It had been two months since Peter and Sylar had come back to the cozy Manhattan flat they called home. The Company was pleased to note that Sylar was still without powers and didn't appear to be at risk of developing any more in the near future. He did however seem to be growing at quite a rate which fascinated the scientists to no end and annoyed Sylar greatly.

In the course of the four months he'd been in Peter's custody, he had grown from around the age of seven to what the doctors predicted to be about nine. A year for every two months. At this rate, Sylar would be back to his normal age within a few years time, and that pleased both he and Peter.

Peter had been bringing Sylar along on his jobs, but it was becoming increasingly difficult for the two to spend so much time in the same vicinity even though they did like each other.

Thankfully Noah had called him the other night to ask his opinion on Claire helping him watch Sylar. It came as a pleasant surprise as Peter didn't want just anyone watching Sylar for obvious reasons, but Claire, Claire he could definitely approve of. She would be coming over at the start of the new week, only two days from now.

The day before...

Noah rubbed his temples fighting back a headache. Claire had been nagging him for the past month about 'pulling her weight' since she had an ability and felt the need to 'protect' the common folk.

He sighed opening his eyes once more to focus on a very irate Claire as he said, "Claire Bear, it's just not safe enough for you to be trying to go after these people by yourself. It's dangerous, and you need to concentrate on going to school. Being invincible isn't going to get you an education!"

Claire rolled her eyes when her dad mentioned school for the umpteenth time, deciding to ignore that bit and instead dove into the part of the fight she knew she could win.

"Not safe enough?!" She paused, looking at her father as though he'd lost his mind in hopes of really driving her point home. "I can't be hurt, and I'm Not going to sit here pretending to be normal while other people get hurt! What's gonna happen to me that hasn't already happened...or almost happened?"

Noah frowned as he leaned against his desk; he happened to glance at his appointment calendar and reading that Sylar was scheduled for another checkup today sent his mind in motion. He looked back at Claire eyebrow raised in concern as he said in all seriousness, "I'm sure I have a job for you if you are comfortable with taking it. I know Peter has talked to you already about having Sylar in his custody. Now, I've noticed the last few visits I've made that the two have been getting a tad prickly around each other. What would you say to giving him a hand after school with keeping an eye on Sylar? Sort of like a prison guard. I'm sure there's no one else in the world Peter would rather have helping him deal with Sylar then someone like you who he can trust. What do you say? Is that dangerous enough?"

Claire stood shocked at what her father was suggesting. She knew Sylar didn't have his powers, and was in the body of a child, but the fact that this job was being offered to her confused her. With the way the conversation had been going before, her father certainly didn't trust her with anything dangerous. So, what did this mean he thought about Sylar?

"Prison guard, huh?" She couldn't hold back the grin at those words, and instead shot Noah a big smile. "I think I can handle that. It'd be nice to see more of Peter anyway; maybe I can stay sometimes for dinner when he gets home." Claire felt her mood change in an instant happy at the thought of helping her uncle and curious to see this new Sylar.

Noah let his frown fade realizing Claire was more than willing to take on the challenge of watching Sylar. He responded, "Now this isn't official yet; I still need to confirm with Peter to find out what his opinion is on this whole thing, but I have a good feeling that Peter will be more than happy with a little break."

Seeing that Claire seemed more than thrilled to take the job Noah emphasized, "I want you to know Claire, just because Sylar is in the body of a child doesn't make him one. His mind is still that of an adult which makes him quite dangerous still, so don't let your guard down around him for one second. Are we clear?"

"We're clear," she giggled, giving Noah a hug. Peter didn't tell me Sylar had his adult mind. Claire stopped to think that over for a moment. "That had to be a blow to Sylar's big ego...serves him right!"

Claire was certain that Peter would let her watch Sylar, but she was feeling the slightest tinge of doubt after learning that Sylar still had his adult mind. Curious about why her father would let her watch him, she asked, "How many people has he attacked since he ....well, became a kid again?"

Noah's brow furrowed at Claire's question as he answered, "None so far, and as far as Peter is concerned he genuinely wants to change. I would like to believe nothing more, but I think Peter's perception may be clouded by his own ideology hence why I want you to take a step into that role. I know that he attacked you previously, so you are more likely to see through any façade by spending enough time around him. Think of this as a covert spy mission."

Claire thought about what her father wanted. On one hand, she wanted to doom Sylar, to find that he was still evil and to see him locked away for good. On the other - and more strongly - she trusted her uncle, and felt that if Peter saw something worthwhile in Sylar, that she probably would too. The idea of spying on her uncle bothered her, and she wasn't about to fall into the deceitful ways of her father. "If I see that Sylar is still dangerous, you and Peter will be the first ones to know."

Noah gave her a small smile knowing his daughter well. He pushed off the desk coming to her side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders giving her a loving squeeze as he responded, "I have no doubt that you'll be nothing if not fair Claire. Why do you think I suggested it to you?"

Claire hugged back and smiled up at her father, a hint of amusement on her face as she said, "So that I don't find my own trouble to get into." Letting go from the hug and walking to the door, she looked back at her father and smiled again before leaving the room.

A few days later the details of Claire's new job were ironed out, and she was set to start the following Monday. That Monday during her classes, her mind kept wandering to what she'd encounter at her uncle's apartment. Butterflies danced in her stomach while feelings of nervousness and excitement battled inside her. Soon the last bell of the school day rang, and she was off to start her new job. Almost on auto pilot, Claire found herself suddenly standing at the door to her uncle's apartment. Taking a calming breath, she knocked and waited.

Sylar's ears pricked at the sound of Claire knocking. He had been sitting on the couch for the past hour reading, or trying to read. Peter was silently getting ready for work as he had worked out an arrangement to work nights from 4PM to midnight to give the both of them a break from each other. Sylar had thought this was a perfectly fine idea as Peter had started the conversation off as it being an exercise of trust, but his opinion soon changed when he learned that that did not mean him staying by himself but rather having Claire come by to 'babysit' him after school Monday through Thursday while Peter went to work.

The notion of having a teenager babysitting him was absurd to Sylar, and he had let Peter know it in a heated argument that had ended up with him getting sent to bed early with a threat of a spanking if he persisted to argue the fact. It was settled, and the choice to have Claire come by was not open for debate which only miffed Sylar more.

That was Friday following Thursday night after Peter had spoke with Noah and set a schedule up with his work Friday morning. Now it was 3:22PM Monday afternoon.

Peter emerged from the bedroom after the third knock looking down at Sylar with slight agitation as he asked, "I know you heard Claire knocking on the door Gabriel; am I going to need to stay home?"

Sylar didn't look at Peter merely rolling his eyes in annoyance before responding in a low grumble, "No. I just figured you'd want to talk to her first." This of course was a lie as Sylar just didn't want to have to talk to Claire under the circumstance that he was already told that what she said would be what he was expected to do. The thought alone irritated him, and so he had made up his mind that he would just not speak to the girl at all unless it was under his terms. A sad display of control, but it was all he really had.

Peter sighed deeply shaking his head as he treaded across the living room to open the door. He smiled at Claire opening the door wide for her to come in as he apologized, "Sorry, I was in the other room putting my scrubs on, and Gabriel was being too rude to answer the door."

Sylar's eyebrows furrowed in anger as he brought the book up closer to his face to further solidify his disgruntlement.

Claire's smile faded at Peter's revelation. "Oh," she looked over at Sylar sitting on the couch, his little face glaring angrily into his book in a sad attempt to ignore her arrival, "That's ok." She should have expected that Sylar would react this way, but from what Peter had told her of his progress, she had honestly expected a warm greeting and maybe - just maybe - even an apologetic demeanor. Clearly she had been wrong.

Seeing Sylar in his present state at the age of about nine was jarring. Claire couldn't stop looking him over. With as terrifying as he had been as an adult, he did make for an adorable child with his big brown eyes and tiny dimpled hands. The fact that he was pouting while reading such an adult looking book only made him look that much more endearing, and Claire had to remind herself that this was indeed the egotistical serial killer Sylar, and that grinning at him when he was obviously quite cranky would likely not be the best way to be reintroduced.

Wanting to try and get things off to a positive start, she thought that defending him would help him warm up to her, "A lot of people get lost in a good story. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it." She stood just inside the doorway, looking at him in hopes that he'd finally acknowledge her presence so that some of the tension would leave the air.

Sylar's eyes softened feeling bad that he had been acting so abhorrently. It wasn't Claire's fault that she had been sent over, and maybe this could be a lot of fun to have her around. A new person to talk to would be thrilling in itself. He turned his dark chocolate eyes away from his book and let them drift up at her giving her a half smile and a small wave still slightly embarrassed from the way their meeting had started off.

Peter was pleased that the two seemed like they might actually get along, but seeing there might be a potential problem with Sylar's attitude; he wanted to be sure that Claire would know how to handle him if the need arose. He laid a hand on her shoulder looking down imploringly as he said, "Can you follow me for a minute? There are a few things I want to go over with you before I head out."

Before the shock of Sylar's turnaround could fully register, Claire couldn't help from smiling back at the little guy, giving both a small giggle and a little wave of her own. He looked truly embarrassed with himself, and she couldn't help but feel a small tug on her heart as she realized how hard it was to stay mad at someone in a child's body.

She followed Peter's lead, following him into another room when prompted, still thinking about how strange the situation was and amazed at the seemingly 180 Sylar's personality seemed to have taken under Peter's stead. Brought back to reality when Peter abruptly stopped and turned to face her in a room not within Sylar's earshot, Claire finally responded to Peter's question, "What's up?"

Peter's eyes shot back to the door to see Sylar looking curiously in their direction. Once he saw Peter looking back at him, he turned his attention back to his book irritated that he was obviously being discussed while purposely being left out of the conversation. Peter sighed using his telekinesis to shut the door. He took a seat on his bed and patted the bed beside him.

Claire followed suit sitting next to him, and when she had turned her attention fully on to Peter, he began in earnest, "I know that this whole situation is a bit odd, and I also know that you might face some interesting complications dealing with Gabriel. I'll have my cell phone on me at all times, but if for some reason you can't reach me if something happens, Nathan should be the next one you call, and if you can't reach him, Matt's number is on the side of the fridge, and if all else fails, you can call your father. I trust you whole heartedly, and I don't think you should have any problems that you can't handle, but I know Gabriel can be a little pushy and will test your limits to see what he can get away with. He's already been told that you are in charge, and what you say goes. That means that if he gives you a hard time, you can send him to bed early, put him in a time out, and if he's particularly unruly, you have my permission to spank him. Also, his bed time is 10PM; don't let him tell you any different. Other than that, there are groceries in the fridge and cabinets, and if you don't feel like cooking dinner, there's a twenty on the counter that you can order pizza with. Do you have any questions for me before I head out?"

"Wait ...I have your permission to...to spank him?" Claire asked quietly with an embarrassed grin, when Peter only nodded she blurted "...Peter, he's not really a child! He's Older than ME – by a lot! I don't know if this is right. Is this what you've been doing with him?!" In the pause before Peter responded, Claire had to admit to herself that whatever Peter had been doing did indeed seem to be working for the best, and that all of the punishments he had mentioned were much better than what her father and The Company would do. They were a child's punishments, learning punishments, and Claire mused for a moment that Sylar had probably already earned himself a lifetime of spankings. But no, she would be fair, especially when she remembered his big sad eyes and shame filled grin just moments before. She already felt hope there, probably the same hope that Peter felt. Realizing that Peter was simply watching her instead of replying, she asked again, "Is it?"

Peter gave her a smirk answering, "Is it really that hard to believe? I had to rein him in somehow, and to be honest, the first time it happened was more of an accident than it was planned. But that doesn't really matter, what does matter is that it works for him. Gabriel needed guidance and to know that someone could care about him enough to not let him continue down the path he had made for himself. Now I don't want you to think you have to spank him, and I really hope alternative measures can be used, but if it does come down to it then I don't want you to feel like you have to put up with bad behavior."

"Alright, I can see how all of this could work, and it is about what works for him. It's just...strange is all, but I can handle it. Too bad we didn't think of it before he'd gotten all powerful," she smirked back at her uncle before sighing, "Well, hopefully it won't come to that. I should call him Gabriel, shouldn't I? That's what you call him. Dad still calls him Sylar at home."

Peter frowned as he said, "Your dad still doesn't want to believe Gabriel isn't Sylar anymore. But to answer your question, yes, please call him Gabriel. He doesn't need to be reminded of his past mistakes. We have worked really hard to move past that. If he brings it up to you, feel free to talk about it, but otherwise try not to reference how he was before okay?"

"Dad always sees the worst in people; I'm not sure if it's his job at the Company or if he's just that way. It's sad. Don't worry, I won't bring up Gabriel's past to him, and I'll try really hard to remember to call him Gabriel instead of Sylar. It shouldn't be too hard since he looks so different now."

Peter put his hand over Claire's giving it a gentle squeeze as he responded, "I trust you will look past everything he's done in his past to give him a clean start with you. If I didn't think you could, I wouldn't have accepted your dad's offer." Peter glance at the clock, and it read 3:41PM. He let out a sigh, "I have to get going; are you sure you're going to be alright?"

Claire gave him a goofy smile and took a deep breath, "I'll be fine. You don't need to worry Peter, Gabriel and I might even have some fun while you're gone."

Peter laughed, "I'm sure you will." He leaned over and gave her a hug before continuing, "Alright then, I guess I'll get heading over to Mrs. Lander's house." He rose from the bed and opened the door.

Sylar immediately covered his face with his book. He had heard the laughter coming from the bedroom, and it prickled a new wave of agitation through him as his bad mood was replaced once more.

Peter mussed his hair on the way out as he said jokingly, "Try not to cause Claire to much grief tonight okay?"

Sylar merely growled out a, "Hrmm."

Peter lifted an eyebrow at Claire before turning to leave remarking on his way out, "He's all yours Claire."

Claire, already noting the growl from the obviously still temperamental Sylar, raised her eyebrows and huffed at Peter in response, thinking 'gee, thanks – that's a great way to get us started, Peter.'