbc