Chapter 22: Evidence
After drawing about the fifteenth helicopter to try to entertain her son the way he wanted it that afternoon, Claire wandered over to the bedroom door, the same direction Noah's sad face turned sometimes. She was getting frustrated with Sylar. It wasn't the fact that there was no full pay salary coming into the bank account due to the watchmaker having declared himself on sick leave for two months in a row, she could turn something into gold and sell it if it was necessary any time. It wasn't even that she had to deal with keeping up the house and their son happy as much as possible all by herself. She was upset because Noah had missed his dad, he'd missed the endless hours of playing cards, building lego airports and being taught about planets and galaxies, and most of all, the little boy missed the hugs and bedtime stories his father used to make up for him.
Sylar had not just been avoiding them, spending most of his time in the bedroom, but he had been religiously taking those pills as well. Claire thought it was an overkill and had been thinking about taking them off him, but then again, even if there was only one percent chance that Sylar was right and she was wrong, that he needed them to control his hunger, it was too much of a risk to take. Especially now that he had watched him fall to pieces, lose his confidence, his charm, his grip on life. Her husband was confused at best, he was not sure of what to expect of himself. The drugs wore off in a few days every time and he had claimed that the hunger was returning, but all Claire could see was his panic attack over it.
He looked up at her briefly as she stood there, their eyes had fleetingly met. His were despondent, hers were hopeful. Maybe today he didn't feel that bad? Then he turned back towards the wall, cradling himself up in pain. Claire closed her eyes for a moment. Why was he doing this to himself? That substance was the very same one she had once rescued him from and now he was using it at free will. She walked to the bathroom and picked up a face towel to wet it. It wasn't only to soothe his roiling stomach, those warm compresses with her hand massaging his midsection were a ritual to them. It was where their emotional connection came from, somewhere they could always go back to feel the same towards each other again.
She paused for a moment above the bed, then sighed, giving in. It was one thing she could not do and that was watching him suffer unjustly. He had not wished intuitive aptitude on himself and he was doing everything to suppress it, so how was it he was the one he had to take the fall for it as well? She arranged the wet cloth and pressed down to make him as comfortable as she could. She would stay till Noah called her and then come back to care for him later after she had put the little boy to bed.
In her mind, she weaved plans again. The moment reminded her of that turning point in the hospital when she saw him. She knew back then she had to do something that made sense for her, and the current situation was similar. They were running from the company, but now it was the company itself that could hold the answer, or more so, the makers of the inhibiting formula. Mohinder Suresh had not been giving much consideration to the side effects of his drug, in fact they were sort of encouraged. But Claire thought the doctor capable of making the same substance in pure form, without no nasty additions. Only question was how could she convince, force or make him develop it?
Tbc