A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I know this one took a while, but after Thanksgiving I've just been swamped with finals. I have one three days left of school though and then I'll be free for a month, so that will give me plenty of time to write! But, since I only have three days left, I'm afraid I'll have quite a gap in updates. This next week is going to be hard for me, so I'm taking a little break from writing. Hopefully I'll have something up by next weekend though.

A glimpse at what's coming up next:

- Hiro Nakamura back in the present—where he belongs in my opinion.

- Sylar must make a hard choice…

- Candace!!!

- a new character named Sam. (dedicated to my lovely reader: TroypayisLOVE)

- Heidi Petrelli gets curious

- Angela Petrelli's a bitch…but what else is new?

- Mohinder becomes a little bit of an idiot…temporarily

- More is revealed about Sasha's connections

- Peter acts out

All right, that's just to keep you curious and interested! Let me know if there's anything specific you'd like to see. I know I'm getting a lot of requests for more "paire" but it has to go slow or it wouldn't be plausible. Don't worry though, it's coming…THANKS for the reviews! Please keep them coming!!! XOXOXOXOXO

THE PETRELLI'S HOME

NEW YORK

"No, no, no!"

"Come on loser!"

"Yea, come on, we're totally kicking your butt!"

Nathan followed the exhilarated voices into the boys' playroom. He found them in a heated X-box battle with Claire sitting on the floor between them, equally competitive. He lingered in the doorway, observing his three children play together. He couldn't have wished for a better night. The boys had accepted the idea of having a sister a little with a little hesitation and they showed it when Claire arrived for dinner. Heidi had been right though, they had always wanted a sister and after an hour of dinner conversation the boys were crazy for her.

"Hey, no fair! I had that…" Simon was whining about some aspect of the game that Nathan didn't understand.

Claire leaned towards the screen, aggressively punching the buttons on her controller. "You've got to be faster, Mister!" A moment later she raised her hands in victory as the two boys sulked at their losses. She grinned at the boys excitedly before glancing at the door and spotting Nathan; she lowered her arms sheepishly, blushing at her childish display. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," Nathan entered the room. "I hate to have to break up this fun, but boys it's past your bedtime."

"No!" They complained in unison.

"Boys," Nathan used his warning tone and they stood obediently.

"Will you be here when we wake up tomorrow?" Monty asked Claire as he and his brother headed toward the hallway.

Claire smiled at the boys. "I don't think so boys. I have to go home."

"Why isn't this your home?" They wanted to know.

"Umm," Claire didn't know how to answer.

Nathan picked up on her uncertainty. "She has her own place right now boys, but she'll come back some other time, okay?"

The boys nodded.

"Can I have a hug goodbye?" Claire asked.

The boys nodded again and they each gave her a hug before scurrying off to their shared bedroom down the hall.

Once they were alone, Claire checked her cell phone, automatically looking for voicemails from either Jaden or Peter. "It's getting late."

"Yea," Nathan wasn't ready to let her go.

"I should probably get going…Peter's probably waiting."

"Claire…" He hesitated. "You know, you could stay here…tonight."

She smiled slightly. "Thanks, but I should go."

"Peter's a grown man Claire. He doesn't need you to watch him every second."

She sighed. "I know you don't understand. Nobody does really. It's not about him needing me, it's just that he's going through a lot and I like to be able to do something for him."

"But what are you doing for him really?"

"What do you mean? I'm helping him get his powers under control," Claire explained. "If he had someone who cared enough to help him earlier he might never have exploded."

Nathan looked like she had slapped him. "Are you saying that what happened is my fault?"

"What?" Claire hadn't meant it like that, but thinking about it she realized how it must have sounded. "No…Nathan I didn't mean that…"

"I care about my brother. I care about him more than I care about myself." Nathan told her. "Before though…you don't understand what it was like for me to find out about my abilities…about our abilities…I didn't know how to deal with everything!"

"I know, I wasn't blaming you," she repeated. "I know that it was hard…I can only imagine with the election and everything…I'm just saying that Peter's been feeling sort of alone in this, and I can relate. I know how it feels to have people get hurt because of me."

Nathan frowned. She had never told him much about her past; usually it was something she didn't choose to talk about. "Maybe this isn't the right time for this kind of conversation, Claire."

She nodded. "You're probably right."

"I wanted tonight to end on a positive note…"

"Me too," Claire agreed. "I did have a good time." She tried to turn the conversation into something more lighthearted. "I really like your boys."

"They seemed to like you too." Nathan followed her upbeat lead. "I'll get you a cab."

"It's not that far, I could walk," Claire suggested as she headed down the stairs toward the front door.

"No," Nathan insisted as he followed her. "It's not safe for you to be walking alone at this time of night."

"Peter's only a few blocks away."

"Claire, it's late."

She smiled at how much he was starting to sound like her real dad. Maybe one day they would be able to have that relationship that they both wanted—without all the awkward tension that their pasts inevitably forced upon them.

"Okay, a cab sounds good," she gave in and he smiled.

"Are you going?" Heidi met up with them at the base of the stairs.

"Yea, it's getting late." Claire wasn't sure how to end the evening.

"It was good seeing you again Claire." Heidi told her. "I do hope you'll come around more often."

"Really?" Claire thought that Heidi sounded earnest, but she still wished she had Peter's mind-reading abilities so she could know what her "step-mom" really thought.

"Yes," Heidi confirmed. "Really. The boys really enjoyed having you here tonight, and so did I. Don't be a stranger."

Claire grinned and, without thinking, gave Heidi a hug. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Heidi accepted the hug easily.

HIRO

JAPAN 1600s

"You have done well here, Hiro."

Hiro kept his head bowed as he received Kensei's benevolent compliment. "Thank you Sir. I have had a good teacher."

"You have not only served me well, but you have excelled in the training I have given you, and you have rescued my love."

Hiro dared a glance up at this point and he caught the brief glance that passed between Kensei and the princess; he looked down again, feeling that he was intruding upon a private moment of theirs.

"And for this, you will forever have my gratitude and respect," Kensei continued.

"And mine as well," Princess Kaori spoke up.

"It was an honor," Hiro answered honestly. He looked up finally and noticed they were both staring at him sincerely.

"The honor was ours in having the opportunity to meet you," Princess Kaori told him. "But now you must leave."

"I'm sorry?"

"You must go now. It's time for you to return to your own time and your own place."

"But I'm not finished with my training…" Hiro looked to Kensei for confirmation.

"You have learned all I can teach you," Kensei assured him. "If Kaori thinks it is time for you to return then you should heed her advice. She has ways of knowing things that we don't."

Hiro nodded. Since he brought Kaori back from her prison, he had learned more about her ability to see future events. What surprised him most about her gift was how far in to the future she could see. She didn't just see events before they happened, she saw years ahead…centuries even, if she focused hard enough.

Before Hiro had rescued her, she had been focusing very hard—hard enough to see what was to come only months from the time that Hiro belonged in. She wouldn't tell him much concerning the details of what would happen, but she told him enough to know that bad things were going to happen and it was his responsibility to stop them.

"Take my sword," Kensei bowed before Hiro now, delivering his most prized possession. "And use it wisely as you fight to protect your own people. Be the warrior that I know you are meant to be."

"I will do my best not to let you down." Hiro promised as he accepted the sword from Kensei. "Thank you for all that you have shown me."

Kensei nodded, they bowed to one another, and then let Kaori speak.

"Remember what I told you: be careful who you trust and most of all, trust yourself."

Hiro took her words of advice seriously and then bowed to her as well. "It was an honor getting to know you…both of you." He smiled slightly. "May your love continue until the stars fall from the skies."

They both smiled back at him and watched as he closed his eyes tightly in concentration and disappeared from his sight.

PETER AND CLAUDE

NEW YORK

"Thanks mate," Claude accepted the mug of steaming tea Peter had just handed him. "Do you ever notice how damn cold it can get being invisible?"

Peter cocked an eyebrow at Claude's comment. "Can't say I have. Do you really get cold?"

"Sometimes," Claude nodded and sipped the hot liquid slowly. "I think it's got something to do with the making my molecules disappear…"

"What?" Peter had to admit he'd never taken the time to consider how invisibility worked. "Our molecules disappear?"

Claude grinned at Peter. "I don't have a clue mate! I'm just messin' with you."

Peter rolled his eyes and poured boiling water into his own mug of tea. "So, are you going to tell me what this surprise visit's about anytime soon? I mean the last time I saw you, you weren't exactly eager to pursue a friendship."

"That's when I thought you were going to be exploding the city." Claude took another sip from his tea. "But you've clearly mastered that little problem…"

"Yea, sort of."

"What do you mean? Are you still having problems? Should I be worried for my life here?" Claude persisted.

"No, I haven't had any problems with the whole nuclear thing, but I haven't gotten all my other powers under control yet." Peter explained, "Claire's been working with me, but it's a slow process. I don't think she's very focused."

"Why not?"

"Well, she's got this boyfriend…"

"You need to protect her," Claude ordered suddenly.

"I'm sorry?" Peter frowned at Claude's unexpected outburst.

"She's just a kid. She can't take care of herself."

"You think I don't know that?" Peter asked. "Besides, she's not as incapable as you might think. She's young, sure, but she's very responsible and her ability…"

"She can regenerate, but she's not immortal."

Peter paused for a moment, considering Claude's comment. "How do you know so much about Claire? I never told you what her ability was."

"I used to work with her father, remember."

"Yea, but Noah didn't even know about her ability until this year," Peter commented. "There's no way he could have told you while you worked together."

"Look mate, I don't have to explain everything to you right now."

"Actually, mate, you sort of do. You took me under your wing, and I thought I could trust you to help me deal with my problem, but the second it become difficult for you, you bailed. I haven't heard from you in weeks and now all of a sudden you're back and once again telling me how to take care of my niece, how to deal with my powers, and you won't even tell me what this is all about…"

"Peter," Claude sat up straighter in his chair, taking on a much more serious tone. "You don't know what shit I've had to put up with in my life because of Noah Bennett and the people that he works for. When I learned that they were on to you…on to us…I had no choice mate. If I'd stayed around things would've gotten a lot worse for the both of us."

"Yea, I get that, but what about now? Why'd you come back?"

Claude hesitated. "I'll explain it all to you when the timing's right, but that's not now. You're just going to have to trust me on this one."

"No, that's not going to be good enough for me." Peter argued. "You've been here for three hours now and I've been patient. I've indulged your curiosity and showed you the extent of the powers that I can control, I told you all about what happened after you left, and I've even fed you. I was patient, because I was pretty sure that eventually you'd get to the point. Now it's time for you to give me something."

Claude shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that, mate."

"Would you stop calling me that? I'm not your mate! I think you've made it pretty clear that we aren't friends."

"Oh come on, don't be like that."

"Like what?" Peter hated how juvenile this argument was, but he was having a hard time trusting Claude's sudden reappearance in his life. "Look, I'm sorry, but if you aren't going to trust me enough to tell me the truth, then I can't trust having you here. Like you said, I've got Claire to worry about now."

Claude wasn't able to hide the hurt in his expression, but he stood graciously, placed the mug of tea on the table, and headed to the door. "I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm not leaving town Peter. Not for a while. If you change your mind, which I'm confident you will, I'll be around."

Peter didn't answer.

"In the meantime though, be careful who you trust mate."

"That's exactly what I'm doing."

Claude stared at Peter and Peter stared back, equally serious and cold. Neither spoke. There didn't seem to be anything more to say after the attitude that Peter had suddenly adapted. They might have stayed that way for a while if Claire hadn't interrupted at that moment by bursting through the door, spreading about the addictive vivaciousness that only she was capable of.

"Hello!" She greeted them both excitedly. "I hope you guys had as good a night as I did!" Claire shut the door again and looped her purse over one of the hooks that protruded from the coat rack.

Claude caved. His shoulders slumped and he dropped his head. "Sorry to bother you, mate," he said to Peter before turning to Claire who was still standing by the door. "Good to see you Claire. You've grown up really well."

Claire was puzzled at his compliment, as well as the strange mood that the men seemed consumed with, but she smiled at Claude anyway. "Thanks! Are you leaving already though? I was sort of hoping we could talk…about my dad."

Claude's left eye twitched. "Ah…I don't think that would be the best idea."

"You're the only person I've ever met who knew him back then!" She explained. "I just have so many questions about his job and about how he adopted me…"

Claude shook his head. "I'm really not the best one to talk to about all that. The best of luck to you though." He glanced over his shoulder to Peter. "Take care."

Claire stepped aside as Claude moved to the door. He caught her eye once more and smiled slightly before disappearing into his invisibility once again. The door opened and then shut again and Peter nodded to Claire, signaling they were truly alone.

"What was that all about?" Claire asked. "I thought you two were like friends or something."

"We're not friends. We never really were," Peter corrected her.

"Okay, but still…"

"He's a strange guy," Peter explained simply. "I never know what his purpose is, or what his motive is for that matter. At this point I think we're better off without him."

"So, did he at least tell you why he came back?"

"No."

"Weird," Claire decided as she started to remove her jacket. "Well, I guess it doesn't really make a difference, right? I mean if it was something important he would have told you. Wouldn't he?"

"I don't know. I guess." Peter thought about it for a minute and decided he had no idea what Claude would and wouldn't do. "Whatever. So, did you have a good night?"