The Miracle

It was a miracle, one medical science could not explain and the doctors were willing to allow for an act of God. Peter Petrelli had looked at his chart, reviewed his tests, showing Claire the pages of test results and lab reports that proved he'd had massive internal injuries and had lost more blood than he should have. But, as happens every day in a place full of medical miracles, Peter had been downgraded to a telemetry unit on the fifth floor of the hospital. The view from his window of downtown Odessa not very inspiring, and the lime jello on his lunch tray less than appetizing. Claire still seemed to be waiting for something, watching every move he made, words hiding on the edge of her tongue, ready to tumble out at the right time. Nathan was subtle, but not much more so, facilitating phone calls between Peter and their mother, who had acquiesced to Heidi's sensible advice and stayed in New York. Claire's presence forced an uncomfortable politeness out of Nathan that Peter found extremely amusing. Peter took his own restlessness as a sign of his recovery. It was time to get out of here and find out what had to happen next.

"Hi." Claire said, coming into his room. The nurses on the telemetry unit, like the ones in SICU, had taken Claire under their wings and given her a home among them while Peter was recovering. Freshly showered, Claire had that same soft scent Peter remembered from when he was in the coma, and she looked very small in the baggy scrubs she wore. "The latest in hospital fashion. Like it?" She turned, and Peter smiled, putting his spoon down, stabbing the offending green jello.

"At least yours stays closed in the back." Peter's smile was lopsided. "Anything?" As always, as soon as she entered the room, Peter could feel the flow of her powers wash over him. Now that he was better, it was a jolt, a kind of rush that took a few minutes to adjust to not having when Claire left the room.

"Well, your cell phone didn't make it through the fall." Claire shook her head as she set her backpack on the floor next to her chair. "Nathan said he'd get you a new one, but that's not going to be until you go home."

"Great, I can get myself one when I get home." Peter fell back against his pillows and looked out the window. "Claire, what about you? What are you going to do?"

"I wanted to talk to you about that." Claire sat down in the chair next to the bed. "As of right now, I'm kind of hiding."

"Hiding?" Peter looked at her, sitting forward again. "What are you talking about?"

"This man who works for my dad, he's like us, with abilities.." Claire began, looking at her hands. "He showed up at my house the day I found you here, and told he he'd been ordered to wipe my mind…like he'd done to my friend Zach, my brother and my mom. He said it was important that I remember everything. But, he made me promise not to tell my dad, and to only tell you. He said I needed to stay with you to be safe. My mom thinks I'm at cheerleading camp and Dad has to play along." Claire looked up. "If I go home, he'll have my mind erased like everyone else's."

Peter blinked, putting his hand over his mouth, trying to think. "I can't say that's impossible, can I?" He smiled again, and nodded. "I can't let it happen, either. Well, there's one solution, as far as I can see. When I was dreaming the future, I saw you in New York. You'll just have to come with me."

"Come with you." Claire repeated the words, her voice low and shocked. "But how? Nathan is ready to send me home now."

"I know he is. And let me worry about him." Peter looked up through the open door, just to see if his brother was on the way in. He thought a minute. "We can tell him if you and I are separated again, I'll die."

"You won't really, will you?" She gasped, reaching for his hand, but then remembering herself. Since he'd opened his eyes, Claire had not so much as laid a finger on him. She'd been reserved and shy in a friendly way, as if remembering she hardly knew him. Peter shook his head.

"I'll be fine now, I think. I feel great." He pushed his full tray away. "Great enough to not want that."

Claire looked at the tray and shook her head. "You have to eat something. I know it's nasty…" She stuck out her tongue and made a sour face. "What would you want, you think? I guess I could go to the cafeteria and get you something else."

"PB & J." Peter said immediately, and Claire rolled her eyes, laughing. It was the first thing he'd told her about what he'd overheard when he woke up enough to really talk to her. It had become kind of a code, something between the two of them that Nathan didn't quite understand, for when Peter was unhappy with something and wanted another option. If something was very, very bad, Peter would say, "Catfish" and Claire would giggle, changing the channel on the television or offering him a different magazine.

"Come on, now. Really." She tipped her head, watching his face for signs of teasing. "Do you really want that?"

"Yes, and milk. Ice cold milk." Peter nodded. "Forget this," He looked at the tray. "Whatever this is."

"I think it's meatloaf." Claire came closer and poked the gravy covered lump with the fork. "Yep." She wrinkled her nose. "It smells like feet."

"Nah, that's me." Peter grinned at her, and Claire laughed, too, forgetting herself enough to reach out and slap his arm a little. "I'm waiting for them to tell me I can get up and shower. Bed baths are crappy."

Claire blushed a little, and then nodded. "Well, I'll go see about your sandwich and your milk, sir." She picked up his tray to carry it away. "Might as well do my part." She left him with a smile and the empty feeling that followed every time Peter lost contact with her powers. The thing was, Peter couldn't say it was just the loss of her regenerating abilities that caused that empty feeling. Seeing her fold her hands in her lap had the same effect, after holding her hand in his for so long. His hand would contract just when Peter just looked at her hands and Peter hoped that Claire never noticed.

"Get a grip, man." Peter said to himself, remembering her small face light up when he opened his eyes finally, tears welling up in her clear green eyes and spilling down her golden cheeks. "She's a kid."

Nathan appeared in the doorway, also freshly showered and neat in the blandly casual clothes he always seemed to wear now when not in a suit, khaki pants, collared polo shirt, khaki windbreaker. "Who is a kid?" He asked, fixing his brother with a questioning eye.

"Oh, on television." Peter shut the television off, not even paying attention to what had been on. "The doctor hasn't been in to see me yet."

Nathan nodded. "Where's Tinkerbell, Peter?" Nathan's dark eyes darted to the large blue reclining chair. Calling Claire Tinkerbell had been started by the nurses in SICU, and Peter had been mildly pleased and appalled to see it written in the nurses notes of his chart. Claire had laughed about it, but seemed uncomfortable, so Peter never referred to her in that way. Nathan, however, thought the nickname wildly appropriate, but at least managed to not call Claire that to her face, and saved it to torment Peter with on the off chance she was out of the room.

"Went to get me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." Peter answered. "She doesn't like being called that."

Nathan shrugged. "After tomorrow, it won't matter."

"Why?" Peter asked. The expression on Nathan's face was excited, Christmas bright, and Peter knew what he was going to say before Nathan could even speak.

"You're being discharged tomorrow." Nathan sat down. "We're on a 7 p.m. flight to New York, and Claire can go back to worrying about boys and her curfew."

Peter thought about that for a minute. "Nathan, Claire needs to come to New York. I'm not sure, but I think if I'm not around her all the time, I might die." He tried to look weak, and Nathan frowned.

"Come on, Peter." Nathan lowered his voice. "She's a high school senior. Don't you think being sentimental is kind of inappropriate? Aren't you a little old for crushes on cheerleaders?"

"I'm not talking about that." Peter rolled his eyes at the idea. "I may need her abilities to stay alive." And, I like having her around. That's not a bad thing, is it? Peter asked himself, knowing better than to say that out loud.

"Oh." Nathan's frown grew deeper. "We're back to crazy talk. Okay, I'll play along. How do I explain her, Peter? To anyone?"

"I don't know." Peter shook his head. "I just know she has to come with us."

"Christ." Nathan stood, shaking his head. "What about her family?"

"I don't think that's going to be a problem." Peter said, looking down at the blanket over his legs. "I saw her in the future, in New York, when I was out, Nathan."

Claire stopped just outside the door to Peter's room, holding the tray with his sandwich and milk. She'd gotten him some chocolate pudding, too, and a Diet Coke for herself. Now she heard Peter and Nathan talking about her. In a move she'd learned from years of eavesdropping on her parents, Claire took a step to the side, so neither of the men could see her and held her breath.

"You heard her voice and dreamed or hallucinated. That doesn't mean anything. What about school? Where is she going to live?" Nathan's voice raised slightly, sounding very paternal and concerned.

"With me." Peter answered defiantly, and Claire felt her skin tingle, like suddenly standing in the freezer, and she clutched the tray tightly, her knuckles white. Live with Peter? Her mind raced with the idea, and scared her to death. "And it's not like there aren't high schools in New York. Heidi can hire her as a mother's helper or something." His tone was careless, casual, and Claire realized that this was Peter's way of making sure Nathan had no idea how big a deal this was to him.

"With you?" Nathan laughed, and Claire frowned, not liking the sound of his laugh at all. "Right. Having her will put a crimp in your social life, don't you think?" Nathan said, and Claire could hear Peter sigh, frustrated but not at all defeated.

"Never mind about my social life. If that's the only objection you have, then it's not a bad idea." Peter said thoughtfully. "If she's with me, keeping me alive, then I can keep an eye on her, too. I had to save her to save the world, Nathan. That's pretty important."

"I can't even believe this conversation." Nathan covered his eyes. "This girl is seventeen." Nathan hissed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "A MINOR. You even look at her wrong and her parents have you in jail for a long, long time, and you become a registered sex offender when you get out."

Claire shook her head, and then remembered Brody and how he stared at her blankly when she'd gone to his room to confront him about how he had tried to attack her. Her father wouldn't put Peter in jail. He'd make Peter forget he'd ever been born. Claire straightened her shoulders and walked into Peter's room, a fake, bright smile on her face.

"Here you go, peanut butter and strawberry jelly, chocolate pudding and ice cold milk." She set the tray down on the rolling tray table and took her soda from it. "Did I miss something?" Neither brother acknowledged her at all, and Claire shrugged. "Just keep pretending I'm not here. It's okay."

Nathan stood and looked at Peter for a long minute. "This is all going to have be handled really carefully, you realize that? You're going to be her guardian until she's 18. That's a big issue of trust, Peter."

"I know." Peter nodded, not looking at Claire at all. "If you don't trust me with this, she can stay with you and Heidi." Nathan frowned deeper, and Peter nodded. "Fine, then that's settled."

"What are you talking about?" Claire asked, resting her hand on the tray table in front of Peter. "Stay where? With who?"

"It looks like you and Peter aren't going to be separated after all, Tinkerbell." Nathan said, looking at Claire, ignoring the pained expression the nickname produced on her pretty face. "I'd better get your ticket for our flight out tomorrow. Pixie dust will only get you so far."

"Flight were?" Claire looked at Peter, panicked. "Where are we going?"

Peter reached over and took her hand in his. "New York. You're going to stay with me. We'll figure the rest out as we go, okay?" He tried to smile reassuringly at her, but the feel of her cool fingers tightening around his hand made him swallow. Hard.

"New York." Claire sat down, not pulling her hand away. She looked from Peter to Nathan in shock. "You're really going to take me with you? I can't believe what I'm hearing." She sighed and looked at Peter again, shaking her head. "Really?" Peter nodded, tightening his grip on her hand, and Nathan groaned, taking out his cell phone.

"That makes two of us, kid." Nathan shook his head. "Let me make the call. I must be out of my mind to even consider going along with this…"

To be continued…