(24) Reunion

Nehemiah parked the car & got out. Tirzah stood holding her door open as both looked around. It was strange being in Jerusalem. There hadn't been an attack in the city since Sylar had sent what he found to the Prime Minister. The rubble was gone. The city was being rebuilt, but more importantly, staying rebuilt. They had come to Jerusalem on their own, leaving Sylar's Kabbalah group behind to look after him in case he snapped. Nehemiah felt he didn't need their help any more as he had a pretty good idea where his son had gone off to the moment he heard Jason was in Jerusalem.

"It's almost time," Nehemiah waited for his wife to close her door before locking the car. "I'll meet you at the shop by the corner." He pointed towards it.

"Are you sure he'll be there?"

"I know why he came here," Nehemiah said as they started walking down the street.

"I wish I could help you."

"I'll get him, don't worry," Nehemiah assured as Tirzah turned into the shop. He watched her through the window for a moment, then headed down to one of the most holiest sites in the city, the Wailing Wall. He stood before it for a while, paying his own respects. Slowly he moved sideways through the praying crowds, working his way towards a group of younger men. Sure enough, he spotted Jason among five or six others. He waited for them to finish one prayer, then grabbed Jason by the collar. "Gotcha!" He hissed.

Jason jumped & glanced around. "In the middle of prayers, father?" He angrily whispered back.

"How else am I supposed to catch you?" Nehemiah returned. "Now hurry up & finish!" He added in a more pleasant voice. "I'll join you." Jason just stood there, glaring at the Wall, hating on everybody. "Well?" Nehemiah prompted oh-so-sweetly. "Let's finish, since we're here."

Other Jews were casting them some looks now. Jason put one hand on his face for a moment, slightly embarrassed. He all but yanked his own Torah out & focused on that, ignoring his father. They finished the prayers together; though, Nehemiah's hand never lost its grip. All too soon, Jason felt himself being steered back towards the car.

Tirzah came out to meet them as they passed the shop. She snatched Jason in her arms, glad he was found safe. "Oh you stupid boy!" She all but wept over him. "What did you think you were doing? Are you alright?"

Jason shot a dark look at his father, who silently returned it. "Not one bit!" Jason growled through gritted teeth.

Nehemiah leaned close. "Get! In! The back!" He vehemently ordered. It was a silent drive out of the city. Nehemiah didn't even bother to ask Jason what hotel he had been using to go get his bag. Now that he had his son trapped in the car, it would be a long non-stop drive home.

"Who told you?" Jason asked after almost forty-five minutes. "Was it Noah? Did he really?"

"Not by choice," Tirzah answered. "Gabriel let your father listen in on that conversation."

"'Course he did," Jason scoffed. "You DO know what he is, right?"

"I know what he was," Nehemiah corrected. "You should be grateful Jason! We all got lucky you didn't set him off!"

"I've got to get Noah out of there."

"You've got to stay the hell away from that boy!" Nehemiah snapped. "It was Gabriel's place to tell him of his screwed up power. Not yours!"

"Then why didn't he?" Jason demanded.

"He was going to when Noah turned eighteen. He had the whole thing perfectly planned!" Nehemiah coldly answered. "Noah should have heard it from his father! Just shut up & wait until we get home. I swear to G-d you won't be able to sit for a week when I'm through with you."

"Nehemiah," Tirzah tried to calm him down. He merely put a hand up to shush her. The rest of the drive home was an oppressing silence among the three of them.

It was late afternoon by the time they got home. Tirzah got out & went to unlock the door of the house. Nehemiah went around the car to the side Jason was on & opened the door. "Well get out," He ordered after more than a minute had gone by. Jason rolled his eyes & slithered out. Nehemiah pulled him aside & gave his son a hard earned punishment before pointing him to the house. Not saying anything, Jason followed after his mother who was still waiting on the porch. Once inside, Nehemiah grabbed Jason & dragged him into the living room. A tall black man was standing there. Nehemiah shoved Jason onto the couch. "I assume you know the terms concerning Noah?" Jason nodded mutely. "ANSWER ME!"

Jason angrily shot back, "I can't see him until he turns nineteen. Can't speak to him in class or call him or even write him a note."

"That's right," Nehemiah pointed at the Haitian, silently waiting nearby. "If either one of you screw that up, you know what this man can do to you, understand?"

"He'll wipe my memory of Noah."

"Good, good," Nehemiah straightened up. "Don't even think about trying to sneak off with him either. Gabriel has ordered basically his entire group to watch you both so closely, you'll feel like you're under a microscope! I'm glad you found out about Sylar. Maybe you'll understand how dangerous it would be to disobey again, you hear me?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Good! Now you go to your room & stay there!" Nehemiah wrenched Jason off the couch & threw him towards the stairs. "Go on! Up you get! Don't even think about trying anything. I mean it, literally! Gabriel's got some telepaths working for him!" Jason fled to his room without another word, but he did slam the door so hard it bounced right open again, smacking him hard on his backside in a twisted cruel irony. He closed it more carefully before tossing himself onto the bed to glare at the ceiling.

It was a very bleak New Year. The holidays had come to a screeching halt for Noah. His last Christmas was the most horrible one the planet had ever seen. It was so bad that Noah seriously considered not converting this year just to have a well-needed do-over. But did he really want to try it again with that man he called father?

An uncomfortable silence had come between them. Though Noah & Sylar still shared the same house, they barely spoke to each other & made it a point to avoid each other. Noah mostly stayed in his empty room. The only time he was with his father was on a rare occasion they'd share a meal together. They barely spoke, keeping it short & civil when they did. The next Sabbath came & went unnoticed in the Gray home for the first time since Noah could light a candle. The tapers stood cold & dark that night, imitating the bleak mood in the house.

Both knew that this was actually the easy part. Once Noah went back to school, he would have a much harder time keeping up his end of the deal. He currently shared only one class with Jason each day due to being a Grade ahead. But that would drastically change in a few short months. Summer would be better as Noah would still be stuck in school. But in the fall, they would share almost every class & be in the military together. They all knew what was at stake if they failed.

Noah got into his new car on the first day back to school. Sylar came into the garage with him & leaned into the window a bit. "If anything happens," Sylar began. "Believe me, I'll know."

Noah nodded before backing out. He knew he would be watched. He didn't know how well until that first day. His father wasn't kidding when he once told Noah he had stuck the whole damn group on him. Noah recognized several faces, from Jessica & Merida to Raphael & just about everyone else, all milling about in the school's hallways & classrooms, eyeing either him or Jason. Even Yacov was there. He had yet to set himself up with a new group & in the meantime, he had kept it friendly with Sylar even though not officially part of the group.

The hardest one was the shared class. It seemed even the teachers were in on it. Their positions had been changed. Jason was now at the back in the corner farthest from the door whereas Noah was up in front. There was no excuse to not being able to leave well before those in the back would so they couldn't even catch each other in the doorway.

The worst for either of them however, was not the fact they had to stay separate. During any recess, other friends soon noticed something was wrong. Both tried to say something without really telling anyone anything, feeling too guilty to talk about what they had done. It was a long hard day that would turn into a long hard week, then a month & eventually become more than a year.

Noah was soon called back to the base for some more training in the afternoons & over the weekends. Wondering what was in store for him, he slowly wandered into the office.

"So the wayward son has returned," Commander Tohar said the moment Noah entered the door. "I had a very long, very interesting talk with your father a while back."

"I know," Noah sat down. He put a paper on the desk between them.

Tohar looked it over. "You can't resign. You have to serve at least two years."

"I thought you might want to make an exception in my case."

"No."

"Do you know who my father is?"

"Gabriel Gray."

"No Sir, I mean do you know who my father is?"

"I'm well aware of Sylar."

"I'm his son. You still want me here?"

"You aren't Sylar," Tohar pointed out. "As for your father, that is a life long since past." He ripped the form in two & put it aside. "You are one of the best snipers I've had & you're just starting. Don't throw it all away." Noah nodded silently as Tohar went on. "But at the same time, don't think you can get out of accepting the consequences of your actions. Now, I have little to do with whatever stunt you pulled at school but your father, on the other hand, wants me to keep you really busy & I'm not supposed to allow Jason Gatineau any where near you either. Am I right?"

"Yes Sir. Not until I'm nineteen."

"I'm well aware of the terms," Tohar replied. "Normally I couldn't care less what goes on beyond my base with you young recruits, off duty at that, but as you say, you are the son of Sylar. So here's me, making an exception of you. This is a delicate matter. I can't have him set loose on my own country! I'm trying to save Israel if you don't mind. So, you will be doing double duty. You will also remain in the lowest rank possible for the next two years. On top of it all, you'll be picking up some other jobs along the way. You can start by cleaning the convey of military vehicles that have returned earlier today. They're a mess & there's a lot but I still expect you up at four tomorrow morning. Is that understood?"

"Yes Sir," Noah got up.

"You keep up your end of this deal your Dad made, you'll turn into a fine sniper some day," Tohar stood up as well. "I mean you better be what with all this extra training you'll be doing. Dismissed."

It was a lot of work & being up that early in the morning made Noah crankier than a baby with colic whether he slept well or not. He just didn't do mornings! But being on the base was better than at home right now. Noah was still trying to come to terms with what his father had done. They were barely speaking anyway. Noah was better off in the military. He did get better at shooting but it wasn't due to the double lessons. Noah was letting his frustration take over & he envisioned any target he aimed at as another one of his problems & shot the hell out of it. He was quick & dead center every time. It impressed Commander Tohar enough to want to send him out with the rest of the unit for a real mission close to home, but the deal was to keep Noah occupied, not give him ranks. The first offers of promotions passed him by & while his military friends went out for the first time, Noah stayed behind & focused on target practice he really didn't need. He hit every mark in record time.

In two weeks, Noah had gone home once for a short visit. He & Jason had developed a silent routine of dodging each other in school as well. Neither even dared to watch the other walking away for they were closely watched & René was always just around the corner. Working their routes around school was easy since it was predictable. Randomly running into each other in the city was a whole lot harder. Noah had once walked into a store only to see Jason there. He wanted to run to him but his father was also there. Sylar was turned away & had yet to notice but it wasn't worth the risk. Noah cast a fleeting look at Jason before spinning around & running out. For the first time in his life, Noah couldn't wait for summer to start for the simple fact that he would be rid of Jason for six weeks when he went to visit his extended family in America & Canada. It would be so much easier to not have him around than to be forced to stay away from him like this!

As the base was closed for a special event that weekend, Noah went home for the second time. He was in the living room, spread out on the floor with homework that he knew would be useless to him since he wasn't graduating this year after all, but he still had to do it anyway, when Sylar returned from the Kabbalah.

Sylar leaned on the entrance way, looking in. "Shame that all goes to waste."

"Rub it in, why don't you?" Noah muttered, turning a page.

Sylar moved to the couch & sat down. "You know, even though it isn't worth any credit right now, it might still help you later. Since you have to redo it all, you might remember any mistakes you made & get even higher marks next year that will be worth it."

"It's the only reason I'm doing it," said Noah.

"Is it now?" Sylar leaned back. "I thought you were doing it to get Jason back."

"That too," Noah didn't bother to argue the point further.

Sylar scoffed softly. Noah ignored him, focusing on his schoolwork. He only looked up when the doorbell rang. Sylar got up to get it. Noah went back to work but was pleasantly interrupted a few minutes later.

Sylar opened the door, expecting either Yacov or someone from his group. He stared at her. "Claire?" He hissed under breath. "What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay away!"

"Believe me, it isn't easy for me to come back here."

"Then why did you?"

Claire crouched down & picked something up. "Here. Take him back!" Claire all but threw poor Aviv over. Sylar tried to refuse but Claire insisted. "If I keep him any longer, he'll die. I can't get him to eat. He misses you guys & you can't explain to an animal why you abandoned him. So you have to take him back, or I have to bring him to the nearest vet to put him down."

Sylar took Aviv into his arms & the dog instantly cuddled up to him, wagging his tiny tail. "Oh you poor pup," Sylar held the dog close. "I'm so sorry."

"He hasn't wagged his tail until now," Claire said. "Look I get you're trying to discipline your kid but Aviv didn't do anything wrong. He can't understand anything other than the people he is used to apparently don't like him all of a sudden. Dogs feel a lot more than we care to admit. So you gotta take him back."

Sylar put the dog down & Aviv ran inside looking for Noah. There was a shriek & a lot of yipping a moment later. "We all think we might have been a little to harsh on the boys," Sylar admitted after a nervous laugh.

"The boys?"

"Noah's boyfriend, Jason."

"Oh yeah," Claire nodded. "I saw him when they were on that school trip. Noah said Jason had just proposed to him. They were out celebrating."

"Yeah uh, that...okay that's on hold," Sylar eventually explained. "So now I've cut it down to a year & a bit so long as Noah & Jason don't screw up again."

"You always were a bit extreme," Claire said. She looked past him. Sylar turned to see Noah carrying Aviv.

"Mom?" Noah stared at her. He put Aviv on the floor. "You came back?"

"I'm not staying," Claire said. "Your father & I aren't exactly friends right now."

"I get it," Noah said. "I don't like him much either right now."

"Okay," Sylar declared loudly. "How about I leave you two alone to conspire against me while I go feed the dog before he dies?"

"Good, get out of our lives," Noah half-snapped. Sylar cast a grimaced smile at Claire before going after Aviv.

"How are you doing?" Claire asked. Noah just looked at her for a moment before breaking down. "Noah?"

"Sorry. I..."

"You screwed up," Claire said. "I know. I've been there." She slowly took his hands & pulled him closer. "It will get better."

"I'm sorry I went after you Claire," Noah gasped between tears as he buried his face into her shoulder. "If I had known."

"Forget it," Claire said. "I know the feeling. I was adopted & it took me a while to find my family. But when I did, I'm glad I knew them but some days I wish I had never found out. Maybe they'd both still be alive now."

"I know Dad killed Nathan," Noah pulled away.

"He also killed Meredith Gordon," Claire said. "My birth mother."

Noah gasped. "I didn't know that!"

"I know it means little to you," Sylar said as he came up behind Noah. "But I do hate what I've done to you. I was so out of control back then."

"I've run into a few of your Kabbalah members when I came here the first time looking for you," Claire said. "They've told me about you, how you get fixed. They really look up to you."

Sylar handed Claire a cup of coffee & sat on the porch swing. She leaned against the railing & drank a little while Noah slid down to the floor to let Aviv climb into his lap. "It scares me every day I'm with them," Sylar said. "I'm still scared of having an accident. But so far so good. It's been years since I did that."

"I'm still trying to process the fact we have a son," Claire pointed out.

"Did you talk to Peter about that?" Sylar asked, ignoring the jibe.

"No I can't find him."

"Oh that's right," Sylar began. "I forgot you're trying to do my job."

"Your job?"

Sylar put his coffee aside. "Peter is MINE to kill Claire so back the hell off!"

Claire scoffed. "You don't even know what's going on in America."

"I don't care," Sylar said. "Peter & I have hated each other the moment we first laid eyes on each other. I'm going to kill him, not you."

"Then come to America & help me," Claire said.

"I can't leave Israel for five millennia," Sylar said. "AND I unfortunately need Peter alive when the planet explodes. Then I'll kill him."

"You need him?"

"That's what Shlomo's vision power told me," Sylar said. "I can't save you without Peter."

"Because I die."

"Yes."

"When Earth explodes."

"That's right."

"In five thousand years."

"What do you want Claire, a damn gold star?"

"I want you dead for all your crimes!" Claire said. "You do know every single state & territory of America has the death penalty just for you, right?"

"News flash sweetheart," Sylar teased. "I'm hard to kill & anyway, you need me five thousand years from now as well. I'm the only one who truly knows what's going on."

"So we all just put everything aside & act like one big happy family for all this time & then kill each other off AFTER we all save each other, is that it?"

"Yep," Sylar laughed. "Only Noah will survive. It's all for him."

"How did you manage to keep him when you got back here?" Claire asked. "I would think anyone would try to take an infant from you before you go on another killing spree."

"That's the main reason why I left America when I came back from the future," Sylar said. "I had no intention of losing Noah to your father, after what he did to me & don't you deny it!" He shot her a silencing glare. "When I got here, I ran into Shlomo & he helped me for the rest of his life until the cancer took him."

"So you thought it was a good idea to raise a child on your own after what YOU did & don't you deny that."

"I never denied any of my murders Claire," Sylar replied tiredly. "Every body was found."

"Except Elle's."

"She's not my murder."

"She isn't?"

"Nope," Sylar said. "That's a lie spun by your father, Noah Bennet. Elle & I got real close here in this timeline, but we were both suicidal. I helped her die & buried her but I had your power by then & had to go on. That's why you can't find her body. No one ever will. I cremated her."

Claire raised a brow while she drank some more of her coffee. Noah stood up & slowly came to sit by his father. "Dad, you were suicidal?"

"Yeah," Sylar leaned back & picked up his coffee again. "Still am, sort of. It was when my power first started. I had made my first kill. I was so confused as to what was happening to me, what I did. I tried to hang myself. It would have worked too, since I didn't meet your mom yet. But that's around the time I met Elle. A lot happened. My life spiralled further out of control. I eventually met your mom & then things got even worse. But," Sylar reached out to put a hand on Noah's lap. "I got through it & I had a lot of help. Just having you really helped."

"I didn't know that about you," Claire said quietly.

Sylar looked at her. "That's because you didn't want to get to know me. I don't blame you. I was horrible to you here in this past timeline. But fact is, you don't know a single thing about me."

"Except that you're a killer."

"No," Sylar said. "You don't know anything about ME! Gabriel Gray. The man who's ass got dragged through the mud by this wretched power everyone knows as Sylar. Not a single one of you in America offered any help, just opportunities to feed me more powers just for an excuse to study me. I had to come to a foreign land to get fixed. The Jews are more my people than you Americans ever will be! I came to this land with nothing but a three month old infant in my arms. I started life over for the forth time in under forty years. My first life was when I was born, my second was given over to the killer, my third was extremely short but with you in the future & then I had to start again when I came here. Do you think that was easy? Newsflash, it was anything but easy! I mean being a single parent is hard enough as it is. Add the Sylar power to it & I'm amazed my hair hasn't gone white despite having your power."

"Sylar—"

"Gabriel," Sylar corrected sharply. "My name is Gabriel. I've buried Sylar. But you still can't use my proper name, can you?" He stood up & went to her side. "You can call me Gabriel in the future just fine though." Claire looked away. "The Jews are the only ones who actually know me. They've accepted me as Gabriel Gray even though they know more about Sylar than even I do sometimes, it seems. They've given me the help I so desperately needed when this thing first showed up. They've helped me establish a place for Noah. What has America ever done for me but threaten the death penalty for something they can't hope to understand?"

"You are a different man from what I have come to fear & hate," Claire sniffled. "I'm glad the Sylar I know is gone. I wish things had been different. I can't even imagine what it would be like raising a child on your own, having that terrible power literally at the back of your head all the time."

"It isn't easy," Sylar repeated. "Even now, it's hard, especially since Noah found out before his time. I was going to bring him to New York for his next birthday, but the idiot had to sneak off & ruin everything." He shot a glare at Noah.

"Don't be too hard on him," Claire said. "He gets that impulsiveness from me."

"I know!" Sylar snapped at her, making her jump. "In fact, he picked up every last one of your bad traits!"

"WELL AT LEAST HE DIDN'T GET ANY OF YOURS!" Claire loudly retaliated. They glared at each other before both turned away, laughing so hard they started crying.

Sylar was lying across the boards of the porch by the time he had calmed down. "He has so much of you in him. He even collects plushies."

"Dad threw them all away," Noah muttered.

"I'm sure you can get more," Claire said. "If you don't outgrow it soon like I did."

"I doubt it," Sylar said. "His obsessiveness comes from me. Only I did it with powers."

"Will I ever get to meet him when he is born?"

"Oh yeah, sure," Sylar picked himself up. "We have three more months together before it blows. We'll have plenty more when I get to that point in time again & fix it. It was really hard on Noah though. You breastfed him so when he came here, he kept looking for you. It took a long time to get him used to a bottle. He kept trying to suckle off me & let me tell you now, that bastard knows how to bite!" He grinned at Noah who had gone a bright red.

Claire doubled over in laughter. "Any pain you're in makes me extremely happy!" She said to Sylar, then patted Noah's shoulder in mock sympathy. "Keep biting him." Noah shoved her hand away, earning laughter from both his parents.

Aviv barked somewhere in the house. "Noah you should get back to your schoolwork," Sylar said, pointing Claire to the door with a short nod. They both grabbed their empty cups & followed Noah inside. Claire watched Noah settle on the floor once more, this time with Aviv by his side. She tried to approach but Aviv growled at her.

"I'm not taking you back, I promise," Claire said. Aviv just barked. "Alright." She followed Sylar to the kitchen. "He hates me."

"I'm glad it didn't work out," Sylar said. "Noah spends a lot of time out now, due to his military training. I kind of need Aviv. Anyway, it might make Noah stay home more. We've uh, we're kind of avoiding the main issue right now."

"The main issue?"

"Well he found out about Sylar from an outside party, not me like it should have been," Sylar said. "We've talked. We've threatened each other. Everything's become a hard bargaining chip now. I won't do this unless you do that, kind of thing. He barely stays home now, hiding at the base all the time to get away from me." He sighed & said softly. "It's been tough."

"Oddly enough, I can relate to that as well," Claire said. "It's hard finding out your Dad killed people."

"Yup," Sylar stared out the window. "I'm in the exact same position with my own father who gifted me the killing power & left me to it. No explanation. Then there's you."

"Me?"

Sylar turned to look at her. "You've gone a bit Villain yourself haven't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"How many people got killed when you betrayed us?"

"Betrayed you?"

"Jumping off the Ferris wheel, exposing abilities. The Jews here know what you did & they frown. The Kabbalah is the only way. It tamed me, unlike every other method tried on me in America."

"I want to live openly."

"Oh my God, Claire," Sylar groaned. "You're not gay. Well alright, you are bisexual but that is not the same as an ability! How many people died because of you showing off? How many got killed in your hunt for Peter?" Claire stared at him. Sylar added, "You have a lot of blood on your hands, more so than me."

"That's not remotely possible!"

"Isn't it?" Sylar countered. "I've been watching the videos Claire. I know more about what's going on in America than you realize. Ever since you jumped, people have died. You've all but destroyed that country by the exposure. I've seen the riots. The fighting. The display of abilities to incite fear & unrest, even racism & bigotry disguised in an ongoing fight of my power is better than yours. America is almost as bad as how Israel was barely a year ago. The wars here are still raging on, dangerously close to our borders. Noah could end up fighting in it some day! Exposure isn't the answer. Only Israel is doing it right. Can't you see your way doesn't work?"

"I know some people can't accept abilities yet," Claire defended. "But it just needs to be normalized."

"Again Claire, this isn't a sexual orientation," Sylar said. "What you did is affecting Israel. Probably other countries too."

"How?"

"The various terrorist factions against Israel," Sylar began. "Some of them have heard of the magic, as we all call it here, in America. Some have gone there to try getting abilities for themselves, either getting them synthetically or using people who have powers to fight in their holy wars. I've seen it! Doesn't happen often, yet, but now that we have managed to hold them beyond the borders, they might get a bit more desperate to get back in. Those sort of people will stop at nothing to destroy Israel & you handed them a very dangerous weapon. You're a traitor Claire. Just like your bio-father, Nathan."

Claire gasped. "How dare you?"

But Sylar wasn't finished yet. "I'm not saying this to hurt you Claire. I'm saying it because it's true. I have my son to worry about. He can't die. Fine. But what about being buried alive for all of eternity in an unmarked grave we can't find? They do that to people. They also rape men & women alike. I can't even imagine what a rape gang would do to Noah once they find out he can barely get hurt & can't die. You need to stop what you're doing in America & disappear. Leave Peter alone. I'll kill him later. Why are you trying to kill him anyway?"

"He keeps changing things in time," Claire said. "He says he is looking for someone special."

"That would be me," Noah said. Both looked around to see him standing near the table.

"How long have you been there?" Sylar demanded.

"Long enough," Noah said. "How can you say that to Mom? Calling her a traitor? I thought you loved her!"

"I do!" Sylar defended. "But this is a past timeline, not a futuristic one for me. The Claire here is about as dangerous as I was many years ago. I don't want you hurt or worse, erased!"

"Why would Peter be looking for you?" Claire asked.

"Apparently he met me once, when I was around five."

"I think I would remember that," Sylar muttered.

"I died that day," Noah ignored him. "I was the one who died in an explosion in that timeline. Not Mom. Peter has been trying to correct that event ever since."

"What?" Sylar stared at him.

"Mom?" Noah kept his eyes on Claire. "You can leave Peter alone now. He will stop now that I'm here."

"How do you know all this?"

"I met him on the school trip," Noah said. "In fact, that fellow I was hanging out with in the restaurant where we first met was Peter shapeshifted to look like my boyfriend. Jason was actually back at the hotel waiting for me."

"THAT WAS PETER?!"

Noah nodded. "He really misses you, Claire."

"Speaking of terrorists Noah," Claire snapped. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that man has become?"

"Apparently I attract dangerous men," Noah glanced at his father. "I'm honestly scared to see Jason in the military once he starts. He might release a beast in him none of us know about." Sylar turned away, smothering a laugh while Claire just glared at Noah. "Anyway, Peter is innocent of the crimes you think he did."

"Oh I suppose he told you that?"

"Yes," Noah replied. "Have you ever really just sat down & talked to him? I did."

"You've lived in Israel your whole life," Claire said. "What would you know?"

"I know that my entire family seem to be killers to some degree," Noah began. "I know we all seem to hate each other. I know everyone seems to want to protect me but the truth is," He drew in a shaky breath before going on in a sudden rage, "I'M THE ONE GETTING HURT THE MOST RIGHT NOW! NO ONE SEEMS TO NOTICE THAT!"

"Noah!" Sylar & Claire both exclaimed at the same time.

"NO!" Noah screamed back. "You all fight each other. You all hate each other. Every last one of you all say the same thing about me. Oh look through time. Find Noah Gray. He's all that matters. Well I'm right here but all everyone does is either run from me," he shot a look at Claire. "You didn't even come back to talk to me that night. You sent Savona. Or destroy my entire life," He turned to Sylar. "Take away my dog, my life's work. Separate me from my lover! Jason didn't do anything wrong! My entire family needs to stop punishing me for all your crimes you all did!"

"Noah!" Sylar exclaimed.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Noah asked Claire.

"What? I don't ha—"

"THEN STOP ACTING LIKE IT!" Noah shouted at her.

Sylar tried to calm his son down. "Noah I think we—"

"SHUT UP! I AM NOT IN THE MOOD RIGHT NOW!"

"Yeah," Sylar stepped back. "Yeah, this I can see."

"DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON YOU!" Noah retorted. "Oh! God! I hate my entire family now!" He snatched the dog up in his arms. "Except Aviv!" He turned & ran up the stairs. The door was slammed once more.

"I think he's a tad stressed," Sylar finally managed to say.

"Yep."

Sylar slammed one hand on the table, startling Claire. "You think I enjoy seeing my son like this?" He yelled at her. "Noah & I were extremely close! He rarely misbehaved. He's a good kid. You know, sometimes, he still crawls into my bed at night & cuddles up, just like a little kid. Now he's barely spoken to or looked at me for almost two weeks."

"That's on you!" Claire shot back. "Your son found the truth about you. What did you expect?"

"No NO!" Sylar groaned through gritted teeth. "If it was JUST that, we would have worked our way back to each other by now!" Claire scoffed, not believing. Sylar glared at her. "I mean it Claire! Noah & I were always very supportive of each other. But now, it's all ruined. It's more than just finding out about my alter-ego. When I heard he had snuck off to New York behind my back, I wanted to destroy him like how he had done to me, betraying me like that! But I did it in anger. I destroyed him all right & now I'm reaping the consequences of it. I don't know how to fix it & everyone knows how I get when I can't fix something!"

"Well I'm sorry but I can't help," Claire said. "I haven't been a part of your lives. I wouldn't know where to begin!"

"Same here Claire," Sylar replied. "Same here. Where do I even start?"

Both fell silent for a long time. Claire pulled a chair from the table & sat down & after a moment, Sylar copied her. "I can tell you one thing," Claire began. "You said he rarely misbehaved. So you're not used to handing out a punishment worthy of the bad behaviour to correct it. So when he did a major screw up, you instinctively went overboard."

"Yeah," Sylar shrugged. "I kind of figured that out by now."

"What exactly did you do to him?" Claire asked. Sylar gave her a long tired look before telling her everything. She sat back in her chair. "I don't have kids yet but damn! If you've never hit him, then you suddenly do that for the first time on Christmas, that right there must have been confusing for him. The fact all this happened over the holidays as well. The poor kid was blindsided!"

"I know," Sylar murmured, head in hands as he leaned over the table.

"I'm glad I brought the dog back," Claire said. She heard a soft laugh.

Sylar eventually raised his head. He stretched a little, then looked at her. "What am I gonna do? Hmm? Back in the day, I'd go out & kill off my frustrations."

"Well you could technically still do that," Claire said. She jerked a thumb in some general direction. "There's a war raging out there. I've heard you've killed some of those terrorists."

"I might actually do that later," Sylar said. He tipped his chair back & looked up at the ceiling. "Where the hell is Peter when I need him? I could use a damn good fight right about now!"

"Sorry but I came on my own to drop the dog off," Claire said. "No one knows I came here. I suppose I should get back home."

"Mhm."

Claire looked at him. For the first time, she started seeing Gabriel, not Sylar. He was watching her with a pained look, as if he had lost everything. "I don't know if I care or not, but for Noah's sake I guess I should ask: Are you going to be alright?"

"I get it," Sylar said. "This is how Noah feels. I really get it."

"Get what?"

"Claire, when you walk out that door," Sylar began. "You can not come back for five thousand years. I miss you. In the future, we're together. We have a child. I've missed you so much, but I can't have you any time soon. We've got to be careful of the timelines. I've banned Noah from Jason forever, then amended it to just until he turns nineteen. Noah only has a year & a bit to go. I have five thousand years to wait." He put his face in one hand.

"Would it help you if I said I don't really love you back right now?" Claire tried. "I kinda hate your guts!"

Sylar half-laughed, half-cried. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

"I really hope you two can sort things out," Claire went on as they slowly moved towards the door. "Noah's a good kid. He just made a mistake is all."

"We have all of eternity to work it out," Sylar said as he opened the door for her. "What the hell are you doing here?!" He demanded as he looked into the eyes of Noah Bennet.

"Well if it isn't one happy family reunion," Noah Bennet glanced between the two, rather pleased at the shocked faces on both of them.