Posted Date: 11/6/2009

Author: Estelle Stafford

Author's Note:Something weird happened when I uploaded this, so let me know if something is wrong with the format or something. I'm purposely ambiguous about the location of the characters, I don't want to limit myself to a certain location and it cause problems for me later on. As this story is a work in progress, perhaps if I ever revise it, I'll fix these little details. I really don't want to follow the story scene by scene, I'm taking the essence of the show and putting a different spin, so a lot of things will still happen just differently, though a few might be almost or exact as they are in the show. As well as some things are going to be completely different.

Beta: Silver. Candle (aka Kairi9889) and Eris Dea Disaccordo

Be My Escape

Chapter Four: Something Special

"Hello, Bennet residence," he heard her voice say.

"This is Mr. Gray. Your watch is ready..." he paused for a second, knowing she'd complain if he called her something else. With a silent sigh, he breathed her name, "Claire."

Gabriel signed for the package, sat it onto the counter, and opened it up, revealing the parts for Claire's father's watch. There was a sudden wave of illogical fear, and he somehow felt that this was the end of his connection with Claire. The perky blonde who'd strolled into his shop all those days ago was no longer just 'a cheerleader'. She had a name now—Claire—and she had his name, too. They were no longer strangers; that worked together, no longer unfamiliar, and he knew this might present a difficulty of some sort, just like it was when he found out the names of other people whom he never would be friends with. With a wave of angst in his chest, he realized she was probably going to leave, and would definitely take away whatever it was she had given him in their brief encounters. He lightly shook his head. This was foolishness. She was just a teenage girl—a beautiful young girl—yet another reminder of what he could never have. He shook the thought away, stomping down on his ridiculous fears before picking up the phone and dialing her number.

"Oh, hi Gabriel," she said cheerfully. "I'm still at cheerleading practice. Can I come back after—?" "Claire, who are you talking to? You're lucky to still be on the squad," he hears another voice yelling in the background, cringing because it was quite an awful sound. "Um, I gotta go, but I'll see you after as soon as I'm off. Bye!" she says in one quick breath and quickly hangs up. She made it sounded like they were friends, he mused briefly. He turned the computer screen to see what other orders to work on, and sighed when the computer screen began to flicker. Yet another thing that needed fixing.

Claire flipped her phone shut and glared at Jackie. "It only took a minute and we weren't even doing anything," she pointed out. These days she felt braver—well maybe not braver, more like extremely irritated—because she found herself snapping at Jackie more and actually voicing her opinion. The girl just would not leave her alone, constantly criticizing and snubbing her, all because she was working on Saturdays. How shallow could one person be? Apparently, in Jackie's case, a person could be very, very shallow.

"I don't care! If anyone on this team is unfocused, it'll mess up the routine and do you know what happens when we mess up, huh Claire?" Unruffled at the sneer being shot at her, Claire rolled her eyes at Jackie.

"I don't know, we practice it again?" The patronizing tone Claire spoke with went unnoticed by the other blond girl.

Jackie shoved her. "Now you listen to me Claire Bennet," she snarled. "If we mess up, the football team messes up. I am cheer captain and you'll do as I say. Now give your phone."

"No, this is my phone and I'm not giving it to you."

"Give me, your phone or I'll kick you off the team." Jackie reached for it and Claire pulled her arm back.

"You can't do that!" she yelled, trying to keep her phone out of the grubby bitch's hand. "You have to have the vote of the team and—"

"My approval," Mrs. Smith said as she approached them. "I really should never leave you girls alone." Claire looked up at her favorite teacher; she was a plain, but pleasant looking woman with brown eyes, brown hair, and a slender body. She was the only one that treated her students with respect and Jackie absolutely hated her, so that was a plus. She was the team's sponsor by default, because the other one had personal issues that kept her from being involved. Mrs. Smith shot them an almost mean look. "Miss Bennet, Miss Wilcox, I suggest that both of you remember when you decide to conduct yourselves in such a manner. You also remember that we are representatives of this school." Where Claire felt shameful; Jackie did not seem phase by it at all.

"Fine. Whatever," Jackie agreed reluctantly with a roll of her eyes. Miss. Smith ignored her comments, seeing that she had already made her point and it was a waste of time to argue with the hard-headed cheerleader. She had much important things to deal with, anyway.

"Alright, let's warm up first," Mrs. Smith declared.

Claire rushed to the shop. She couldn't wait to see the watch. She just knew it was going to be great, especially after seeing what Gabriel could do with other watches. She knew her father was going to love it, and couldn't wait to give it to him. The door dinged as she flew in with a grin. She stopped suddenly when she saw Gabriel Gray speaking with a much older woman than him. She had silver hair and her eyes seemed so…cold. "Mother, I'm sorry." His voice bothered Claire for some reason. It sounded slightly desperate.

"My precious boy, all I'm asking is for you to close up shop for a little while and go visit Harvard."

"Mother, I...can't." His voice was hoarse from the sorrow that reached to the depths of Claire's heart. She never knew one expression could hold such pain. "If I take a week off, we won't be able to pay off the bills. We are barely making it as it is."

"You are such a smart boy. Surely there is a way, dear." She firmly grabs his face in what should have been a loving gesture, but her voice was patronizing. His eyes saw Claire in the doorway and she swore she saw relief.

"Mother, I have a customer to attend to."

"Fine," she snarled, quickly releasing his face. I see what is most important to you. You're just like your father." That made him flinch. Claire watched as the woman disappeared into the back.

"Uh..." She was not sure what to say. "You okay? She seemed a bit harsh."

"Yes, Mother means well..." Realizing who he was talking to, he changed the subject. "I have your watch right here." He pulled out a silver box from underneath the counter. "I will show you." He slips out the watch that now shimmered with life, now glimmering at its golden best. She could hear the ticking, and had no doubt that it was in perfect time. She had, of course, noticed how picky Gabriel was with the watches being in time.

"That's great!" she practically squeals. "He'll absolutely love it, thanks." She reaches over the counter and gives him a hug. He is in complete shock. It has been so long, since someone other than his mother hugged him. He did not notice her leaving the money in the counter and barely registered her when she spoke. "I guess I'll see you on Saturday." He simply nods as he watches her run out the door to get in the car with her mom.

Isaac's eyes were white; he had no idea of what he was doing. His hands moved on their own, painting a scene that unfolded before him inside his head.

A teenage girl wearing a pair of jeans and pink T-shirt, riding in the car with an older man who adjusted his glasses.

"Can I drive now?" she asks as she leans back into the passenger.

"No. Quit asking." He is focusing on the road ahead, which looked the same as the road they passed miles before.

"But I really can drive," she said with a small pout.

"You don't even have a license."

"Well, I haven't exactly had time."

"It was your plan for us to run away."

"Well, if we hadn't, my dad might have… God! I still can't believe what he did." Her voice is laced with sadness and disappointed. Even without looking at her, Gabriel knows it is there.

"Claire," he says with a firm voice, though it was laced with concern. "There is only one thing I know for sure, and that is that he loves you."

"No, I'm just the job," she replies bitterly. "He loves the job."

Isaac comes back to reality, sweating. He is staring at the painting in disbelief; unable to recall painting this picture. It is almost night, and he just remembers painting in the afternoon.

"Why can't you stop?"

He turned around to see Simone standing behind him. She has a similar expression that is full of pain and disappointment, just like the blond girl. Claire, his mind whispers, though he doesn't know where that name comes from.

"I need them," he replied, desperation coloring his voice. It is the only way, he reminds himself. It is the only way I'll ever figure out how to save the world.

"Look at you," she sighs, biting her lip as she gestures with her hand. "You're sweating, you barely can stand and you're so addict to the stuff you barely eat anymore. They are killing you, Isaac." The tears want to fall, because damn it all, she loves him, but she holds them back as she crosses her arms and shakes her head.

"I need to see the future," he almost yells, but does not, but his voice is full of determination.

"Why? Because you saw the city blow up? How do you know it is the future and not some random illusion? And even if you could see the future, what could you really do to stop the city from exploding?" She tries to reason with him, as she has tried several times before.

"I don't know, but I have to do something." His voice is quiet, and he is now staring back at the painting.

She follows his gaze to his latest drawing, "What do they have to do with it?"

"I don't know..."

"Nothing, you're just painting random scenes that aren't even connected," she sighs. "You know what, I just came to collect some of your paintings."

"Take those over there," He waves over to a pile of paintings behind him.

Tokyo, Japan

Hiro sometimes thinks that if he stares at the clock long enough he'll make time move faster. He hates working at the office, and would rather be out on an adventure. His father has never liked that idea, but if his mother was here, she would tell him to go. He should go. He should just take off and... He closes his eyes. For a brief moment, when he opens them, the place is completely frozen. Confused, he blinks again, and finds that clock has moved faster.

"Yatta!" he yells, running over to his friend's desk. Ando is not satisfied by his friend's behavior at all. Some people probably wonder how they are even friends in the first place. Hiro so optimistic and innocent and Ando…is not so innocent and only optimistic when it comes to certain females.

"We should be working. Your father will not be happy." Ando has managed to keep his meetings with Hiro's father minimum and he sees no downside to that.

"I just broke the time continuum!" Hiro exclaimed, completely excited. It does not make sense to his friend that Hiro believes that and briefly wonders why, but then he thinks maybe he should just ignore everything pertaining to it.

"No one can do that."

"I can," Hiro piped cheerful.

"Ah, I'm wrong Mr. Spock can." Sarcasm is a friend of Ando's. "That was a movie; I can do it for real."

"What makes you think that?"

"I just told you I sped up time. Didn't you see the clock go faster?"

"No?"

"It did, maybe I'll try again." Hiro squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could and open them, but this time a strange thing happen. He was no longer in the office; he was in a city he had never been to before.

New York

Gabriel is taking a forced break of the many tests that Dr. Suresh has run, while staring at the fried chicken in front of him. His mother would never let him eat such a thing. Special children should only eat home made food and nothing less. She always made his lunches, and she never took him to a fast food restaurant. He only has eaten fast food, once or twice in his life. Once when a teacher wanted to praise for a good job, she brought him some chicken nuggets and fries, he had not known such a taste before. He never told his mother about the incident afraid, she might think he did not like her food.

So now he just gazed at the piece of chicken, debating if he should eat it or not. "It's not going to bite you," Eden stated. "Are you a vegetarian, I guess I should have asked. I could go order something else."

"No, I just don't usually eat fast food. It will do." Eden can't believe this guy. She has never met someone so damn polite. It is kind of annoying and sad, because there is reason for him being that damn polite. The kind of life she has lived, the things she has done, she knows. You either are angry at everything and take it out on everything or your angry at yourself and take it out on yourself or worse of all both. She has been there, done some destructive things, and it forced her to work with the company. She sips her cup of coffee and thinks that may or not be the worse choice she would ever made, yet. "It wouldn't bother me to get something a little fresher. If you find it more appetizing, you really should eat well, some of these tests will take a toll on your mind."

"I'm not concerned about that, as long as they prove I am special." So this guy is probably both, because of the desperation that seeps through his voice. "You know being special is all in the manner in how you view it." "I view being special as doing something extraordinary."

"What is extraordinary?"

"Being president, having an ability, something along those lines are considered extraordinary."

"I see. So you want to do something that makes you different from most people."

"Not just different. Special."

Noah has not had a day like this in so long and with everything that is about to go down in the company, he needs it. He looks over to his children who are enjoying a peaceful dinner with him. His Claire-bear, who he loves with all his heart, is sitting next to her mother. It is hard to believe she is adopted; she looks so much like Sandra. "Alright, we will have dessert and then presents," Sandra says. "I baked your favorite, Noah." She brings out the cake from the fridge, homemade chocolate cake with white frosting. On top is Happy Birthday in black, his favorite color, and his name. "Alright, everyone."

"Do we have to, Mom?" Lyle asked. "Listen, I don't care if your father is 80 and doesn't even know who we are anymore, and you are forty something, we will sing happy birthday."

"Alright, alright," Lyle reluctantly agreed. Then they all sang together, horribly out of tune, but it was still a great happy birthday song. "Okay, let's eat cake and then," he rubbed his hands together, eagerly, "presents." They smile, laugh, and nibble at the cake. He saw Claire practically inhaling her slice, and he smiles. She must have gotten him something really good. After Sandra puts up all the plates, Lyle and Claire retreat grabbing their respectful presents. He opens them up, and finds that Sandra bought him a new briefcase. "Your other one was getting worn out."

"Yeah, I have had that thing for a few years." He gazes at the new case, remembering when exactly he bought the old one. Around the time they had brought it, a small baby girl found her way into his arms. And his heart. "Here is mine." Lyle handed over a small mp3 device. "So we all won't have to suffer anymore when you listen to your lame music." He leans over and rubs Lyle's head. "You'll listen to what I say you listen to," he teases. "Now mine!" Claire practically jumps out of her seat, and Sandra is smiling. "This must be really good; you two can hardly contain yourselves."

Lyle crosses his arms. "There is no way it can be more awesome then mp3 player," he states as Noah opens the box and freezes. Gray's Watch Shop is on the box, the same name of the shop that he was supposed to be observing. The one that Gabriel Gray works in. How did this happen? His two worlds could not possibly be colliding. Not now. Claire looks down with a frown. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just..." he fumbles with the box and he hears metal hit the floor. He is frozen. This had to cost... He picks up the watch. He thought he'd lost it and here it is, in perfect condition. "Claire-bear, how much money did you spend? You should return this." She sounds a little hurt. "But Dad! It's your watch and I just had it fixed, besides Mom helped with the cost."

"But Claire this had to at least cost a couple hundred dollars to fix."

"I'm not going to return it, Dad. I don't need the money, and don't even know if I can. I got it for you. What, don't you like it?"

"Claire-bear, I love it," he says, quickly hugging her. "But a girl your age shouldn't be trying to scrounge up money for such expensive gifts."

"Lyle, maybe you should return your gift too."

"Naw, I got it on sale Dad, besides I don't keep receipts."

"I have two wonderful kids." He grabs Lyle—who squirms—to join in the hug with him and Claire. Sandra smiles widely as she too joins. If I can only protect them, he thinks.

Peter is dragged into Isaac's loft by Simone. The guy that she is in some kind of relationship with, the guy who, from what Peter hears, does not deserve some one like her. She needed Peter's help with some of her father's stuff, but she had to stop by here first. When they step into apartment Isaac is lying on the floor. Simone is starting to panic, she covered her mouth with her hands and is in tears. "I told him he needed to stop."

He quickly goes over to Isaac. "Isaac, are you okay?" No response, Peter had not been expecting one either, but he is just following his C.P.R. training, so he leans in his head closer to check and see if he is breathing. Then he checks Isaac's pulse. "He is alive."

"Thank God," Simone replied in relief, her hands shaking.

"I'm calling 911," he told her as he pulled out his cell phone. "It will be alright, Simone."

"What is your address, sir?" the operator asks. "What's the address here, Simone?" He looks over to her and while she seems to be still shaking, she is starting to calm down and gives him the address. "Alright, paramedics will be there soon." Peter hangs up the phone. All they can do now is wait. He looks over to the paintings. He sees one in particular of him flying. Why would he have painted this? He moves closer, and Simone's dark eyes follow his. Just before the ambulance arrives, they both see the picture of the explosion.

Claire had her mom drop her off as usual. "Okay, don't forget, two hours." She stared at her mom and gave her a quick kiss before getting out the car. Lately, her mom was forgetting little things more and more. She did not know why.

"I'm not that old Claire," her mother grinned as she waved goodbye.

"No, of course not." She made her way into the watch shop causing the bell to ding. She was not sure why, but the dread that had been there had faded away into not quite excitement, but she kind of looked forward to it.

"Hey Gabriel," she greeted with a wave.

Gabriel struggled to get a hold of the glasses he was trying to clean. "Uh, hello." He was completely surprised to see Claire. It only had been a few days before, when he gave her Father's watch. What reason did she really have to stay? She had what she wanted, so why had she come back? He assumed she was just like everybody else, who left when they did not get what they wanted, just like Dr. Suresh was about to do. "What's wrong, Gabriel?" Claire is concerned—she was starting to become fond of Gabriel Gray. There was something about him...she wasn't sure what. She couldn't say it was his voice, because as nice as it was, it was not what she thought was special about him. It was not his intelligence either—he managed to hide from most people. No...it was just something she could not name just yet.

"I didn't expect you to come back." He covered his brown eyes with his glasses once more, and pushed them back on the bridge of his nose.

"I said I would, didn't I?" She grinned at him and he finds himself smiling at her, and that makes hers widen. "Yes, you did." Perhaps, tomorrow Gabriel would think about what her coming back means. Will it increase his fears? Or maybe Claire Bennet is the saving grace he has been looking for? And Claire why does she keep coming back, because it is the right thing to do? Or perhaps something like destiny has forced her to. But whatever the futures holds, for this brief moment two people have found a tiny sense of contentment.

Peter could not get Isaac's paintings out of his mind. How could Isaac paint the same thing he saw in his dream? It was just too similar to his dreams to be a coincidence. He believes it, and more so he believes in himself, he really believes he could fly. Maybe that's why he's on top of a tall building, Nathan down below, actually afraid—for his career or his brother—nobody knows. Peter doesn't care, because he is letting go. He just lets go...

And steps off the roof.

Author's Commentary: YAY SEASON 4! There has not been any new Sylaire interaction, so a tad disappointed about that but you know so far I like it. I like Peter's new love interest. I love the twist with Sylar's recovery, from what I read of the fics nobody thought of that one, pretty cool he is stuck in Matt's head, and his body got awaken by bullets...that's a wake up call. So I'm wondering if Sylar is kind of split now? Cause Sylar is stuck in Matt's head, Nathan is in Sylar's body with who? Hmm...because the lady who has the tattoo power said there were two people inside Sylar's body, is it Sylar still? Confusing, but interesting.

So the whole Eden scene was done, instead of being repetitive with doctor Suresh, but I'm sure you get the picture, the scenes with Dr. Suresh is supposed to aid in his frustration. I'm afraid at this point, I don't think I will be bringing Niki, Micah, or I don't know about Mohinder, I do want to bring him, but really not sure if I can. I will probably bring Matt in, and maybe Molly, not sure yet.

So why did I take so long? One: Lost Internet, because I moved and I haven't be able to afford it, yet. I'm borrowing my brother, who is kind strict about how long I can use it. Two: having problems as usual, putting it together. Three: Well, I was holding it hostage, until I got the other two chapters written, but as I see that I was relatively happy with the results I decided to let it go, and post it for you.

So, I started watching the first season again, and what I found is I'm not completely far off, what I written follows along with the first episode, except Claire who is way behind at this time, and Aurthur Petrelli he is supposed to be 'supposedly' dead, you know I knew that and I still wrote him in. The funny thing is I have no idea why, just came out that way. You know what kind of sucks is that we are into the fourth chapter and we're still at the beginning, I just want to get to the good stuff, which I think I am, but every time I think yes I can bring Elle in and get to the real plot, I think nope this has to happen first. Though another chapter or two, maybe three, Gabriel and Claire are going to discover there abilities.

To the Readers: I hope you continue to enjoy this and those who review me, I truly appreciate it. Your encouragement keeps me going me.

For My Editors: You are awesome, because of both you, not only is this story better, but everything else I write is, so I thank you very much.