One year later

"My dear, I know I'm repeating myself but I can't tell you how happy I am you're working with us," said Angela Petrelli, walking down the corridor with Elizabeth. Elizabeth smiled.

"I'm glad you gave me an opportunity to prove myself. But I'm not going on the field, no matter how much you flatter me."

Angela gave her a surprised look, then she smiled and shook her head. "I'm not saying you have to decide now… just think about it. You might get bored after a few years of working behind a desk listening to someone else's problems."

"Listening to others is what I do best, and let's face it, I'm pretty useless out there…"

Angela was going to reply, when she saw a face she clearly wasn't expecting to see. Elizabeth saw Angela's lips tightening and her eyes narrowed slightly, and she turned to see who could've ever provoked that reaction.

From the other end of the corridor, Meredith was smiling at them. She was wearing a black tailleur and her long red hair fell loosely on her shoulders, bouncing slightly at every step. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. She remembered clearly how Meredith got kicked out of the Company a couple of months after what had happened to Gabriel. Angela almost got her deported to England, and before Meredith left she had all her belongings checked, in case she was trying to steal information from them on behalf of her father.

Meredith accepting everything without flinching should've pointed Angela in the right direction, but the elder woman was too busy taking back the power the Kershaws stole from her to notice that a whole box of musical CDs passed from Meredith's office to Elizabeth's. It was a plan they devised the same day they decided Gabriel had to be protected at all costs: Elizabeth would've kept the man and all the related information secret while Meredith would've taken the blame for everything. Especially the logic bomb hidden in the mainframe that 'casually' erased some files and all the documentation related to Sylar and Gabriel Gray. There were no proofs to link the British girl to that attack, but Angela managed to use it anyway to kick her out of the city and the Country.

Until now.

"Meredith. What a surprise. Is the Immigration aware you're back here?"

"Of course, Angela. They gave me their blessing months ago, when I got the chance to explain that unfortunate misunderstanding of ours."

Meredith then gave Elizabeth a broad smile. "And there you are! I've heard you're doing a great job here. Congratulations, darling. Got a couple hours for me?"

Elizabeth could sense Angela's resentment growing, but she didn't care. Her friend was back there, and Elizabeth had every intention to spend time with her.

"Of course, Mere. Lunch? My treat."

"Perfect. I'll wait for you by the exit. Angela, always a pleasure," said Meredith, turning and disappearing behind a corner. Elizabeth, still smiling, moved to go back to her office but Angela grabbed her by the arm.

"Elizabeth… what does that mean?"

"I'm going out for lunch with a friend, Angela, what else?"

"Curious choice for a friend. I'm just saying."

"Are you questioning my loyalty, Angela? That's new."

"Nonsense! I'm not questioning your loyalty, Elizabeth… Just, pay attention. I know the Krenshaws, deceit is in their DNA."

"I experienced it first-hand last year, remember? But it wasn't nothing personal, so…"

"Lunch?"

"Lunch. Unless I have work to do?"

"No," Angela hand waved the question. "If there's someone here that knows the meaning of hard work, that someone's you. Enjoy your lunch break."

Elizabeth nodded and went to her office. She leant against the closed door and took a deep breath. She cursed silently. Why Meredith had to come there? It wasn't the plan. But on the other hand… Meredith waited a year to come back to the States and take her revenge on Angela. And considering what was going to happen, she was in no position to judge.

Elizabeth gathered her things, and feigning a calm she wasn't feeling she went out of the Company building. Meredith was waiting for her, and without a word they both got in the girl's car.

"Still sure you want to go through with it?"

"No," said Elizabeth, staring at her grandfather's pocket watch. "But it has to be done."

Even if I don't want to, though the girl. Meredith touched her arm and gave her a little smile.

"We'll be there in a few minutes. Why don't you tell me the news?"

"There's nothing new. Same old life," said Elizabeth, but Meredith gave her another look and raised an eyebrow.

"So that," and she motioned for her stomach, "is you getting fat and not what I think it is?"

Elizabeth watched the tiny bump on her belly, and she smiled to her friend.

"Yes, I'm getting fatter and fatter. It's all fault of my desk job."

"Yeah… so that's the reason why Angela is so protective of you? Or is it because…?"

There was no point in denying. Peter and she had grown closer and closer, first because of Sylar's sick mind games, and then because of her involvement with his mother. The transition from friend to couple didn't happen overnight, but it certainly looked fast to the people that didn't know what they went through before and after Sylar's 'death'. Rafe's family, for starters. Hers as well. Just Julie, her sister, knew of her pregnancy, and swore to keep the secret. No one knew, except her, Angela and Peter. And now Meredith.

"I can't help but feel guilty. It's just been a little more than a year since Rafe's death. But it feels like it happened to someone else, in another life."

"And today we cut the last tie. Again, are you sure?"

"I've told you. It has to be done."

It took Elizabeth a whole year to bring Gabriel back, and according to the doctors that worked with her in secret, it was something close to a miracle. He learned from scratch how to talk, to walk and to write, but his memory was too damaged, he never remembered a thing about his past actions as Sylar, or his life as Gabriel Gray. No one could anticipate if that was a permanent condition or if he would get her memory back, but the latter option with time became more and more unlikely. He was told he was a watchmaker in Queens, that his family was dead and that he was an honest, kind person with a great talent for his job. Sylar was dead, no one would look for him, and Elizabeth had learned from his work at the Company that the best way to hide something was to put it in plain sight. Sylar deserved his fate, but Gabriel deserved a second chance at the life the Company so ruthless ruined.

And in order to get that, they wouldn't have to see each other again. For Gabriel, it was easier to accept the deal… she was just one of the people that helped him heal, after all. But for Elizabeth, it was like ripping her heart from the chest all over again. Maybe The Haitian should've wiped her head too, once he removed his memories of her from Gabriel's head. It was incredible how fast they bonded again, but if at first that connection was considered important for the healing process, now it was considered a timebomb that could trigger his memory. A liability, and they couldn't afford that.

It took all of Elizabeth's persuasion to convince Meredith to stay in the car while she went inside the watch store. Elizabeth couldn't help but remember what happened the last time she had come there, but again, it felt so distant like it happened in another life. She sighed, and took her grandfather's watch out of her purse.

"Hello? Is there someone here?"

Gabriel appeared from the back of the store, removing his glasses. "Good morning," he said, and Elizabeth took a deep breath, trying not to react. "How can I help you?"

No cardigans or nerdy clothes, that was the only thing he retained from his past life, and Elizabeth suppressed a little smile, remembering when she had told Gabriel how much that new style suited him. Another deep breath, and Elizabeth moved closer to the watchmaker.

"Yes… Yes, you can. It's this watch. I think it's broken."

Gabriel took the pocket watch from Elizabeth's hands and opened it, observing the mechanisms with his work glasses.

"Yes, one of the wheels is broken, but I can repair it easily. In a couple of days…"

"Actually, there's no rush. I also came here to sell it," lied Elizabeth, forcing a convincing smile on her lips.

"Sell it? This watch is an antique, are you sure…?"

"Yes. It's time for it to find a new owner," she said, looking straight at Gabriel's eyes. Gabriel slightly frowned.

"Have we met before? I'm sorry, your face… feels familiar."

"I'm not from here. Just passing through."

"It must be difficult, letting so something so precious."

"It is. But it has to be done."

Gabriel nodded, and took put from under the table what he needed to write a receipt to the young woman in front of him.

"Can you tell me your name?"

But when he raised his eyes, the blond girl was nowhere to be seen, and the store door was closing. Gabriel frowned again, and took the watch in his hand. He couldn't understand why she decided to leave the watch there without getting a penny in return. People can be so weird, he concluded.

He also decided he would keep the watch for himself, once it was repaired. It was a too beautiful a piece to be sold to his average clientele. There was also something special about that watch… he just wanted to treasure it, like it meant something to him, something he couldn't exactly place or remember.

Just outside the store, Elizabeth leant on the brick wall, smiling and crying at the same time. The emotions she felt coming from Gabriel where exactly the ones she was hoping to feel.

"Did it go as you planned?" asked Meredith, waiting for her friend just outside the car.

Elizabeth nodded, and reached her friend. Yes, things went exactly as she planned. She couldn't become a true member of the Petrelli family without a fair share of dark secrets, Elizabeth sarcastically thought. Maybe Gabriel would never remember his past, maybe he would never remember her… but life wasn't written in stone, and this Elizabeth knew very well. Anything could happen, like anything could trigger his memory. The watch's role wasn't to trigger his memories of her now, but to lead him to her the day his memory would come back.

This time I won't leave you alone, Gabriel, thought Elizabeth while getting in the car.

Come find me.

The End