Sylar hated leaving her there, but he knew Peter would protect her. He had to get back to the kid before somebody else found him first. Not that he would mind, but Claire would and she was all that mattered.

He flew quicker alone; not because her weight effected his speed, but because of the way she had pressed her body against his, holding him tightly. Arriving at the forest, he found Alex hiding in a tree. He floated down, level with him.

"What are you doing?"

The kid screamed and nearly fell out of the tree. "You! You're the one who saved me," he whispered excitedly. "Where's Claire? You gotta get me outta here!"

"That is why I came back. Why are you in a tree?"

"There were a couple of men looking for us, me and Claire. They found the body, that woman's body. And they got real angry. So, I hid up here before they could find me."

"Of course." Sylar, already disliking the kid, found an even deeper loathing for his cowardice. "What's your ability?" he asked, grabbing the boy and pulling him from the tree and into the sky.

"I can breath underwater."

"Well, that's lame."

"Hey!"

"It is what it is, Kid." He headed southwest.

"Where are you taking me? Where's Claire?"

"Let's get something straight right now. Claire is in a safe place, far away from you. And I will not be taking you there. She's none of your concern anymore."

"It's not my fault! That woman, Alice, she drove me insane; I couldn't control-"

"You're weak. That makes you a risk. I won't lose her because you can't control yourself, can't defend yourself."

"But-"

"If you don't want to fall, you should stop tempting me." He flew as fast as he could to find Suresh; he wanted to be rid of the boy. He spotted the little house, set back off the road, and landed rougher than usual, releasing the kid. "Mohinder?" he called, knocking on the back door.

"Sylar?" the doctor sounded suspicious, opening the door a crack.

"Yeah. I have a package for you." He thrust Alex inside. "Keep it safe, but don't baby it."

"Sylar, I can't-"

"You owe me, Suresh." He narrowed his eyes, lowering his brows. "Besides, it's not really for me, it's for Claire."

"Is that so?"

"I'll come back, when it's safe."

"Do I even have a choice here?"

"Not really." He leapt into the air, flying for Claire as fast as he could. How he'd talk Petrelli and Parkman into handing her over without a fight, he didn't know. But, he would get her back one way or another.

By the time he got to Peter's hideout, it was almost midnight. He knew busting in, in the middle of the night, would hardly bring about a peaceful resolution. Satisfying his need to see her safe, he hovered near a window. He had to search several rooms before finding her, tossing restlessly in the small bed, Petrelli watching over her.

Grudgingly, he left her there and flew to an empty neighboring building. Annoyed Claire had both of their bags, he sat, propped in a corner facing both the window and the door. He stared blankly for a while, unable to get comfortable. Finally, an hour later, he drifted off to sleep, arms feeling extremely empty.

He dreamed over and over of sinking into Claire's willing body.

Claire rolled over, yet again, feeling cold and lonely on the little cot. Peter, thinking she was afraid of Sylar's return, sat protectively by the door. In truth, she was worried that something bad had happened to him. She was sure he would return for her within a few hours, but then night fell and the others insisted she needed some rest.

She had attempted explaining things to them, but no one would listen.

"It's alright, Claire. You don't have to explain; I was there. I know what he did to you."

"No, Peter; you're not listening. He didn't know-"

"Don't worry, we'll take care of him if he comes back. You're safe now."

"I know I am. That's why he brought me here."

"He plays sick games, but he can't get to you in here."

Claire growled in frustration. She loved Peter, but sometimes he could be so damn thick-headed.

Sleep finally crept up on her, hours later. Though, her dreams were far from restful; blurred images of Sylar naked turned into Alex trying to rape her, and then Sylar fighting countless opponents with no faces.

Sometime around dawn, she struggled awake, not sure of where she was. It took her a few minutes to let her eyes adjust to the dim light, seeing Peter relaxed in his chair but still awake, still guarding. He nodded at her, giving her a sympathetic grin. She had no idea how to convince him she wanted to leave with Sylar whenever he came back for her.

"Peter," she said softly, sitting up, "when Sylar comes back-"

"you don't even have to worry about that," he cut across her, not moving.

"No! Listen to me; you have to listen now, because you won't believe it's me talking, once he's here." Peter's brow furrowed, his arms crossed his chest, but he nodded for her to continue. "When he comes back, I'm going with him."

"That's-"

"I'm going." She glared at him, teeth gritted.

"Why?"

"He's different; he helped me."

"He raped you! I saw it."

"Then I raped him, too, because no one in that room could control what was happening."

"No, Claire, that's-"

"The truth; that's what it is. And you know it; like you said, you were there."

They glared at each other briefly before Peter gave out.

"Fine. So you're just going to run off with him and live happily ever after?"

"Don't be stupid. We're going after my dad; he has to be stopped. And I'm the only one that wants to do it without killing him."

"And Sylar's gonna help you? He's going to protect Noah?"

"Yes." She climbed off the bed and held Peter's hand. "He's changed, Peter; I've seen it."

"He's a good guy now?"

"Good? I dunno, maybe. I think he's somewhere a little shadier than that. But he's not evil, not anymore. Remember, I told you what he said, what he wanted from me? And there I was, trapped, and forced to enjoy it. But, he didn't- He never-" She cleared her throat. "He could have done whatever he wanted to me; but he was a gentleman. Don't you raise your eyebrows at me! It's true. Once you get passed the…nastiness of Sylar, Gabriel's a decent guy."

"Gabriel," he challenged her.

"It is his name," she quipped.

Peter took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. "You're not going to listen to anything I say, are you?"

"Nope."

"Then let me come with you. I can help."

"You won't do anything all…devious?"

"Of course not." He looked genuinely offended.

"Promise?"

"Yes. I just want to be certain you and Noah get out of there safe. Wherever 'there' is. "

"I don't know where, but Sylar does."

An alarm sounded overhead and Peter jumped to his feet. "Speak of the devil."

She scowled at his phrasing, but followed him upstairs to the roof.

"Just stay back," Matt warned, aiming his gun at Sylar's face.

"Get out of my way, Parkman."

"That's not going to happen; leave." He turned his head slightly and stared hard at Sylar, who smirked back.

"That aint gonna work. I have no interest whatsoever in China. But, I'll play nice; call for Claire. I'll stay here."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" He forced a laugh.

"It's alright," Claire called, jumping the last step, "I'm already here."

Her eyes swept the roof, taking in all the contained violence. Parkman stood directly in front of her, gun trained on Sylar, even though it was pointless to shoot him. Two more men were off to the left, hands out, as if prepared to use their abilities. A woman crouched alone, across from Matt, fingers on her temples. Another pair, man and woman, were on the right, just huddling. And in the center of them all, stood Sylar. His hands loose at his sides, head cocked, smirking at them all.

And then, his eyes fell on her and he smiled, a true smile. Claire grinned and walked towards him. Without hesitation, he moved in her direction, and the bullet caught him in the throat. Gagging, he fell to his knees, glaring at the former policeman.

"Sylar!" She ran to him, but Matt caught her around the waist. "What the hell are you doing? Let go of me!"

"You're…not…thinking…straight," he grunted, struggling to control her.

"Let me go!" she screeched, elbowing him in the nose. Once her feet hit pavement, she sprinted to the fallen Sylar, putting a hand on his shoulder, waiting for him to wake. The soft clatter let her know the bullet had been expelled; Sylar coughed, pushing himself up to a sitting position. "You okay?"

"Of course. My 'spot' is in a less obvious place." He held up a hand and the gun flew into it. "That wasn't nice."

"Hey, let's everyone calm down here," Peter interrupted, stepping between them.

"I am perfectly calm," Sylar assured them, making Matt fly against a nearby wall. His nose flared, his hands fisted, and his eyebrows scrunched.

"Sylar," Claire whispered close to his ear. "Please don't." He closed his eyes and his hands shook, but still he held Parkman pinned. "He was only trying to protect me. He just didn't realize you're the security, not the threat."

He took a deep, shaky breath and let the man fall to the ground.

"Whoever's trying to force me to walk off the edge, needs to stop. Now," he growled.

"It's her! Peter, stop her before he loses control."

"I'm on it," he grunted, jogging to the crouching woman.

Claire couldn't hear his words, but knew they had worked when Sylar's body relaxed. She ran a hand across his forehead.

"Better?"

"Infinitely," he whispered, taking her hand and kissing the palm. "We should go." He stood, pulling her up with him.

"Peter wants to come with us. Obviously, he doesn't truest you. But, he's promised nothing covert and he's good to his word."

"Good old Uncle Pete," he grumbled. "We're leaving now; keep up." He grabbed her up and rocketed them into the sky.

"I will," Peter promised, launching after them.

A/N: Happy Yule! Happy Holidays everyone! Thanks for hanging in there with me on this one, we're finally getting there . You rock!