"Shinbone fracture?" Peter asked when he looked at the cast around Noah's leg. He was sitting in a chair on the right side of Noah's bed, with his right ankle resting on his left knee. "You know that's gonna take a while before it's fully recovered, right?"

"I do. I'll have to take it easy for the next couple of months and it's... it's not something I look forward to. Not at all." Noah turned his head away from the ceiling and looked at Peter's silhouette. "It's just the way it has to be. Nothing I can do about it."

Lauren stood and gave Noah his glasses. "It's probably better that way. Finding out what that compass meant almost got you killed. More than once. I know you think it's not a big deal, but that leg will get you killed if you're thinking about doing something like that again. This," she gestured at his leg, "this might be your chance to take a step back."

"I doubt that." With his glasses back on, Noah was able to see his hospital room and the people in it a whole lot better. He even noticed René, standing in the hallway. "Ready to get your memories wiped, Peter?"

Peter looked over his shoulder at the Haitian. "I already have."

"You have?"

"Yeah, just now."

Lauren sat back down on the other side of Noah's bed. "They haven't found Rebecca Taylor yet. The Haitian is staying, just in case she shows up here to... you know, finish the job."

"Who's Rebecca Taylor?"

"Just some girl that wants me dead." Noah waved it away like having someone wanting to kill him wasn't a big deal. It really wasn't. That Peter had gone to and seen the future, now that was a big deal. "How much did he make you forget?"

"Um..." Peter thought back to the last thing he remembered. "I was sitting inside this office... you came in, we talked and… that's it. The rest, everything that happened before I got here, it's all gone. René told me I asked him to wipe my memories, Lauren just confirmed it and filled me in on the rest."

"What about the future?" Noah asked as he looked back and forth between Peter and Lauren. "I assume it's safe? Safe for people with abilities, safe for you and Claire. It's safe, right?"

"Noah, you need to calm down."

"Yeah," Peter agreed. "You've been out for quite a while. Just take your time."

"Time..." Noah said with a slight chuckle. "That's all I have at the moment." He looked back at Peter, still desperate for an answer. "You refused to say anything, back in the ambulance, you refused to say anything about the future. I don't need any details, but I want to know if my Claire is going to be safe... Is she going to be alright, Peter?"

"I don't know." Peter held up his hands, showing Noah how sincere he was. "But... René told me a couple of things. He said that it was my choice to let him erase my memories, that I had a good reason to let him do it. He told me about my current ability, what I was doing here in the hospital and... and that nothing needs to be changed."

"Nothing needs to be changed?"

"I figured he was talking about the future." You told me to do it, Peter. This was your decision. Peter didn't believe René right away. How could he? He was suddenly in a hospital with no memories at all of how he got there.

It happened before. His memories have been erased before. That was when he woke up half-naked in a cargo container heading towards Ireland. Being trapped in that container with no idea at all of how he got there... that was a true nightmare. That feeling of emptiness, of loneliness, was something he never wanted to experience ever again. It was also the reason why it took a while before he realized that René was telling the truth.

"What about Hiro?" Noah asked to get Peter's attention again.

"What about him?"

"Are his memories of the future gone as well?"

"I… don't know."

He doesn't know. Noah looked at Peter and felt pity for the man. The situation was just too familiar. Sandra had gone through the process of having her memories wiped quite a number of times and Noah had always been there to help her with her confusion afterwards. "You went to the future, together with Hiro. Look," he said and pointed at Peter's wrist. "You're still wearing your tracker."

"Oh," was Peter's response when he looked at the device around his wrist. "Right."

Noah turned to Lauren, because talking to Peter wasn't going to be of much help to him. "Have you heard from Claire?"

"No, not since I left. Wasn't she supposed to go with West? They should have been here by now, right?"

Thank you, West. Noah was glad they weren't there, waiting for him. It meant that West had listened to him and didn't let Claire anywhere near the hospital. "Maybe they got held up. What about Sylar?"

That got Peter's attention immediately. He had no idea what had happened to Sylar after that warehouse, he only knew what Lauren had told him. She told him that Sylar had saved Noah from a collapsing building and that she had been the one who took him away afterwards.

"He did it," Lauren answered. "He solved our carnival problem."

Okay. Noah wanted to be happy for those people, he truly did, but whenever something 'good' happened and Sylar was involved, something else wasn't right. Sylar always had a hidden agenda, an ulterior motive, no matter who'd get hurt along the way. "That's great." He didn't bother to hide his lack of enthusiasm.

"He did what?" Peter was feeling left out because he had missed so many things. "What did he do?"

"Those carnies need a roof above their heads," Lauren explained. "We gave them one, but Samuel destroyed it and we had to come up with something else for them."

"And you did. What is it?"

Noah answered Peter's question. "Bob Bishop. Sylar killed him."

"Yeah, I know."

"He also took Bob's ability."

"I asked Sylar to use Bob's ability," Lauren continued. "Well, I didn't really ask him. I told him to make us some gold, so the people of the carnival would have enough money to start over. That in combination with the money they'll get from selling the carnival itself will be more than enough. They can use it to re-integrate into society, live normal lives again."

Peter nodded and turned to face Noah again. "I told you he's changed."

There it was, the 'I told you so' that Noah had been waiting for. Peter didn't waste any time to point out how right he was about Sylar. It made Noah wonder, yet again, why Peter was so determined to prove his point. Why was it so important to get people on his side? Even if he was able to convince someone eventually, why would it matter? It wouldn't help Sylar's case in any way...

And then he realized that the answer to his question was sitting right next to him. "I get it now."

"Get what?"

"All this stuff with Sylar. I get it now."

Peter raised one of his eyebrows, not quite sure where Noah was going with his sudden epiphany. He looked at Lauren for answers, but the woman seemed to be just as confused as him. "Would you mind sharing it with us?"

"You used him, Peter."

"Who? Sylar?"

Noah didn't know where it was coming from, but it all started to make sense to him. The reason why Peter left the carnival, why he and Sylar went to see Matt, the warehouse, Micah, the desperation to keep Sylar from getting caught, it all made sense. "I can't believe you used him."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes, Noah. What are you talking about?"

"There are other ways to save people, Peter. You don't need Sylar. I get that you feel… lost, maybe? Ever since you lost your empathy and that your new ability is nowhere near as useful as your old one, but come on. Sylar? Yes, he's got plenty of useful abilities and he's extremely powerful, but he's a killer. You're using a killer to save people, Peter. Doesn't that bother you at all?"

No? Noah thought he had Peter all figured out, but he was wrong. Noah didn't know what the hell he was talking about. Peter didn't feel lost, he didn't feel lost at all. He knew exactly what he was doing when he had to find Sylar. If he had not done that, so many people could have been killed. "I am not using him."

"You said it yourself. Saving one life at the time isn't enough, you were meant for something bigger. Then your father took your powers away and made sure you'll never be what you once wanted to be." Noah didn't know if he was making the situation worse, but he had to get it out anyway. "Maybe you don't see it yet, maybe you don't want to see it now, but at some point you'll realize that I'm right."

Peter stood, his eyes flaming with anger. If René hadn't been standing outside at that moment, Peter would have definitely broken some stuff. Noah just practically accused him of being selfish, but the man couldn't be further from the truth. It was true that Peter wanted to save as many lives as possible, he always had, but not because it made him feel good afterwards.

It was the responsibility he had, the responsibilities all of them had because they had been gifted with extraordinary powers. That's how Peter felt about abilities. They shouldn't be used for personal gain, but to help others. Others like the thousands of innocent people who went to see a carnival and were almost killed for no reason at all. Others like the carnies themselves, who had found a way to live with their abilities before someone had to take it all away again. Even others like Sylar, who had been trying to fight his own ability for the sake of others. "If I wanted my fortune told, I would've gone to my mother."

"Was that really necessary?" Lauren asked, after Peter stormed out of the room.

"Yes, someone needs to tell him the truth. But now that he's gone, we can talk about Samuel. Do you know if they found his body already?"

"They did."

"And? What did it look like?"

"What did it look like? He got crushed beneath tons of concrete, Noah. What do you think?"

"Apart from that, apart from the burns Sylar gave him, was there anything else?"

"What else should there be?"

The top of his head cut off? Even a cut across his throat would have been sufficient. Noah just needed some evidence, any evidence at all that could prove that Sylar had taken Samuel's terrakinesis. He found it very hard to believe that Sylar went back into that building, just to see if Samuel was still there. "I don't know. Anything."

"No," Lauren answered. "Nothing."

Damn. There must have been a reason for Sylar to go back into that building and Noah was certain that he did it to take an ability. What else could it be? Samuel was already as good as dead when Noah saw him and had to step over his body to get to the exit.

"Noah?"

"Hm?"

"Have you thought about your position within the Company?"

"Yeah. I had just given Abby my answer when the earthquake started."

"And?"

Abby had given him the time to think about it, but he didn't need it. The only reason why he waited so long with his answer was because there were more important matters to be dealt with at that moment and also, he thought it was more polite that way. "I declined."

Peter couldn't believe he was being accused of using his brother's murderer. And for what? To serve his own emotional needs? Noah had stepped way out of line. If anyone should be accused of using people with abilities to serve their own needs, it was him and everyone else at the Company.

"Everything okay, Peter?"

"I'm fine."

"You're sure?" René asked. "You do not look fine."

"I'm fine." Peter sighed. He was snapping at the wrong people again. "It's just that... void, inside my head that's bothering me. I know I can't get my memories back, but unconsciously... I still try to focus on something that's just not there."

"You know you can get them back."

"Yeah I know, but I won't do it. I'd rather keep my current ability. It's far more useful than regen."

René nodded and then suddenly looked sideways, to the right. "Claire," he said.

Peter frowned and looked to his left. There she was, walking towards them with West at her side. She looked just as miserable as Peter felt. "Claire," he forced a smile for his niece, "West," and nodded his head at the boy. "Your father's in there, Claire. He just woke up."

"I'm not here to see him."

"Why not?"

Claire shrugged and looked down. "He doesn't want me to be here." West had told her what her dad had said to him, about not wanting her blood. She just didn't get why he couldn't tell her himself. If he didn't want her blood, then he should have told her instead of going behind her back.

"Then why are you here?"

"Cause I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Not here. Can we talk somewhere less... crowded?" Crowded wasn't the right word. She just wanted to get away from her dad, because he had already seen her and had been staring at her ever since.

"I think I know what you mean," Peter said and started walking towards the staircase. He looked over his shoulder at West and René and frowned. "You're just gonna leave him there? With your dad?"

"I told him I won't take long. I actually want to leave as soon as possible. We're going to his parents' place for a while where I can think about what to do next."

"You don't know yet?" he asked as he opened the door for Claire.

"Nope. I don't know anything yet. All I know is that I'm not going back to school," not after what Gretchen told me. "I guess I should've thought about that before climbing up that Ferris wheel."

"Do you regret it?"

"Jumping off that thing? Yes and no. I mean, let's face it. Our lives have been one disaster after another. We've been on this roller coaster for years and it just keeps going and going. It never stops. And now I've done something that could either make everything even worse, or it could make everything a whole lot easier. I don't know... I guess we'll just have to wait and see which one it's going to be." Claire looked at Peter for a moment and then continued, "I'm tired of hiding."

Peter was silent for a while as they went up the staircase. He thought about what Claire said. She was tired. Tired of running, tired of hiding and Peter couldn't help but agree. The only difference was that she had been given the choice to decide her own faith and it had been decided for him. "You're not on your own, Claire."

"I'm not?"

"No, of course not. You've got loads of people who support you, no matter what. Look, if you ever need anything, anything at all, you know where to find me."

"Thanks, Peter. That means a lot to me."

"Just... don't expect me to attend any press conferences anytime soon, okay?"

Claire laughed and opened the door to the roof. "Okay." She waited for Peter to walk through and followed. "Always the roof, huh?"

"You know me so well." Peter went to the middle of the roof, breathed in the fresh air and admired the view for a moment. "So, what do you wanna talk about?"

Claire crossed her arms and started pacing back and forth slowly. "Nothing specifically. Just wanted to talk, that's all. Before I leave with West, y'know?"

"Anything going on there?" Peter asked as he moved closer to the ledge.

What? Claire was confused. "Where?"

"You and West, is something going on with you two?"

"Oh," Claire laughed a little awkwardly and looked away. "Don't know. We used to have... something. It didn't last long and... I don't know. Maybe. It's been so damn difficult to connect with someone, all because I have an ability. I think it only worked with West because he has one too." That ended as soon as he found out who her father was.

Peter nodded. "I think you're right. These abilities are kind of standing in the way of leading a normal life. They always have. They're useful when we need them to be useful, but it gets tough as soon as we have to deal with 'ordinary' people again. I can't even remember how it used to be before we knew about our abilities." Peter looked at Claire and wondered what went through her head before she jumped. She must have been so sure of herself. "Is that the only reason why you came to the hospital? To talk to me? What about your dad?"

"I told you, he doesn't want me here. He didn't want my blood and thought that he could keep me away by going behind my back." Claire shook her head. She needed to change the subject. "I thought you might want to take flight from West again. To get home or something... I don't know. It just didn't feel right to leave without saying goodbye, so..."

"Makes sense." Peter walked alongside the edge and looked down. There was a huge crowd of people standing at the entrance of the hospital. "That didn't take long."

"Like a moth to a flame." Claire had already seen them. That's why she and West had landed on the roof, instead of taking the entrance. "You can't hide a collapsed building, apparently. That's what took me so long to get here. I had to stay a while when the reporters came and started asking questions." She frowned when Peter began to lean even further over the edge. She knew he had taken her ability, but still. He was definitely going to hurt someone else if he fell down the building. "You better get away from that ledge, Peter. They might think you'll try to kill yourself again."

Peter looked up and turned his head in surprise. Again? Oh. Claire was probably talking about that one time after Nathan won the elections, when he told everyone that Peter's attempt to fly was actually a suicide attempt. Which it wasn't. "They think I can fly," Peter said as he looked back down the side of the building. "They're probably not that bothered."

That video. Claire remembered seeing that video on TV. "I still can't believe you did that." She sat down on the ledge next to where Peter was standing. "You just flew away and you couldn't care less if anybody saw you. Was that because of me? Because I showed them my ability too?"

"No, not really."

"Oh, right." It was because he and Sylar had to get away from her dad. Of course, he wouldn't just show his ability like that. "Never mind." She felt stupid for even thinking it. Looking back up at her uncle, something funny popped up in her head.

"What?" Peter asked when Claire started smiling all of a sudden. "What's so funny?"

"Just imagine explaining how your ability works, to the press."

"Didn't you do that already?"

"No, of course not." Did he really think she would do that? "I only told them who you are because I figured they'd find out sooner or later. I didn't tell them we're related or that we know each other or anything for that matter. Just your name, that's it." Claire spoke so fast, she almost stumbled over her words trying to get out how little she had told them about him. He got so agitated when he found out that she had told the world her father had flight. She didn't want to go down that road again.

Peter pulled his head back when people started looking up and pointed their fingers at him. The height didn't even bother him anymore. He had been spending a lot of time on rooftops in the past few years, even in Sylar's nightmare. "I don't care that they know about me, Claire." He stepped back from the ledge and sat down next to his niece.

"But you care that they know about Nathan."

Nathan? "What's he got to do with this? Nobody knows about Nathan and we're going to keep it that way. Why would you even bring that up?"

"Oh…" Oops. "René erased your memories, didn't he?"

"Yeah... It took a while before he got here, but your dad was still in surgery so… Wait, do they know about Nathan already? Did you tell them what he could do?"

"Please, don't get angry with me again. You already said what you had to say and I get it. Okay? It wasn't my place to tell them about Nathan. I just wanted to tell them about myself and that includes my birth parents and before I knew it, I had told them already. I'm sorry."

"I'm not... angry with you, Claire. It's just... if they find out that Nathan's accident wasn't really an accident at all... It's going to be hell to pay for me and your father."

"Or we could just tell them the truth. Tell them that he was killed by Sylar. That Nathan sacrificed his own life to try and save you, to save the president. They know who he is, what he's done. It won't matter for Sylar. He's gone already."

"You're forgetting just one thing, Claire. Nathan died long before that plane crash. What about all that time that Sylar thought he was Nathan, huh? Are you going to lie about that too? Cause you sure as hell can't tell anybody about that."

"You're right." Some things were just too complicated to explain. "We can't tell them about Nathan's death." Despite of the tense vibe, Claire thought the conversation was going really well. Peter responded somewhat annoyed every now and then, but she was careful enough not to let it escalate. "I really wanted you to be at the press conference."

"Me? Why?"

"Dad said he saw you at the carnival and thought I needed you there. He said something about wanting someone there with another ability, a different ability, but I know that that wasn't the real reason. He thought I needed your support and I did. That's why I wanted you there."

"Sorry, if I had known..."

"You would still have gone with Sylar," Claire finished.

"Probably." Definitely. He felt like he had no other choice at the time. He didn't know what Sylar would have done if he had been on his own again. So, Peter had to stay near him, just in case.

"Was he really more important at that moment than everything else?"

"At that moment? Yes."

"Why?"

Peter sighed deep and looked over his shoulder, down the building again for a second. Those people were still pointing at him. "So many reasons."

Claire had heard most of them already. "I talked to him, y'know?"

"Really? When?"

"After he saved Dad. I went looking for him underneath the rubble and found him. He wasn't interested in talking to me, but I had some questions I needed answered, so I asked them whether he liked it or not."

"What did he say?"

"Not much. Only that he was going away for a really long time and that we don't have to worry about him ever again." After a few decades, that's what Sylar said. But what did he mean with 'a few'? Twenty years? Thirty? Forty? More? What if he decided that being locked up wasn't what he wanted after all? Would he come back? Continue collecting abilities? There were so many questions, so much uncertainty. "I just wish I could keep that image in my head forever."

"What image?"

"The image of you punching Sylar in the face. It was so… satisfying, to watch that happen. Even from a distance."

"I did that?" Peter asked, unable to stop smirking at the thought of him lashing out at Sylar again. "Why?"

"Don't know. I told you he was there and the next thing I knew, you had punched him so hard… and I mean really hard. I think you even teleported to take him by surprise."

Another memory that had been wiped away, like it never even existed, like someone else had shape-shifted into his body and had done all those things instead. "I'm going to miss being able to that, lash out at him, but… I've given him enough beatings recently to keep me going for a while. I wonder what I'm gonna do when I need one again." He chuckled when he saw Claire frowning at him. "I'm kidding. I only ever punched him when he stepped out of line. Which he did. A lot."

"He just let it happen, though? I mean, if you had done that a year ago, he would've killed you in the blink of an eye."

Peter shrugged and casted his eyes forward. "He knows he deserves it. And I know he didn't like it. Of course he didn't like it. Nobody likes to be punched in the face repeatedly. The looks he gave me afterwards… I thought he was going to kill me a few times. I really did. And maybe he did too… but nope. Nothing. He didn't even try."

"Maybe he can't."

"What do you mean?"

"Killing… Maybe he can't do it anymore. I told him to kill Samuel, after he threatened to kill Dad. Sylar was already pointing his finger at Samuel, so I thought I'd spur him on to do it and I think he wanted it, like you just said. He wanted to, but he didn't. He just said 'no' and left it there."

"Huh," was Peter's response to that. What Claire said, reminded him of the night before. Sylar didn't kill Noah after he got shot and Sylar didn't kill Matt after he threatened to make Peter cut his head open. Claire was right. It wasn't so long ago that Sylar wouldn't even have hesitated to kill them. "Maybe he can't indeed."

"But he can still hurt us."

Minutes passed by as they sat there, on the ledge, in silence, already exhausted from their conversation. There was probably a lot more to talk about, but neither of them felt up for it. All they wanted to do was enjoy the silence for as long as they could.

"Time to go," Claire said eventually. She stood and looked down at Peter. "You coming?"

"Nah, I'm staying here for a while."

"But if you need to take flight from West…"

"I don't need flight from West. I'm fine with what I have now." He didn't even know why, but he wanted to keep hold of his ability. Something told him he took it for a reason. "Do you know that René had to tell me what my ability was? I he hadn't done that, I would have forgotten that too."

"So, which one is it?"

"My ability? Telekinesis. I took it from Sylar apparently. In my head, it makes sense. It's the last ability I remember having, before everything turns black." That was probably one of the reasons why he took it. To avoid any confusion whatsoever.

Claire nodded. "That does make sense." Peter stood and held out his arms. Claire didn't hesitate and walked straight into them. She knew she wouldn't see him again for a long time and that this was saying goodbye.

"If you ever need anything…"

"I'll know where to find you."

"That's right. Try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

Claire let go and took a step back. "Same goes for you."

"Take care." Peter waved and smiled when Claire turned around one more time, before she disappeared in the doorway.

He went back, climbed up on the ledge and breathed in the fresh air again. Just for a moment, it felt like he was standing on that roof, in New York, so many years ago. When Nathan looked up at him from the alley below. His brother was there to save him that day. His brother wouldn't be here to save him now if he decided to fall off the building again. Noah was right. I do feel lost.

Next chapter: Horrible Discoveries