"I'm extremely grateful for everything you've done for us, Micah. I don't know how we could have made it here without your help." Mohinder reached across the couch and placed his hand on Micah's shoulder for a moment, just to show his appreciation. "But we can't stay," he said as he looked at the others. "This is not the life I want for Molly. She can't be a part of this... rebellion."

Edgar was the first one to react to Mohinder's announcement. He stopped pacing up and down the room and leaned forward, his forearms resting on the back of the couch. "We'll take that as a compliment then, shall we?" he said, unable to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "Sorry, but I think calling us a ´rebellion´ is something of an overstatement. As you can see, our group ain't that big. Nobody knows what we're doing, what we're doing is practically harmless and if you ask me, there's nothing for us to rebel against. It´s kind of pathetic, really."

"Then what are you doing here?"

Edgar was about to answer Mohinder's question, when the door suddenly opened and West walked in, making everyone's heart stop for a second at the suddenness of his entrance. They calmed down again, as soon as they realized it was him.

West didn't seem to notice anything. He was busy trying to close the door while carrying two paper bags in one hand and one in the other. "Anybody hungry?" He kicked the door shut with the heel of his foot and walked further into the room.

Eli was the first to respond, which made sense since food was one of the few things he ever talked about. "What do you have?"

"The usual."

Claire kept her eyes on West as he moved around the room. She wanted to know what was going on inside his head, if he was or was not still haunted by the memory of shooting that man. His face didn't show any sign of unease, but then again, it never really did. He just dropped the bags with food on the couch next to Eli, took off his coat and threw it on the bigger table in the far corner of the room. She knew he didn't just get groceries because they needed it or because it was his turn again. He obviously needed the distance, just like she did.

West walked over to Mohinder and held out his hand to introduce himself, but pulled back when Mohinder held out his hand to do the same. "I've seen you before."

Mohinder looked up at West and frowned. "I am sorry, I don't recall…"

"It's you," he blurted. "You are that guy who shot Claire's father. I was there, I saw it with my own eyes." He turned around, confusion all over his face. "What's he doing here?"

"Dr. Suresh is just staying here for a bit," Micah answered. "What do you mean he shot Claire's father?"

"I..."

"You," Edgar said, while pointing his knife at Mohinder, "shot her father?"

"Yes, but I..."

"Because if you did," Edgar continued as he ignored Mohinder's attempt to explain, "you and I will have one serious problem. See, that girl over there," he moved his knife to point at Claire, "she's like family. And if you did anything to hurt her or her father-"

"Edgar..." Claire had stop him, before things got out of hand. It was sweet of him to defend her and her father like that, but there really was no need for it. "That was over two years ago and I... I just wanna forget it ever happened." Thinking her father had actually died and finding out later that her blood had brought him back from the dead was something she'd rather not be reminded of. "I won't mention it, if you won't," she said to Mohinder

He nodded his head and smiled. "Thank you."

Claire saw the way the others were looking at her and understood that they wanted some kind of explanation, but she didn't feel like giving them one. She didn't want to bring up the whole daughter-swap story, with her dad shooting Elle and Mohinder shooting her dad. It was probably for the best if they didn't mention it ever again.

"I don't get it," West started.

Claire cut him off before he had the chance to say anything else. "Just leave it."

"Are you sure?" Edgar asked.

"Yeah. He and my dad get along fine now. Right?"

"I haven't spoken to him in a while, but yes, I believe there are no hard feelings. On either side."

"If you say so." West took the seat next to Claire without another word. She looked at him from the corner of her eye. Something was definitely going on there. West just wasn't himself and she knew she had to talk to him about it, no matter how dreadful she felt about having to be the one to start it. It just had to happen.

"Everything okay?" Micah asked, obviously remembering Claire telling him that 'something' happened.

"Yeah, totally." West shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "I noticed our supply of food was running low, so I just went back to get some more."

"Did anyone see you?"

"I hope they did." He saw the looks he was given and quickly explained, "I want them to see me when I'm flying. I want them to see all of us, because if we keep using our abilities in public, they will get used to it eventually. And if we're only showing what we can do, we won't be giving them any reason to fear us, right?"

That's not even such a bad idea, Claire thought and immediately understood why West had been flying so low, earlier that day. He had been flying lower than usual. She thought he was doing it in case he got tired from carrying her around all the time, but now she realized he was just doing it to draw more attention to himself.

"Just make sure that nobody´s following you," Edgar warned him. "We can't let anyone find out about this place. It might be too big for us now, but we're gonna need it when our number grows."

West nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Claire sighed quietly, her eyes moving automatically to Molly, who was sleeping one of the fold-out beds they had dragged into the teachers' lounge. She couldn´t help thinking about what Micah had told her. It was just so unfair to hear about all the stuff that Molly had to deal with and that so many terrible things had happened to her at such a young age.

Claire had to admit she had it pretty good compared to everything Molly had to go through. At least she had her dad watching over her all those years, protecting her and making sure the Company wouldn´t find out about her ability manifesting. Her life had been quite normal for the bigger part of it. Molly, on the other hand, had been less fortunate. She was an orphan, her parents taken away from her by someone for the most selfish reason ever. She barely escaped death herself. Twice. And if that wasn't enough she was also infected by and then cured of the shanti-virus, while being used by the Company for tracking down evolved humans.

Nobody deserved that kind of childhood, certainly not someone as innocent and harmless as Molly Walker.

"I've been keeping an eye on everything the government's been doing," Micah explained to Mohinder. "Nothing much has happened yet, but you know what happened the last time they decided to interfere and take control. What if someone with an ability doesn't know how to use it and loses control? What if one incident leads them to believe we're all potential dangers? It only takes one person, one man or woman with enough influence higher-up to see us as a threat and we're done. We'll be back at square one. That's why we're here. To make sure that that doesn't happen."

"That's impossible. You can't possibly know what will happen unless you can see into the future and I don't see anyone here with that kind of power."

"You're right. We can't know what's going to happen. But there are ways to make the chance of something bad happening, a whole lot smaller." Micah coughed and needed a moment to catch his breath, before he continued. "I've been using the internet to get in touch with people all over the country. People who need help, who have questions about what's happening to them or how to control their abilities. We're hoping to help them before something goes wrong."

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Mohinder nodded his head thoughtfully and looked around the circle they had made in the middle of the room. "I agree that it's the right thing to do given the circumstances, but I'm wondering..." Mohinder looked at Edgar, "It's like you said. Your group is small. There are only five of you. That can't be enough to help every single evolved human in America, let alone the rest of the world."

"You're right," Micah told him truthfully. "It's not nearly enough. These guys have been working non-stop. Those two are usually gone for days," he said as he gestured at both West and Edgar. "They are helping the ones who live further away, which means they have to stay away longer. Eli sometimes tags along, but only when it's absolutely necessary."

"Depending on other people isn't really my thing," Eli said as he shrugged his shoulders.

That's why no one will be ever be able to depend on you, Claire thought as she rolled her eyes. Yes, Eli was helping them and yes, he was doing a good job, but of the four of them, she trusted him the least. It had nothing to do with his attitude, although it wouldn't hurt for him to be a bit less like an ass sometimes. He was still the one who had been on Samuel's side and the one who had murdered Lydia. That was not an easy thing to forget, for both Claire and Edgar.

"We're not alone. I know that Hiro Nakamura has been doing the exact same thing in Japan. His group is slightly bigger than ours and he's got a lot more resources and that's not even enough. But it's a start." Micah hesitated for a moment, probably deciding whether to tell Mohinder about his plans for the future, or to let it pass for now. But then he saw Claire nodding her head at him and continued, "I'm actually hoping to form alliances with people like us all over the world."

"That's... quite ambitious." Mohinder was obviously impressed. "How do you think you're going to do that?"

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it yet. People have been keeping their heads down ever since you-know-what happened."

"Not everyone wants to help or be helped." Claire decided to join the conversation, hoping to distract herself from thinking about anything negative. "That makes it a lot more difficult for us to find them." The ones they knew were either not answering their phones or simply not interested in their help, probably in fear of having their abilities exposed. "What about your people," she said as she looked at both Edgar and Eli. "Surely one of them…"

"Nope," Eli answered before Claire was able to finish her sentence. He took a bite of the apple he had found in one of the bags and shook his head.

Edgar sat down on the back of the couch. "I'm sure some of them would help us if we asked them to, but we won't. We don't want to involve them in this. They've been through enough shit already."

"But if they wanna help, you should let them. I'm not talking about the children or the elderly, just those who are old enough and willing to-"

"No," Edgar interrupted. "They are getting used to their new lives, they have their new homes, they have registered themselves and now they need time to adjust."

"What about this place?" Mohinder asked as he gestured at the four walls around them. "I don't see why you have to hide in this old building when all you're doing is helping people."

Micah shrugged. "I don't really have anywhere else to go."

"Me neither," Eli said.

"What's the alternative?" Edgar asked. He had also found an apple and was using one of his throwing-knives to cut off pieces before eating them. "Sorry, but I can't see myself living a 'normal' life, not anymore. This is where I wanna be."

They all had their reasons for not wanting to be 'out there' right now and those reasons were all more than valid. Claire had to admit she couldn't picture herself living a 'normal' life either. Her reason for staying out of sight was, apart from feeling the responsibility to help, mainly to avoid the press. She wanted to lay low for a while, just until the dust settled and everything turned back to 'normal' again. "We're helping people. We're teaching them how to control their abilities better and thereby making it harder for the government to find them. If they find out, we're screwed. That's why we have to stay under their radar for the time being."

"It's just easier right now if nobody knows where we are," West supplied.

"Dr. Suresh," Micah began with a sniff. "You can leave if you want, but don't you think it's better if the two of you stay here for a while? It's not so bad here. We have food, we have water, we have beds, they're not great, but I've heard no complaints so far. I'm even trying to find a way to get some of the power back on, maybe get the showers to work… Without anyone finding out of course."

"And it's so much easier to keep Molly safe here than it is out there," Claire helped.

Mohinder sighed and looked over his shoulder at Molly. "I'll think about it."

Claire exchanged a smile with Micah before turning to Edgar. She was going to need his help if she still wanted to find Peter. "Edgar?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you drop me off in New York tomorrow?" She still didn't know if Peter was actually in New York, because Molly had fallen asleep before she had the chance to ask her to find him, but she had to make sure that Edgar wouldn't leave the next day before she had asked him to take her there. "I need to... talk to someone there."

"Sure," Edgar said without having to think about it. "I was thinking about checking up on the rest of the carnies anyway."

"Thanks."

"I'll be right back," West suddenly said. He stood up from his chair and left the room.

"What's his problem?" Eli asked as the door fell shut behind West.

Claire also stood. She heard Edgar telling Eli to shut up as she followed West into the hallway. "West?!" she called out as she closed the door and broke into a run. "Wait." She placed her hand on his arm, but it was no use. He just kept walking, as if he hadn't heard her. "West?" She stopped right in front of him, giving him no other choice but to stop as well. "What's wrong?"

West took a deep breath and looked down at her. "I'm worried about you."

"You're worried about me?" she asked to make sure she heard it right.

"Yeah, I am."

"Why? Because I shot that man?" There was no reason for West to be worried about that. She knew she had done the right thing when she ended that man's life. She was absolutely one-hundred percent sure about it when she did it. She had never been so sure about anything in her entire life. If West couldn't understand that, then he really did not know her. "You shot him first."

"And I will do it again, if I have to. But that's not the point. What about that Dr. Suresh?"

"What about him?"

"He killed your father. I was there when you threw his ashes out over the sea. Those ashes obviously weren't his, but you still had to mourn his death because of that guy in there."

"Yes, I know. And I hated him for it, but if I have to hold a grudge against every single person who has tried to either hurt or kill my dad, then I wouldn't have many people left to talk to, would I? Edgar sliced my dad to pieces once, he almost killed him if it wasn't for Peter. And don't even get me started on Eli. The list is pretty long, West."

"That's not what I'm trying to say."

"Then what are you trying to say?"

"You're avoiding me, Claire. And if that's your way of dealing with things, then that's okay. But don't just stand there and tell me you're fine when you're not. I know you're not."

"I'm not avoiding you..."

"Then why did you ask Edgar to bring you to New York just now?" West asked as he gestured in the direction of the teachers' lounge. "You could've asked me, but you didn't. You barely looked at me and I think that's got something to do with what happened today, am I right?"

Yes. Claire looked down at her shoes and heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm just trying not to think about it." She didn't want to think about, because whenever she thought about it she felt vulnerable and weak and that wasn't how she wanted the others to see her. "Why should I? He is dead. It's over."

"Is it?"

"Yes." Why was it so hard for West to understand that she just wanted to try to forget about it and move on? "What do you want me to say? I am not the one with the problem here. That man who just tried to cut my head in half, he was the one with the problem, not me. I never asked for this. I never asked to be a victim over and over again. But that's just what I'm meant to be apparently. I..." She had to stop talking when West suddenly snaked his right hand around her neck, pulled her towards him and pressed his lips against hers.

Claire definitely did not see that coming. The kiss came as a total surprise to her. She was just standing there, her feet rooted to the floor, her hands half-raised, torn between putting a stop to it or letting it happen. She didn't want to kiss him back in fear of getting his hopes up, but at the same time, it was exactly what she needed to forget about everything else, even if it was just temporary.

But then West suddenly backed away, leaving her completely flushed and in a daze of mixed emotions. "What's wro..." she pauzed and turned her head away when she heard something that sounded a lot like footsteps, echoing through the building. Without even realizing it, she reached behind her and rested her fingertips on the gun that was still hidden underneath the fabric of her blouse. "Did you hear that?"

West nodded his head and closed the distance between himself and Claire. "Someone's here."

"Do we have to warn the others?" Is there enough time? "West? What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know..."

"H-hello?" a hesitant voice croaked.

"Who's there?" West called back, keeping his voice down as much as possible.

A human-shaped figure came slowly into view and stood still at the other end of the hallway. "I'm looking for someone."

"Who are you?" Claire asked.

"Someone named Rebel told me to come here. He offered to help me." The man cleared his throat and was quiet for a few seconds before answering Claire's question.

"My name is Luke Collins."

Next chapter: Punching Bag