Hey Guys! Here it is, bit of a long chapter but it is split into two parts. I was unsure where to take this one, opinion was well and truly divided. Thanks so much for sticking with the story guys, means a lot to me :-)

Chapter 14

2011. Claire and Gabriel

Gabriel let them into the apartment.

"Oh my God, it's so weird being back here!" Claire seemed to twirl into the hallway as though she were entering a grand museum. With a sigh of relief Gabriel remembered that Peter was working late shifts this week. He didn't particularly wish to explain why he was sneaking around with his darling niece who had suddenly taken to calling everyone, "Honey" and grown her hair a good five inches longer than it was yesterday over night.

"Aww, we had some good times here..." she patted the couch cushions, looking at them with a sentimental gait that left Gabriel wondering what she was referring to.

"Did we?" Gabriel asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he kicked off his shoes and sat himself down beside her.

Claire smirked in return, biting her lip at the memory, only too aware that it was one that Gabriel had not had the pleasure of living out yet. In one fluid graceful movement she swung a slender leg over his lap to sit atop of him, facing him completely, resting her hands at his sides. This obviously came quite naturally to Claire, but Gabriel was not used to such tactile affection, he suddenly found that didn't know where to put his hands. Sensing his apprehension, Claire took a hold of them and rested them on her hips. He was grateful of her these small acts of guidance that she kept giving him.

Gabriel felt self conscious under the gaze of her pretty green eyes, "What?" he asked, looking every bit the rabbit in headlights.

"Oh nothing, I just forgot how shy you used to be in the beginning..."she tilted her head and brushed a stowaway strand of hair out of his eyes. Sensing his unease Claire opted to change the subject, clasping her hands together she rolled her eyes mischievously, "I wonder how little old me is getting on with future you." she absently toyed with the buttons of his shirt.

"I don't know...I hope she's not angry at me for leaving her. Not that she isn't always angry at me" Gabriel raised a well shaped eyebrow considering he was actually talking about the woman currently sat on his lap.

"Oh don't worry about that! I'm sure Gabe..."she paused remembering who she was talking to,"...myGabe will take care of her."

He couldn't help noticing that glint in her eye, the way she looked so pleased with herself. What was she alluding too?

Unable to let that last sentence go he bit, "What do you mean, Take care of?" He asked, unsure if he wanted the answer.

"Oh come on Gabe, do you really need me to draw you a picture? He thinks she's me, or at least I hope he does. He's probably going to "take care of her..."She waggled her fingers in the air to punctuate the saying. "...just the same way as you "took care" of me when you did your little time travelling bit! "

Claire tried to hide her amusement as he clearly grappled with the thought of his future self deflowering his Claire.

"No. No...she'd not go for that." he shook his head vehemently, trying to convince himself,"I've tried kissing her before, and it didn't end well for me."

Claire's hand shot up to cover her eyes as though she were mortified by the memory, stifling a chortle she gave him a playful apologetic glance from between her fingers, "Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Finally she rested her hand on top of his on her hip.

Walking her fingers up his chest in a playful motion, ensuring that his eyes followed them all the way she thought out loud, "My husband does have his ways though, he's very persuasive...he'll know all the right things to say...and do."

Gabriel winced, visibly agitated at her words, "I'm sure he does but it's hardly fair is it Claire? I've been working my ass off to try and get her to just be my friend, just to see me as something other than a monster and one little trip to the future and she just falls in to his arms! Jesus, what was I thinking, why did I let you convince me this was a good idea?" he folded his arms across his chest and huffed.

Still not willing to go along with his surly mood, Claire reached out and playfully knocked on his head in a brief,"anyone at home" gesture, "Hello, he's you? You're the same guy. How can you be mad?" she tried to pry one of his hands from his chest but he was having none of it.

In a low mumble he bit out a reply, "Well I'm sorry but that's just not much comfort right now ok, he's got my girl and there's nothing I can do about it!"

"And you have his girl, right here in your lap! You and he are THE SAME GUY! Jesus for someone so smart you can be a real brain donor you know that?"

Gabriel remained silent, looking past Claire to the corner of the room, sulking like a child. He knew she was right but that sure as hell didn't mean that he had to admit it.

Luckily future Claire seemed to have gained a whole truck load more patience in her extra years, she let her hand stay on his even though he refused to hold it in return. Her other hand ran leisurely through her silken hair. Looking at her reluctantly, from the corner of his eye Gabriel thought that maybe she was trying to think up words that might placate him. He was right.

"Well technically you banged his wife a couple of nights ago." Claire's nose wrinkled as she said the words, knowing it was a poor attempt at comforting him, and not particularly liking the term,"banged".

Raising a defensive finger Gabriel instantly shot back,"That's not the same and you know it!"

Frustrated, Claire let her body slump down on to his and rested her head on his shoulder. He assumed he had won their little argument until she raised her face to his ear to speak in no more than a whisper.

"It's not so bad baby..." her breath on his earlobe caused him to relent with his arm folding and grab a hold of her hips. "...you wanna know something?" Dear God why does she have to be so hot?

Trying to maintain his dignity he managed a quick,"Hmmm" in way of an answer.

"The first time we had sex, you made me yours. After that, I knew I would never even look at another guy...and I never have, not ever. You ruined me." He knew she was playing to his ego and the fact that she was pretty much sat on the erection that was now growing almost painful in his pants, but she wasn't lying, she was telling the absolute truth.

2019 Gabriel, Claire and Noah.

Dinner had been more fun than she had anticipated; it was kinda funny to see Noah and Gabriel trying to be sneaky together, giving Mr Muggles food under the table. Future Claire's orders rang in her ears but she couldn't find it in herself to chastise them. It served her future self right for leaving her there in the first place, right?

Afterwards she busied herself in the kitchen, trying to cling on to mundane duties like clearing the dishes in order to ignore how absolutely bat crap crazy this whole situation was. She scrubbed each surface until it gleamed, but eventually she had to admit that there really was nothing else left to do other than go sit with her,"family".

Hovering in the doorway to the living room she took in the site before her, Noah head to toe in Spiderman PJ's, his Dads arm slung over his little shoulders, both of them gawping at the television set with the exact same engrossed expression on their faces. She hated to admit it to herself but she could feel her heart melting like butter.

Realising the time she held out her hand in Noah's direction, "Noah Honey, it's time for bed! Come on!"

His response was to look up at her, with the epitome of puppy dog eyes and a pout that would shame Paris Hilton,"But Mooooooom, its Star Trek night, I always get to stay up on Star Trek night"

Before she could stand her ground Gabriel chimed in to back up his son, turning to look at her, his huge brown eyes made even bigger by his thick rimmed spectacles, "Yeah Mom, it's Star Trek night!" his comical expression was not lost on Claire. Knowing full well this was rule number two she was breaking Claire caved in, how could her future self manage to say, "No" to them? She was totally outnumbered with cuteness!

"Oh..." she fiddled with the hair band that she had secured around her wrist,"...budge up then!" Claire shuffled on to the couch next to Noah who was clearly both ecstatic and surprised by his victory.

An evening watching Star Trek...how hard could it be right?

Claire soon found that although Gabriel and Noah were thoroughly enraptured by,"The City on the Edge of Forever" she was not, her eyelids were so heavy that she finally had to stop springing them back open and just accept that she was going to have to take a nap...just for a little while.

She awoke to the repeated swipe of the Enterprise doors playing out over and over on the DVD menu and the room was lit only by a small table lamp in the corner. It must have been late. She would have reached for the TV remote but was stopped by none other than Gabriel's head, resting in her lap, he was peacefully zzz'ing away, his glasses rested on the coffee table and his hair was a matted mess splayed out over her denim clad thighs.

In turn Noah was fast asleep, half on the couch half on Gabriel's chest, held in place by one strong arm around his middle.

Gently stroking her fingers through his hair Claire took the opportunity to really look at the man sleeping before her. He looked so innocent lying there like that, she ran a daring finger over his cheek bone, in an unconscious reaction to her attentions the long eyelashes that rested atop of his cheeks fluttered and he nuzzled his face closer to her in his sleep. She concluded that he had never looked less like the boogieman.

The suggestion that one day she might love him, agree to be his wife and have a child with him had always sounded absurd to her in the past, she had been so sure that he could never make her happy. But now, faced with the evidence, right there in front of her she felt her steely resolve begin to crack.

All the reasons to reject him, to fight the attraction she felt to him, they seemed so far away now.

Before she could come to any life altering conclusions, Gabriel started to stir, stretching out his impossibly long legs and raising his free hand to rub his eyes. As his eyes blinking open he shot her a sleepy smile that gave her butterflies.

Momentarily looking down at Noah he looked sheepish, "Ah, guess who's gonna be grouchy tomorrow." he pulled the sleeping little boy closer in to a hug. She had thought it would be strange seeing him being a Dad, but he was so good at it that it seemed perfectly natural. Claire just looked back mute, wishing secretly that she could take a picture of the two of them to remind her how perfect the moment had felt.

Snuggling his face into Noah's hair a little, Gabriel looked up at her with a bashful smile and narrowed eyes, "So what year are you from Babe?"

His accusation hit her straight out of the blue; her mind raced trying to think of an explanation.

"Let me see, blonde hair, shoulder length, and still wearing those earrings your dad gave you for your eighteenth? 2012? 2013? Am I right?" he teased, not bothering to move his head from her lap.

Claire decided that the game was up, she was a bad liar at the best of times, let alone against someone as power loaded as Gabriel, "Twenty eleven! How did you know?"

His eyes sparkled, enjoying the oneupmanship,"Claire!" he whispered so as not to wake the child sleeping on his chest,"...do you really think I don't know my own wife?" he clicked his tongue, pretending to be offended. "Built in lie detector.." he added tapping his temples. "Plus ...my Claire hates Star Trek" he concluded his deductions with a self-satisfied grin.

Claire rolled her eyes, willing herself not to blush, since when did Gabriel just looking at her make her blush?

"It wasn't my idea! You...past you...brought me here to show me how we were meant to be together! Then future me thought it would be fun for me to spend the night, before I could argue they just upped n left me here!" she glared down at him, smacking her forehead at how stupid it all sounded.

"Oh, Claire you're so damn sneaky!" She was unsure if he was talking directly to her, or just making a general comment to himself about his time travelling wife. Strangely he seemed completely unfazed by the situation, maybe this was a common occurrence in 2019?

"Well, better get the space cadet to bed..." Her eyes followed him as he sat himself and Noah up off of her, in a manoeuvre that was clearly well practiced.

"...you coming too?" he added, his hair tussled from where he'd been laid on her.

Claire remained seated a few seconds longer. Ah. Yes . Bed. **gulp**