Please remember the M rating.

MARCH 2521

Since that night, he hasn't come back to bed with me. He stays until Dani falls asleep, and then leaves. I don't know where he goes or what he does. I'm not sure why I care, but I do.

He does a good job of masking his emotions around Dani, though. She adores him. He's always fondling her, playing with her little toes, feeding her. I've heard her gurgling at him something that sounds suspiciously like "Dada". I cut my hand on a knife when I heard her say it the first time.

Sylar's become her favorite toy, not the monster he's been for most of my life. It makes me sick inside.

And still he avoids speaking to me whenever possible. It bothers me more than I care to admit.

This bed feels too big now. Maybe I shouldn't have given up on killing him yet, I think as I toss restlessly. It would reset the balance, allow me to take my shot and give him a chance to retaliate. I'll figure something out tomorrow. Something sneaky and clever and unexpected.

I hear Dani whimper in the other room, and I get up to check on her. He nearly gives me a heart attack, standing over the crib like that. He looks up at me, taking in the sight of my ruffled hair and nightgown.

"Go back to bed," Sylar tells me evenly, "I've got her." He lifts Dani from her bed and murmurs something soothing to her. All I can do is watch as he comforts my daughter in the dark living room. What happened to the nightmare, the sadist, the killer? I resolve to find him as I turn back to my bedroom. I don't trust this Sylar. I have to remind myself of who he really is before I can forget.

I spend the next day in kind of a haze. Dani and I go for a walk, and he plays with her as I make dinner and clean up afterwards. I've been running through ideas most of the afternoon.

Poison? A gun? There are no volcanoes nearby, so that option's out. I could try trapping him in a fire or a collapsing building….

I hear him in the living room, "Time for bed, Danielle. Mommy and I need to have a talk."

Shit. I'd hoped that Dani would distract him from hearing me. Shit.

"The bedroom, Claire. Unless you want Danielle to hear this?" I walk into my room, shaking in some weird mix of fear and anticipation.

I turn to see Sylar close the door behind himself. His brow furrows slightly as he moves toward me, locking my joints in place.

"Claire, if I remember correctly, you told yourself that killing me would take a backseat to raising your little girl. Don't tell me you've changed your mind?" He doesn't expect an answer.

"But of course you're not thinking of Danielle right now. You're still that self-centered little girl inside. So all you see is how you can take your next shot at me. And you knew I'd find out one way or another, and that I couldn't let this slide. So unless I'm wrong…you're regretting your words the other night. Am I wrong?" He speaks softly, moving closer until he's just a few inches from me. He reaches down and pulls my knife free from my belt. One thought from him has me strip to nakedness.

I lick my lips and he shakes his head.

"Not just yet," he whispers, "you haven't earned it. You've been plotting to murder me in all kinds of tricky ways, and I don't appreciate it at all. Just remember not to scream. We wouldn't want to wake the baby."

With that he drives my knife into my stomach and twists before releasing it. My mouth opens in a silent scream and I sag forward, leaning on him as I taste blood.

"Stand up," he commands as he controls my body. "Pull it out." We spend the next hour that way; he invents a hundred thousand ways for me to torture myself before he is satisfied that I have learned my lesson for now.

I lie on the bed, gasping. He takes off his clothes and sits sideways next to me, brushing my blonde hair off of my forehead.

"All better," he rasps as he claims my mouth with his. His eyes gleam as he looks down on me. I exult inwardly. Maybe now that he's gotten his psychotic fix, things can find some sort of balance and I can stop feeling so isolated.

"Don't fool yourself," he says as he grabs my jaw. "The only way you could think to manipulate me is if I allow you to do so." He kisses me again as his hands explore my curves, making me gasp for a different reason.

Damn it. My reason for refusal seemed airtight last time, and now I can't bring myself to remember why it had been so important. His fingers travel lower and lower, and I forget everything except him and what he's doing to me.

"Sometime you can explain why you have to make this so difficult," he rumbles in my ear, "especially when everything in you is eager to comply with my demands." I can feel him everywhere and I slide my fingers through his hair.

His mouth moves over my body and I forget how to breathe. I sigh as his tongue caresses my skin and I hear his muffled warning, "Not yet, Claire." I swallow another moan when I feel him between my legs.

It really has been a long time for both of us.

He touches me and I writhe. "Now, Claire."

Sylar enters me then and takes the rest of the night to make up for every moment of pain he caused tonight.

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Mel and Chuck