I Can Fix You
Previously on Heroes
"I still stand by my words that we all should get as far away from here as we can."
"What about the people left behind?" Claire asks. "Who is going to stop him if we run away? That's what we'd be doing. Running away."
Gabriel releases a humorless chuckle, "And why do I have this feeling that the weight of the world is on my shoulders?"
"You are your father's son," Noah says. "A killer, just like him. You ought to be able to calculate his moves."
"My father's actions were totally on his own accord. I may be my father's son, but I never had a chance. You never gave me a chance! However, when something strikes just a wee bit too close to home, you cannot bare to take any responsibility in the fact that it was you that made me a monster!"
Gabriel looks at Nathan with a quirked brow. Nathan continues, "But it was Claire who told me that the future is not written in stone. We write our own destinies, Gabriel, I think it's time that you write yours."
"Claire, what are you doing here?"
Claire is slightly taken aback when Gabriel answers the door in only his boxers. "I, uh," she stammers as she follows Gabriel to his bedroom. "I had to see you."
"Will there ever be a time when you can forgive me?" Gabriel whispers back.
With wide eyes, Claire pulls back, "Gabriel, I…I…I forgave you a long time ago!" She wraps her arms around Gabriel's neck and cradles his face above her breasts. "I should have told you sooner, but I had already forgiven you. For everything."
Chapter 11: I Write Sins Not Tragedies
Samson turns on a computer in the apartment of the man he had just murdered. The residence is still bare, as most of the deceased's belongings are still within their packaging. Samson quickly scans through email after email, anything that will tell him more about the late professor, doctor of psychology, new addition to the staff of UCLA. Needing to become more familiar of the man he will be posing as, Samson looks over the spring semester syllabi and student roster.
He smiles knowingly as he sees Claire Butler's name, aka Claire Bennet. He found her ages ago in Costa Verde; stalking her, studying his new pray's habits, because that is what she is: game. He was slightly surprised to find his son with her, keeping her close as if she belongs only to him. But Samson is not concerned. If it comes down to it, he can use the girl to get to Gabriel. It would be like killing two birds with one stone. If Gabriel cannot be obtained, he still has the girl.
The only matter Samson is disgruntled over is that it will take him longer than realized to covet the girl's power. He had no qualms about the others that have been tracking him, he had an ability that made it virtuously impossible for trackers to locate him. But if his son is anything like his old man, he would have realized that Samson is already in town, waiting for the perfect moment.
Claire sits on her couch, trying to ignore the television program she would prefer watching with Gabriel rather than studying for the History final she has the next day. The television is not her only distraction, because Claire has her bare feet on Gabriel's lap, and he is expertly rubbing her petite foot with his massive hands.
"Ugh," Claire groans. "I hate tests, I'm ready for school to be done and over with."
Gabriel's hands glides up her right leg and starts massaging her calf. "Already? You're just about to finish up your first semester as a college freshman. You can't be tired of school already," he says. "Besides, you're a nursing major. You can't really become a nurse with only one semester's worth of education."
Claire makes a face at him. "I want to become a nurse. I just don't want to go through the hassle of school." Claire tosses her text book to the floor and turns herself around so that her head now lies on Gabriel's lap. "I want everything now," she whines.
Gabriel's chuckle reverberates through his body and Claire can feel the slight vibration. "College's suppose to be the greatest years of one's life. Enjoy it while you can," he tells her. Gabriel cups her cheek in one hand, and Claire turns her face to lay a soft kiss in his palm. "At least let me enjoy it vicariously through you. I never took advantage of it."
"What? The College life?"
"Yeah, NYU," Gabriel says. "I went there on a full academic scholarship. I was academically gifted, but socially inept. I requested a singles dorm room, so outside of class, I never had any interaction with others."
"What happened after college?" Claire wants to know.
"I was an engineering major, and my ability to know how things work made the classes particularly easy, but no one likes a know it all," Gabriel's gaze begins to wander, unfocused. "But it was never good enough for my mother. So it became harder for me to enjoy something I was good at when she disapproved of it. She'd rather I studied to become a lawyer or a doctor.
"Living the life of a waitress and a watchmaker's wife was not enough. She never had money growing up herself, so when I got the full ride to NYU, she thought she finally had something to show the world that she did something right. I ended up taking over my grandfather's shop after he passed away. It was the only thing I had linking me to my father, well, the man I thought to be my father at the time."
"You could enroll into UCLA with me," Claire says with a bright smile.
Gabriel snorts, "That's ok. Have you had orientation yet?"
She nods, "Yeah, last week, signed up for classes and everything. They almost didn't accept the credit hours I'm getting at ICDC."
"Almost?" Gabriel inquires, lazily twirling a lock of Claire's hair between his fingers.
"Yup, Nathan had a talking-to with the Dean of Students, I believe." Claire sits up and places her self on Gabriel's lap, side-straddling him. A slow, shy grin appears on Gabriel's lips, as he knows where this is going. Claire wraps her arms around Gabriel's neck and places her forehead on his, their intimate trademark. "I've missed you."
Gabriel's brows furrows, "What do you mean? I've been right here."
"Yeah, but you're always distracted."
But Gabriel does not say anything to this. "He's found me, hasn't he?" Claire wants to know.
"Yeah," Gabriel says, whatever intimacy there was is now dissipated. "Now we're totally at his mercy. He is hiding himself very well, better than I had anticipated."
Claire recognizes a disapproving tone in his voice, "Gabriel, I am not scared. You know I'm not lying about that. I have you here, and Peter. My shiny white knights to protect me."
Gabriel rolls his eyes at the mention of Peter's name, "Of course, Peter. How could I forget him."
Claire's gaze is scornful, "What is the matter? I thought you liked Peter."
Gabriel is slightly apologetic, "I do, but I always feel I'm living under his shadow. For two years, I was literally the villain to his heroics. Mike Tyson to his Evander Holyfield, that sort of thing."
"What I mean is that two is better than one, because the poo-face that is you biological father, no offence, does not seem like the kind of guy who is a team player. Plus, another reason you shouldn't feel over shadowed by Peter," Claire says, and starts leaning towards Gabriel's neck, "I am able to do this." Claire starts kissing him on the neck, the scent of his aftershave intoxicating her senses.
Clearly having been won over, Gabriel is sober enough to say, "That would be a good thing too 'cuz that would be illegal, not to mention gross." Gabriel's hand slides up her outer thigh as his other hand pulls her closer to him. In the distance, a cell phone goes off.
"Ignore it," Claire says, breathlessly between kisses.
"I think it's Matt," Gabriel says, nibbling at Claire's lower lip. "We had talked Peter into going to Wild Bill's with us tonight."
"Yeah?" Claire murmurs.
"It's karaoke night," Gabriel murmurs back. "We were planning on seeing how many drinks it takes to get Peter drunk enough to sing Born To Be Wild."
"A boys' night out, eh?" Claire says, propping an elbow on the back of the couch and cradles her head on her hand.
"That is the plan," Gabriel says, his fingertips teasing the edges of Claire's barely there cotton shorts. "Of course, I can always back out. I'm sure we can find something to do…" His voice trails off at the obvious innuendo.
Claire rolls her eyes and grins, "You guys have your night out."
"You can always come with us. You'll have to where one of those wrist bands since you're under twenty-one, though. Please?" Gabriel says, sticking his lower lip out and trying to give Claire his saddest puppy-eyes.
Claire tries, and fails, to keep a straight face, "That is just sad. Fine. You're just lucky my exam isn't till three tomorrow."
Several hours later, Gabriel and Claire arrive at the bar in Long Beach, Matt and Peter waiting outside the bar.
"About time you guys," Peter says good naturedly, giving Claire a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Sorry," Claire says. "I couldn't find anything to wear." While Gabriel is still wearing the outfit he had on earlier, a white and yellow polo shirt with faded jeans, Claire spent literally an hour and a half modeling every outfit she had in her closet before deciding on a black jean jacket over a red tank with a tight pair of jeans that, as Gabriel was quick to point out, accentuated her bottom.
"Of course," Matt says, shaking his head. He ushers them into the bar, and after the bouncer straps the wrist band on Claire, they find an empty table near the middle of the bar where the karaoke stage is set up. They order a round of beers, coke for Claire, and they sit back while viewing intoxicated patrons butcher various songs such as Single Ladies, Bohemian Rhapsody, Baby Got Back, etc.
By the third round of drinks, the group is more than successful in getting Peter into performing. Not only is he on stage, he had been able to drag Gabriel on stage, alternating verses and sharing the chorus.
"Like a true nature's child," Gabriel belts out, not even glancing at the monitor displaying the lyrics. "We were born, born to be wild. We can climb so high, I never wanna die."
Facing Peter, they slap a hand on the other's shoulder while belting out, "Born to be wild" dragging the line multiple syllables longer than supposed. Then they stick their microphones toward the audience, during which the short period of time they had been able to get everyone onto their feet to rock out with them and everyone shouts the line back to them.
Feeling exhilarated, Gabriel heads toward the bar while Peter makes a quick run to the restroom. Everyone is praising him on the great performance, despite being off key, and Gabriel finally reaches the bartender. Before he could order another round, Gabriel is interrupted yet again by a young man.
"Duuuuude!" The obviously intoxicated college student says. "That was one wicked performance, man! That has to be the best one yet!"
Gabriel chuckles and shakes the other man's offered hand, "Nothing like alcohol to loosen one's inhibitions."
"Yeah, dude!" But before Gabriel makes another attempt at getting the bartender's attention, the other man grabs his attention and points toward the direction his table is at. "You see that blonde chick over there?"
Gabriel looks over to where he is pointing at, and is disgruntled when he sees that Claire is the only blonde in that particular area. "Yes," he says, all humor gone. "What of her?"
"I so totally nailed her a few weeks back," the young drunk declares. "She was like a bunny in the sack if you get my drift. I saw her totally rocking it when you were on stage. I bet you could get her to go home with ya!"
"That's my girlfriend you're talking about," Gabriel says.
But the other man is completely oblivious to the threatening tone in Gabriel's voice, "Really? Sweet! How quick was she to put out?"
Gabriel sees red as he grabs the other man's collar and shoves him, roughly and noisily, to the nearby wall and telekinetically lifts him inches off the ground. Everyone in the immediate vicinity moves out of the way, which grabs the attention of Matt, Peter, and Claire. "It would be wise for you to refrain from using such vocabulary if you know what is good for you," Gabriel tells him, his voice low and deadly.
"Gabriel? Stop it, please," Claire's voice breaking through Gabriel's anger. "He's just a jerk, that's all."
Even though Gabriel complies, Matt and Peter are quick to distance him from the other man, the one and only Aaron Wilcher. "C'mon man," Matt says. "Let's get out of here."
There is an uncomfortable silence in the truck as Gabriel drives himself and Claire home. Claire takes hold of Gabriel's right hand and firmly grasps it within her own. He takes the hint and slings his arm around Claire's shoulders and she scoots closer to him. "I'm sorry about earlier," he apologizes, careful not to let his gaze wander off the road, letting his TK switch on the necessary turn signals, not wanting to take his hand off the wheel but not wanting to let Claire go.
"Don't be, he had it coming."
"That's not the point," Gabriel argues. "I ought to be more in control of my emotions. I don't want to hurt anybody, not anymore."
"Is that so, Mr. Spock?" Claire says. "You're in more control now than you ever were in the past. So what if you almost got into a bar fight. Who hasn't? It's ok to feel angry, just as much as it is to feel happy, or sad, or love."
Gabriel finally relents and smiles, "Thank you. For everything. I ought to give Angela a call, just so that she knows I appreciate her, too, since she was the first to give me a new chance."
They arrive at Claire's apartment, and at her door, Gabriel leans down to give Claire a light kiss. She opens the door and he follows her into the apartment, hooking his fingers to the belt loop on the back of Claire's pants. Her room mates, Tammy and Liz, are still awake, watching a re-run of CSI. "Hey you two," they greet.
"You got a package not too long ago," Tammy says to Claire. "I put it on your bed for you."
"Thanks," Claire says, leading Gabriel to her and Tammy's bedroom. Like Tammy said, a package is sitting on top her bed. Fumbling to peal off the tape, Gabriel takes the box from her.
"Here, I got it," he says, pointing at the box and slicing the tape on the top and sides. However, the item in the box is not what they expect.
"Oh, my god," Claire exclaims, taking the thing out of the box. "Is that what I think it is?"
Gabriel's expression is tight, "Yeah. It's from him."
Claire automatically drops the taxidermied rabbit and kicks it under her bed.
A/N: I hope you liked the light scene of the karaoke bar. I've had Born to be Wild stuck in my head. While I never followed American Idol, I was severely disappointed when Adam didn't win, as I had loved his rendition of Born to be Wild.
Until then, fare well and good night.