Apocalypse by SLynn

Summary: Three years have passed since the explosion and life has drastically changed for everyone. This isn't the world they imagined they'd be saving.

Spoilers: Up to 'Fallout'

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing and will return them all when I'm done, virtually untouched.

Chapter 26: Belief

Claire woke up feeling off.

Her head swam and the lights, the lights were entirely too bright.

"Where…"

"Ms. Bennet," a familiar voice said. "Nice of you to join us."

"What's happened? Why…"

Claire blinked heavily a few times.

The room was white and her hands, she couldn't lift her hands.

"Nathan?" she asked.

"They had to drug you," he said. "Heavily as I understand it. They couldn't very well keep putting bullets in you. Well wait, I guess they could."

Claire looked down and shook her head to clear the cobwebs.

"I wonder if they overdid it?" Nathan asked no one in particular. "I wonder if that's even possible, with you I mean."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her head finally clearing.

"Why?" he asked back. "Why not?"

"Are you going to… what are you going to do with me?" Claire asked, realizing that he couldn't exactly kill her. Well, he could try.

"Me?" Nathan asked in mock surprise. "Oh, I'm not going to do anything to you. I'm just holding you a few days for some friends of mine. They'll be here on Friday to take you home."

"What?" Claire asked, shocked and finally fully awake. "What do you mean? Who?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Claire was trying not to panic, but it wasn't easy. She looked around the room, at her handcuffed wrists, at the men with Nathan, at everything.

"Oh," Nathan added, "and don't worry about your friends. They won't be going with you but you can see them off, in a way."

Nathan turned to leave, was heading for the door and Claire knew she wouldn't get another chance, that she may never get another chance to talk to him again. To try and get him to see reason. To make him stop.

"Peter," she shouted out just as Nathan got to the door.

It wasn't brilliant, but it did the trick. It stopped him.

"I'm sorry?" he said, all calm and composed on the surface, as he turned slightly to look once more at her.

"He's alive, Nathan. He is. I saw him. He's alive and…"

Nathan moved so quickly, was in her face and practically nose-to-nose with her in such a rush that Claire actually felt the wind tear around her.

"Don't," he said quietly through gritted teeth.

Claire took in a small gulp of air. Transfixed. Afraid.

"Just don't."

"It's true," she said as steadily as she could manage.

Nathan took a few steps away from her, shaking his head in disbelief.

"He doesn't remember what's happened," Claire went on, gaining courage. "He can't remember any of it, but he knew some things about you and your mother and…"

"Stop!" Nathan shouted at her.

Claire looked down, unable to keep a few tears from sliding down her cheeks.

"Stop it now," Nathan said with quiet determination. "You're only saying that… You're lying."

"Have I ever lied to you, Nathan?"

For a moment, he considered it. He really considered if it was true or not. If it was even possible, what she was saying, but couldn't believe it. Nathan couldn't afford to believe it.

This wasn't just about him, not entirely. Sure, Nathan was involved, had led the way, but he was a figurehead at best. Primatech pulled the strings, they had the real power and they never let him forget it.

"You know," Nathan said with an odd laugh, "you're a lot like Parkman. A lot. And I know what you're trying to do. You think if I get mad enough I'll make it quick, give you an easy out."

"That's not…"

"It's not going to happen," he continued, ignoring her response entirely. "I've got plans for you, Claire. You and him both."

Nathan turned on his heels, heading quickly for the door as if determined to hear no more.

"Nathan!" Claire yelled after him. "I'm telling the truth! I'm telling you the truth!"

He didn't stop once, not once. Just opened the door and left without ever looking back.

The next few hours were a blur.

Not long after Nathan left, a man and a woman came in to escort her out of the room. Claire didn't fight it, didn't speak, just went along with it. Went with them without a word, trying to decide what to do next.

Before she was even fully aware of how far they'd gone, Claire found herself in front of a rather large man in uniform.

"I've got her," he told the others who promptly left.

Claire wouldn't even look at him.

"Let's get this straight now," he said to her in a firm voice. "You're only going to be here a few days, but while you're here I'm in charge. Got that?"

She said nothing.

"As long as you don't cause me any problems, no one down here is going to cause you any."

Claire looked up and gave him a small nod of acceptance.

"Good," he said, taking her by the arm to start their walk down the long hallway together.

He didn't say anything else to her, only startled her by knocking his nightstick sharply against one of the doors as they'd passed it.

Claire looked up at him, not expecting to find him staring back; even more surprised to see his eyes flicker from her and back to the door he'd just hit.

Turning her head slightly, looking back as he'd done, she saw a man in the window staring out at them as they passed.

Claire nearly cried out in surprise.

It was Mohinder.

It was really him, looking back at her clearly just as stunned as she was by all of this.

She didn't know what to make of it. Of the guard, of this man actually going to the trouble of letting her and them know she was there.

"This is your cell," he said as they stopped. "You're alone down here so don't get any funny ideas."

Claire gave him a questioning look, but he wouldn't meet her gaze any longer. He only opened the door, removed her handcuffs and pointed the way inside.

"Good luck," she heard him mutter as the door slammed shut.

She stood there for a moment unsure what was happening, if this all wasn't some massive hallucination. It felt unreal.

Was that man, that guard, trying to help her?

It didn't seem possible.

Claire shook her head. She had to pull herself together. She had to think.

Sitting on the lone cot in the room, Claire tried to piece together everything she knew.

She remembered the abduction, at least how it began. Claire realized that at some point she'd either been shot or sedated and carted off, but wasn't sure when that was. It didn't matter. What mattered was right now she was in big trouble. Nathan had obviously made some deal, some kind of trade with the people her father used to work for. They'd take her back to Texas and then what? What were they going to do to her?

Claire looked around the room desperately. There was no way out. None. She supposed they'd have to take her somewhere else for meals, unless they brought them to her. She might have a chance then. Niki had certainly taught her enough about defensive and offensive fighting, enough that she stood a reasonable chance against one man alone. The problem was, Claire doubted very much that it would only be one man between herself and freedom.

And then there was Mohinder. If he was down here, so was Audrey. And Matt.

Sighing, she buried her head in her hands.

She couldn't leave them. Claire couldn't leave him behind again; wouldn't. No matter what.

Claire needed help.

Maybe that guard…

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of voices just outside her door.

"Are you sure about this?" she heard the guard who had brought her in say.

There was no answer, but she assumed that whoever it was with him really was certain.

"Alright," she heard as the door began to swing open.

Claire stood up; staring.

"You've got a visitor," the guard told her before shutting Claire inside with the other woman.

Matt sat with his head cradled in his hands.

He felt like he was just on the edge of being violently ill; that it was just restrained. He was unsure of everything right now, only knowing that Jenny would be back. She was gone now, but Matt knew she'd be back.

She was no where near done with him yet.

What he needed to do right now was pull it together. Matt needed to use this time to recover his senses and figure out the best way of fending her off.

Not that he was entirely sure he could do that anymore.

Each time she came back, it got worse. It was almost as if Jenny was feeding off of him, off of his ability and redoubling it back towards him.

Matt didn't know what to do.

He supposed he could just let her do it. That fighting it at all might be a mistake, but he was more afraid of giving in than he was of anything else. Because giving in right now would be easy, too easy. It might even be a relief. To just go along with whatever she was telling him. To believe it. To want to believe it.

And it would be a mistake.

Matt knew, he just knew that if he gave in, if he started to believe what he saw from her, she really could make him do anything she wanted him to do. Jenny could make him not only see her differently, but the world as well. She could change him.

It wasn't worth it, he had to remember that.

That no matter how much pain and heartache she may put him through, it was going to end. Eventually, soon even.

Matt wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry when it dawned on him that he was looking forward to Friday; looking forward to the day that this would all be over with.

With his eyes still shut tightly, his head still resting in his hands, he heard the door open.

She was back again.

Jenny.

He wouldn't look. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction. He would make her come to him.

It was the only power he had right now.

Neither of them moved an inch.

Matt was still refusing to look up, to see what part of his life she was imitating now, and Jenny didn't seem to want to approach him until he did.

Finally, as she let out a half stifled sob, he looked. He had to look. If anything, he had to get it over with.

He wasn't surprised to see Claire there, not really. Claire was probably Jenny's favorite distraction, her favorite person to use against him, and he knew why. It wasn't a relationship she could understand, but one she could exploit. Use against him.

It worked very well.

Matt really wasn't sure he could go through this again.

"Matt?" he heard her ask tentatively.

He wasn't going to answer. Matt just put his head back down and shut his eyes; it was all he could do.

"What's…" she'd started to ask, much closer now than before, but was stopped with a shuddery sigh.

She sat down beside him, lightly touching his shoulder and waited.

Matt couldn't understand it. Why she was acting like this? Usually Jenny just dived right in with the questions or the torment or the mind games. In a lot of ways, this felt worse. The suspense. He just wanted it over with.

But she wasn't in a hurry.

Matt felt her slowly pull his hand into her own and lean against his shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if she'd done it a thousand times before, and the truth was that the real Claire had when she was sad or scared, or when she thought he was. It was so frighteningly real, Matt wondered if he finally had cracked. If she'd won after all.

He turned and looked at her, only able to glimpse the top of her head. It was her turn to avoid looking his way.

'I'm so sorry.'

She'd squeezed his hand. She knew he'd been listening.

Was this real? He couldn't tell anymore.

"Claire?" he asked tentatively.

She responded by looking back at him with red eyes and a curious expression on her face.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" she finally said.

Matt couldn't answer and he couldn't look away.

"Because I'm here," she continued. "Because after everything you've done, I still ended up…"

Tears were beginning slide down her face and she couldn't finish the sentence out loud. She didn't need to.

Matt shook his head slightly, neither answering her nor believing it. He didn't want to believe it. This wasn't really Claire, it couldn't be.

"I don't want it to end like this," she said, resting her head back against his shoulder.

'D.L. and the others are on their way. Jacobs is with them. They're going to try and…'

Matt jumped away from her, startled by what he'd heard. How did she come up with Jacobs' name? That was the information she'd been after, wasn't it?

She was startled too, he could see it in her eyes; startled by his reaction and his sudden movement.

"Matt, what's wrong?"

He got to his feet uneasily and continued to stare at her.

'What did I do? Are you mad because they're coming or…'

"Jenny, stop it."

"Jenny?"

"Stop," he said as forcefully as he could, turning away from her and putting as much distance between them as the cell would allow.

"Who's Jenny?" she asked, standing now and looking extremely confused. "Don't you... you know me, right?"

"I don't know what I know anymore."

Matt pressed his back to the wall before sliding down it, sitting on the floor.

She came over and sat down beside him, being certain to keep her distance this time.

"Oh, Matt," she said sadly. "What did they do to you?"

'Don't you remember me?'

"Of course I do," he said softly. "I just can't tell… It's not real. You're not really here."

"I don't understand."

"You can't be here," he said, shaking his head.

"I know you don't want me to be, but…"

"No, you can't be," he said angrily. "This isn't you. It's not…"

'I don't believe it,' he said inside her head.

Matt watched her reaction and the imitation was perfect. The look on her face was one of partial surprise and annoyance, the way Claire was always annoyed when he did that. She hated that.

It gave him pause.

Jenny, although good and getting better at her hallucinations, was never this good. She'd never gotten anyone this perfect before. Matt hadn't believed her entirely, not this entirely since the first time he'd met her when she'd impersonated Audrey. And then, even then he'd had moments of doubt.

"Matt?" she asked once more uncertainly.

'Give me something. Please,' he told her. 'Anything so I can be sure.'

"What do you want me to tell you, Officer Peterson?" Claire asked, an interesting mix of serious and haughty.

But it worked.

Matt actually laughed and knew. He knew exactly what Claire was saying and why. How perfect a response it was. How very Claire.

Once he got over his initial laughter, his initial relief, that familiar sense of dread began to wash over him.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," he said, pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Claire. You just don't know. I hope you don't have to know."

"You shouldn't be apologizing, I should. This is my fault, if I hadn't left you… I thought you… Just don't be mad at me, please don't."

"I'm not mad and I'd never blame you for this," he said quickly, "but how did this happen? Did… did Jacobs…"

"What? No," Claire said with a shake of her head. "No. He took me to the colony, just like he promised. Why?"

"It's not important. Not right now," Matt returned. "We've got to think. We've…"

He sighed, running a hand over his head in sheer frustration.

"I don't have a lot of time," Claire said. "They'd said they'd only give me half an hour, so whatever we're going to plan…"

"Who said?" Matt asked.

"The guards, that head guard. Heidi came and visited me," Claire answered. "Made them let me see you."

"So D.L. is really on his way here?" Matt asked.

"Of course he is," she said. "As soon as we found out…"

Claire couldn't help it. Couldn't stop the emotions that had begun to well up again.

"It's my fault," she continued. "All of this. If I hadn't left you behind, but Matt, I really thought… I could have sworn you were…"

"Claire, it's alright…"

"It just, there was so much blood… both of us thought for sure… but I guess it wasn't that bad, right?"

Matt didn't know what to say.

"Although," she said with a false laugh, "given what they plan to do, I'm surprised they bothered."

"Claire," Matt said, "they didn't fix me. When they picked me up, there was nothing for them to fix."

"No," Claire said, shaking her head for emphasis. "You were shot…"

"No, I know I was. I'm saying that you healed it. You fixed it."

"What? No. I couldn't… I can't do that. I can't…"

Claire continued to shake her head at him for a moment longer.

"How?" she asked. "How could I…"

"I don't know."

Claire looked at him as if she didn't want to believe it. She knew he wouldn't lie to her, but it was too much to comprehend. She'd really only gotten used to being able to heal herself. This, this was insanity.

"Claire, I know it's easier to believe that I wasn't…"

She shushed him, studying his face with a sort of new fascination.

The bruises.

Matt didn't stop her as she put her hand to his cheek, as she closed her eyes and concentrated harder than she had before. Instinctively knowing what was to be done.

'I don't want to see him like this. I don't want him to hurt. I want it to go away. To stop. It has to stop. It has to be alright.'

Claire opened her eyes again and gasped.