Claire swallowed her last bit of juice, only Eli and Samuel still ate. She was eager to move on; patience was never one of her strong suits. She wanted to know where they were taking her and what they planned to do with her once they got there. Plus, there was Sylar; why was he with them? What was he hoping to gain?

The irritating waitress returned adn she had to force down a groan. The woman had been by the table at least fifteen times, always eager to satisfy the men, Sylar in particular. Every time he took a sip of coffee, there she was, offering a refill. Okay, maybe that was a little exaggerated, it could be after every third sip.

"Can I getcha a refill?" She held the pot poised above his cup.

"No thank you," Sylar answered with a shake of his head.

"Anything else, I can getcha? Anything at all?" She smiled widely at Sylar, lightly touching his shoulder.

"The check." He looked up at her steadily and the waitress lost her nerve.

"Right away." She dropped her hand from him and hurried away.

"What'd you go and do that for?" Eli complained.

"Everyone's done eating."

"That aint what I meant and you know it."

"She was suspicious. She was continually at our table and she made a visible effort to not be seen staring at the van."

"She wasn't being suspicious. She was looking for a good time."

Sylar ignored the retort and instead sat quietly observing Sylvia.

"Wouldn't know what to do with her if he got her," Charlie snorted. "You see how long it took him to-"

Sylar held his hand casually under the table as he choked Charlie.

"Sylar!" Samuel whispered furiously. "You're going to expose us all."

"Hardly," Sylar's voice was mild, bored, but his eyes were blazing at Charlie. "The boy just needs a little reminder of who he's talking to."

"Alright, you've made your point. Let him go," Travis snarled.

Cold eyes shifted to Travis, who swallowed roughly and clamped his mouth shut. Sylar tilted his head at the man, not easing his hold on Charlie. There was something dark, hungry in his eyes, She knew that look; things were going to get ugly.

Cautiously, Claire put a hand on Sylar's thigh; his whole body was trembling. She leaned against his side, mouth just an inch from his ear.

"Please, Sylar. Don't do this. Please?" She squeezed his leg gently. "Is this who you want to be? I thought you were different, changed." His nose flared and his hand eased up just a bit. She had to hurry; the waitress was on her way back and charlie was a delicate shade of purple. "Please? I thought I could trust you to keep me safe."

Charlie gasped at Sylar's sudden release. He turned to look at Claire, faces so close that their noses touched. she stared into his thawed eyes but wasn't able to read them.

"Um...I've got your check," Sylvia sounded awkward. "Oh my goodness! Is he okay?" She had just noticed the still-red Charlie.

"Wrong pipe," Samuel lied smoothly. Alice and Becky took turns thumping him on the back.

"Fine," Charlie rasped, "I'm fine." The girls stopped pounding on him and Alice rubbed small circles instead.

"Thank you." Sylar took the check from her hands without looking away from Claire.

"Sure thing." Her voice held a false cheeriness. "How long y'all gonna be in town?"

Sylar finally looked at her. "We're not."

Claire slid her hand slowly off of his thigh, inadvertently drawing his gaze back to her. She pushed her body off of his, maintaining eye contact.

"Well, I-uh...have a nice day." Sylvia frowned, but walked away discouraged.

"That was interesting," Samuel noted, finishing off his breakfast.

"How so?" Sylar asked.

"I was told the two of you were volatile. Yet, here she sits caressing your leg, calming you down."

"He would have killed them. Is that what you want?" Claire huffed.

"No. I want to know the truth about you. I want to see you think about what happened yesterday. I want you to realize it was rape. I want to see the anger and defiance that I've been promised."

"It was rape. I know that. Doesn't matter what it felt like. but she's the one that did it, not him." She glared Alice's smirk.

"Not what it looked like to me," Charlie croaked.

"You're sick."

"What of Sylar? Is he also sick? Why lash out at us, but play nice with him? You're supposed to hate him," Samuel accused.

"I'm the known enemy," Sylar spoke softly before Claire could respond. "There's a certain amount of comfort in knowing what to expect of someone. Claire knows the kind of man that I am, what I'm capable of, she understands the depth of darkness inside of me. She knows what I do; she doesn't like it but at least she can expect it, anticipate it, prepare for it. She hates me. And I've earned that. But, at least to her, I'm somewhat predictable, though usually only in hindsight."

Samuel was quiet a moment before retrieving the check from the table. "Insightful." He gestured them out of the booth and held out a small piece of paper that had been attached to the bill. "I believe that's yours."

Sylar took it, then tossed it at Eli. "Don't mock me, Samuel." He walked out the doors and to the van, Claire on his heels.

"What was it?"

"Phone number."

"Oh." She was confused, but wouldn't ask him while the others came out to join them in the van.

Climbing in, she tried to sit beside Sylar, but he caught her hip and pulled her to him. She dropped heavily onto his lap, both of his hands holding her waist, keeping her in place.

"How much longer?"

"Few hours." His forehead touched her shoulder lightly and his grip tightened on her hips. "Thank you," it was the barest of whispers against her back, "for stopping me."

Claire didn't know what to say, so she patted the side of his leg awkwardly.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who's hanging in there with me on this one. Sorry it's been so slow going. I know where it's heading now, so hopefully that will speed things up.

Don't forget to review!