HEIDI PETRELLI

WASHINGTON DC

"Yes? Hello? Nathan?" Heidi Petrelli answered her cell phone before the first ring had even been completed.

"No, Heidi it's…I was calling you in an attempt to connect with Nathan, but clearly you're the wrong person to call." The caller was Rob Simmons, Nathan's campaign manager who managed the majority of Nathan's plans.

"You mean he's not with you?"

"No, I haven't seen him for a couple hours. He was supposed to meet me at the hanger so we could fly over to DC to meet you, but he never showed." Rob told her.

"He never showed? Where is he? I've been going out of my mind. He was supposed to be here a couple hours ago, I assumed he had been held up with you, but you haven't even seen him…" Nervous tears started clouding up her bright eyes. Every panicked thought that she had tried to push from her mind for the past couple of hours resurfaced and started overwhelming her. "Where is he?" Her voice broke and tears began to stream down her face.

"I'm sure he's fine Heidi. I better go. I'll keep you updated, and make sure he calls me as soon as he gets home…"

Heidi hung up the phone without a 'goodbye' and dropped into the nearest armchair. She had been pacing for almost thirty minutes, partially because she was so nervous, but also because she was still getting use to being able to walk again and she wanted to take advantage of the new strength in her legs. Hearing that her fears about Nathan might have just been confirmed though immediately killed all of her strength and she felt as though she could no longer stand.

"Mommy…"

Heidi turned at the sound of her son's voice in the doorway of the sitting room. "Simon, aren't you supposed to be in bed?" She quickly wiped at her eyes, trying to hide the evidence of her hysterical tears from her child.

"Why are you crying?" Simon came to his mother's side with concern in his big, innocent eyes.

"Oh sweetie, mommies just need to cry sometimes." Heidi tried to offer her some comfort through carefully created lies, hoping he wouldn't read through her story and realize that she was crying for his father.

"Are you hurt?" He persisted.

"No, I'm not hurt."

"Are you sick?"

Heidi smiled. "No, sweetie, I'm fine. Come here and give me a hug and then go on back to bed, okay?" She held her arms out and her son fell into them quickly.

"Feel better mommy." Simon gave his mother a sweet peck on the cheek before scurrying out of the room and back to the bedroom he was sharing with his brother at the town home they owned in DC.

When she was alone again, Heidi forced herself back to her feet, determined to be strong despite the situation. She didn't know where her husband was, or why he wasn't where he was supposed to be, but she felt certain in her heart that he was alive. Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Heidi began calling the people closest to Nathan; anyone she could think of who might be able to give her a clue about her husband's whereabouts.

Four rings sounded before the answering machine picked up. Heidi listened to it play out, tapping her foot impatiently. When the beep sounded she left a hurried message. "Peter, it's Heidi. Are you with Nathan? Do you know where he is? Please call me!" And she hung up, almost immediately dialing her mother-in-law's number. That also gave her a machine, which she left another message on. She prepared to call his secretary, who would have most likely been useless, but she was desperate and running out of options. Nathan didn't exactly have a wide circle of close acquaintances for her to call. Before she had a chance to dial the number though, she heard a thud outside the front door.

She heard nothing else for a minute and wondered if it had been her imagination, but her curiosity won over and she hurried to the front door. First she checked through the peephole, but saw nothing, and once again credited the noise to her imagination. Still, though, she opened the door, slowly, and peeked her head outside.

"Oh my god…" Heidi gasped at the sight of her husband slumped on the steps leading up to the front door of their home. "Nathan!"

"Heidi…" Nathan glanced up at her, though lifting his head seemed to be a great effort for him. "I'm so sorry…" He broke into a fit of dry coughing and his head dropped back to the ground.

"Nathan, what happened?" Heidi rushed to his side, sitting on the steps and lifting his head into her lap. "Can you stand? I should call someone…your mother or Rob…"

"No…" Nathan coughed again. "I'll be fine." His words were a little less raspy now, but he still seemed weak. "I just need to get inside."

"Can you stand?" Heidi stood and tried to help Nathan to his feet. He used the railing for balance, but he still struggled to stand fully. When he was on his feet Heidi was finally able to notice the state of his clothing. His once perfectly pressed suit was covered in tears and scorch marks. "What's happened to you?"

"It's a long story." Nathan muttered. He leaned on his wife as she helped him through the door and into the sitting room. The moment he was near the couch, he collapsed. "I'm going to tell you everything…"