Author's Note: Apparently, it's been a month. I'm so sorry, but I literally hated everything I wrote. And since this is the last chapter (other than an epilogue) it was harder to let things slide.
--
--
Chapter 48
Elle and Sylar had gotten a general idea of where their conversation would go, but they felt that it was best (and less work) to come up with the words and details in the moment. That way, what they said would not sound canned or rehearsed. Finally, Elle felt that they had dragged it out long enough, and she was able to give in to him. "Okay, I might be crazy, but I think we should try it."
The second Elle said those words, Sylar gestured to the bedroom and said "Pack quickly."
Elle had already resigned herself to the fact that she was going to have to leave most of her stuff behind, but she had underestimated how difficult that would be. Even though everything was new, those things had still become a part of her home and her life. As she swept toiletries into a bag, Elle paused to consider the option of ripping down her shower curtain and taking it with them. She wanted to have just one piece of furnishing or decoration from this place. It was her first real home as an adult, the place where she discovered she was pregnant, and the place where Sylar assured the baby and her that they would be a family. It was not as easy to walk away as she thought.
Sylar came in to find her struggling with the hooks on the shower curtain. "Leave it."
It would take too long to explain about the apartment and how a shower curtain was smaller than furniture and less breakable than a lamp, so she just said, "No. You get this down, and I'll finish packing."
They needed to give Nathan a believable timeline, so Elle had not pre-packed, but in the time between coming home and staging the conversation with Sylar, she had gotten a headstart by laying out the clothes she wanted to take. It did not take her long now to gather them up and stuff them in the open suitcases. "There's room left in here for it if you fold it," she called to Sylar.
Sylar brought in the curtain, half-folded, half-wadded up, with the hooks still attached. Instead of commenting on his folding skills, Elle stuffed it down as best she could and sat on the suitcase to make it zip. She sighed because the packing was done and it was time to leave.
--
Driving her car, Sylar set out west. He would not tell her where they were going, only that he had already taken care of renting a place to live. He drove all night, and Elle fell asleep halfway through Pennsylvania. When she woke up in the morning, they were parked in the driveway of a modest house in a nice neighborhood. She stretched and looked around to try to figure out where they were, but based on the scenery, they could have been anywhere in the country.
Sylar was in back of the car, pulling her luggage out of the trunk. He came around to see that she was awake and opened her door for her. "Welcome to your new home."
Elle stepped out of the car and looked around some more. "And just where are we?"
He put his arm around her, treating her like she was much more pregnant than she actually was, and guided her into the house, leaving the luggage in the driveway. "We are in a quiet town just north of Cincinnati."
Elle smiled. He had taken her back to Ohio. Before going to the company, she had grown up in the suburbs of Cincinnati. She did not say anything about that now because she assumed Sylar already knew, even though she had never talked about her childhood with that level of specificity.
She walked through the sparsely furnished house. It was a three bedroom, two bath with a slightly outdated kitchen. Elle thought it was perfect. "When did you buy this?" she asked Sylar as he brought in the luggage.
He closed the door behind him gently. "Actually, I didn't. It's a rental. This return to Ohio may end up being more symbolic than anything else. I don't really know how much effort Nathan is going to put into tracking us down once he finds out that Peter is not going to help him... deal with me. Then we will find out how deep into hiding we need to go. Right now, we're not very deep. I'm going to change the tags on your car, but other than that, we're going to try the lightest cover we can get away with. Because there is going to be a child involved and they are not known for their ability to keep secrets."
There was a lot more explanation in that than Elle needed just then. She got the feeling that he was worried he may have misled her about Ohio, but it was really symbolic for her too. She had no real attachment to the state anymore. "Okay," she said with a smile. "When did you rent this though?"
"Oh." He looked a little relieved. He sent the bags on to the bedroom telekinetically. "After I left Texas, while I was learning Russian. I was pretty confident at that point that you would be running away with me."
"Well, it's great, and I love it." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
He smiled back at her. "I'm going to go set up that shower curtain you were so insistent on having."
Elle was going to follow Sylar back to the bedroom, maybe try out the new bed, but there was a knock on the door. She went over to answer it and found a plump, middle-aged woman carrying a basket of muffins.
"Hi," the woman said with a bright smile. "I'm Karen Masterson from next door, the house on the left. I saw your car in the driveway, and I wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood." She held out the muffins to Elle.
Elle was just a little taken aback. This kind of thing had not happened when she moved into her apartment in Hartsdale,. She juggled the muffins in her arms and held out her hand. "Thanks, I'm Elle."
Karen did not shake Elle's hand but clasped it between hers. "Oh, I know. I met your husband a couple days ago when he was setting up the place. You are going to love it here; it's a great place to raise a family." Karen gave a small nod at Elle's stomach to signify that she knew about the pregnancy. "There'll be lots of kids for your little one to play with, and we have great schools, and there's a very nice park just down the street."
Elle was still a bit overwhelmed by this woman. "Well, we're not really sure if--"
Karen dropped Elle's hand and waved her own. "I know this transfer is just temporary for now, but Gabriel said there might be a permanent position opening up for him at the company."
Elle was glad that Karen had interrupted her because she would not have wanted to contradict the tale Gabriel had weaved for this woman. Karen seemed like she really wanted them to stay even though she hardly knew them. Somehow, she managed to do this in a friendly, non-creepy way. Elle just nodded now. "Right. It sounds like you're up to speed." She did not know what else she was supposed to say.
Karen looked behind Elle and waved. Elle looked back to see Sylar. "Hi, I brought muffins, and now I am going to leave you two to get settled in your new home." Karen looked back at Elle. "You are going to love Ohio."
Sylar and Karen waved and said goodbye to each other, but Elle was a little too stunned by Karen to say anything before Karen was halfway down the driveway. She called out, "Thanks again for the muffins," and closed the door. "Wow."
"Yeah," Sylar took a muffin from the basket. "You can't beat that Midwestern hospitality."
Elle set them precariously on the couch. "So you're telling everyone that we're married now?"
Sylar swallowed what he was eating and said, "Yeah. I know that I never actually proposed. Sorry." He held up a finger and went into the bedroom. He came out carrying a ring box and sank to one knee. "Elle, right before I met you, my life took a crazy, violent turn. And then you came into my life, and you were a bright spot in an otherwise dark time. And when I lost you, I went deeper into that horrible life. I did things that I never thought you would be able to forgive me for. Just the fact that you are still here with me is a miracle, and I don't want to lose you again." He opened the box. "Will you marry me?"
Elle put her hand over her mouth. She knew that he was painting over their early relationship and making it sound like something it wasn't, but that just made the proposal better. When he put that fake ring on her finger for his father's sake, she had thought about the kind of proposal she wanted, but she had never realistically expected roses or violins. She decided that all she needed was for him to say the words and give her a real ring. A speech like this was not Sylar at all, and Elle really appreciated the effort he was putting into making it romantic, especially when there was no chance she would say no. "Yes," she breathed.
He slipped the engagement ring onto her finger and stood. "Now, I was thinking that since neither of us have any family or friends, there's really no need to have a ceremony, because we have no one to invite."
He was right about that, and it made Elle sad. "Okay, so what do you want to do? Go to city hall and..." She trailed off. That sounded so depressing.
Sylar shook his head. "I don't see any reason to involve a judge. I think we should just have a quiet, private ceremony right here, right now." He took her hands in his. "Elle Bishop, do you take me, Gabriel Gray, to be your not quite lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health..." He seemed unsure of the words and skipped to the end. "Til death do us part?"
This seemed slightly wrong, but on the other hand, neither of them really lived within the bounds of the law anyway. It did seem more appropriate to do this here than with people they did not even know. "I do. Do you, Gabriel Gray, take me, Elle Bishop, to be your law—not so lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health..." She knew what came next, but she was not sure whether it was fair to make him vow to more than she had. Of course, Sylar would never get sick anyway. She pressed on. "...for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, as long as we both shall live?"
It looked like he was really thinking about what she had asked. After a second, he responded, "I do."
Elle took a step closer. "Well, then you may kiss the bride."
"Wait." He held up his left hand to keep her from kissing him, and with his right, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two gold bands. "First, we have to exchange the rings."
Any lingering misgivings she had about this "ceremony" left Elle when she saw that he had procured wedding rings, that he had actually planned this. She took the larger ring from his hand and slid it onto his ring finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."
With the remaining ring, Sylar reciprocated. Then he put his arms around her, pulling her close. "Now I can kiss the bride."
--
--
Author's Note: I want to thank everyone who read and/or reviewed. (Hopefully everyone who reviewed read it too.) Everyone has been really great and made this a very rewarding experience. There is still an epilogue, but it may be another month before that happens because I'm going on vacation for the next couple weeks. Which is why this chapter had to happen now or you would have had to wait forever for one measly chapter. The epilogue will be a collection of scenes from the future, so if there is something you want to know, feel free to ask. (If I don't answer it there, I'll respond one on one.)
