At the reception, they danced until Claire thought she would pass out.
Their first dance was to "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban, a song that Claire knew Peter despised.
But he took it all in stride, smiling and laughing. He did it for Claire, and she knew it. She would make it up to him on the honeymoon.
The higlight of the reception was when Hiro and Matt had a little too much to drink, and belted out there rendition of Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer".
Just when Claire thought her face would break from smiling for so many pictures, Peter tugged her towards the door. "Come on, let's get out of here."
She smiled up at him. "We can't leave all our guests. It would..." She stopped, breaking into an even wider grin. "It would really piss Angela off."
She grabbed Peter's hand, and their laughter echoed through the reception hall as they escaped.
They climbed into the waiting limo, that would take them to the airport and the waiting jet.
They were off to Hawaii for a week, and neither one of them could wait.
Claire awakened one morning four months later, and knew something was wrong. She looked around their bedroom.
Peter was sound asleep next to her, Otis, their two month old dachshund puppy, was curled up on a pillow on the floor, and the room was completely silent.
So then why am I awake?
As she moved to roll onto her side, a sharp pang shot through her stomach, and suddenly there was liquid rolling down her legs.
She sat straight up. "PETER!"
He sat up so fast, he hit his head on the headboard. "Claire? What is it?"
She was trembling. "My water broke."
Peter was off the bed and into his carefully laid-out clothes in a second.
He helped Claire change into her clothes, and helped her with her coat. "Stay here, I'm going to go pull the car around."
Claire listened to him running down the stairs, and leaned back against the pillows, breathing heavily.
She was still shaking. She was so scared!
She and Peter had been to all the parenting classes. They had learned how to breathe, how to make sure their clothes were all laid out, they had planned the quickest route to the hospital, and had all their family members on speed-dial.
She stood up carefully, and walked over to the desk, picking up her cell phone. Peter would need it to call their families. She put the phone in her overnight bag, which they had packed with everything she thought she might need.
Another contraction came, and she gripped the edge of the desk, grimacing in pain.
Peter slammed the front door of the house, and bounded up the stairs to their bedroom. "Car's out front, let's go."
He took Claire's bag, and helped her down the stairs, out the door, and into the car. It was freezing outside, and Claire saw that it had begun to snow.
Peter buckled her seatbelt for her, and closed the door, hopping into the driver's seat, and pulling away from the curb. Claire handed him the cell phone, and he dialed the first number on speed-dial; Nathan.
He picked up after two rings. "Hello?"
Peter narrowly avoided a yellow light. "Nathan, it's me. Claire's in labor."
He heard Nathan yelling for Heidi in the background. "Okay, Pete. We'll be at the hospital as soon as we can. Be careful, and good luck."
Peter continued calling the various people that needed to be called, including Claire's parents.
They were supposed to be in New York for the birth, but Claire wasn't due for another two months.
As Peter hung up with Noah Bennet, he shoved the phone into his pocket. "Your parents will be on the next flight they can get."
Claire nodded, grabbing his arm roughly as another contraction hit. Peter stepped on the accelerator, his heart aching for the pain his wife was enduring.
They pulled into the emergency entrance, and a nurse came rushing out with a wheelchair. "She'll be in the delivery room."
Peter nodded, rushing off to park the car.
Claire had been in labor for several hours, and they had had time to move her to a private birthing room.
Peter sat beside her, clutching her hand. Nathan was standing in the corner, Heidi at his side. Angela sat off to the side, sipping a cup of cafeteria coffee, and Nikki and D.L. stood in the doorway, little Micah asleep in a chair in the corner.
Claire gritted her teeth and gripped Peter's hand fiercely as another contraction ripped through her. "Why won't this baby come out already?!"
Peter chuckled, smoothing Claire's hair away from her face.
Angela tossed her empty coffee cup into the trash can. "I was in labor for eighteen hours with Peter."
Claire's eyes widened. "Eighteen hours?"
Peter shot his mother a look, and patted Claire's arm reassuringly. "I'm sure our baby won't take that long. Just relax, be patient."
Claire's eyes blazed as she turned to look at Peter. "YOU don't have a human being trying to push itself out of your private parts!"
Peter threw up his hands. "You're right, I don't. Tell me what I can do."
Claire sighed, leaning back against the pillows. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. Just…just be here, okay?"
He nodded, squeezing her hand.
Heidi wheeled forward. "Claire, would you like some water or some ice chips?"
Claire smiled gratefully at her sister-in-law. "That would be great."
Nathan smiled at Claire, and followed his wife out of the room.
A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door, and Claire's parents entered the room, Lyle following behind them.
Mrs. Bennet rushed to Claire's side, enveloping her daughter in a warm hug. "Oh, Claire! Are you okay?"
Claire nodded, smiling weakly. "Yeah. This baby has its dad's stubbornness, though. Doesn't seem to want to come out."
Mrs. Bennet pulled back, and turned to face the dark-haired man sitting next to her daughter. "You're Peter?"
He nodded, extending his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."
She studied her daughter's husband. He was very handsome. His hair was longer than his brother's, and fell in his eyes as he turned to look at Claire. He was much older than she had expected, but his eyes were kind, and he looked at her daughter more lovingly than she'd ever seen one person look at another.
She patted Claire's hand, and moved aside so Lyle could see his sister.
Peter watched Claire's face light up when she saw her brother, and he smiled. Claire had spoken a great deal about her family, and he knew how much she loved her little brother.
Lyle shook his head, a silly grin on his face. "God, Claire. You're away less than a year, and you're married and knocked up?"
Claire punched her brother lightly on the shoulder, and then grimaced again, another contraction ruining their otherwise joyous reunion.
It had taken a lot for Claire to agree to her family being included in the birth of their child. She had told Peter a few weeks after the wedding that she regretted not inviting them to their nuptials, and wanted them to be included in the life of their grandchild, and in Lyle's case, nephew. While there were still some issues to be worked out between Claire and her father, they had taken one major step towards burying the hatchet.
The doctor entered the room, and came to check on Claire's progress.
Her family members moved to the side to give her some privacy, and Claire clutched Peter's hand, leaning over to whisper in his ear. "I'll never get used to people looking at my vagina."
Peter laughed out loud, causing the doctor to look up from his examination, and Peter bit his lip "Sorry."
The doctor stood, and removed his gloves, throwing them in the medical waste bin. "Mrs. Petrelli, I think you're ready to start pushing."
Claire trembled, and she nodded. "I'm ready."
"Are you ready to push again, Claire? One more time should do it." The doctor motioned for the nurse to prepare.
"NO!" Claire screamed.
Peter squeezed his wife's hand. "Come on, Claire. You can do this!"
Claire looked up at her husband, tears trickling down her cheeks and nodded.
Peter was suddenly struck by how young she still was. Her lower lip was trembling, and she looked very much like a child.
He dropped a kiss onto her mouth. "You can do this." he repeated.
She squeezed his hand hard enough to break a bone, and bit down on her lip until it bled, pushing as hard as she could.
A shrill scream echoed through the room, and the doctor broke into a wide grin. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Petrelli. You have a beautiful baby boy."
Claire collapsed back against the pillows, panting heavily. Peter smoothed her hair away from her face, and kissed her forehead. "I love you so much, I'm so proud of you!"
He walked over to where the nurse was cleaning the baby off, and smiled down at his new son. The nurse wrapped him in a fuzzy blue blanket, and handed him to Peter.
Claire strained to sit up. "Is he okay? All his fingers, all his toes, everything there?"
Peter nodded. "He's perfect."
He carried the precious bundle over to Claire, and she took their son into her arms. Her eyes filled with tears, and she leaned down to kiss his chubby little hands. "Perfect indeed."
Peter kissed his wife softly on the mouth, and then bent down and kissed their son. "I'm going to go tell everyone. I'll be back soon, little man."
He directed the last part to his son, and bounded out of the room to find their family members.
Another chapter for you to read? Why, of course there is!