PETER & CLAIRE

NEW YORK

"You're going out with him again?"

Claire rolled her eyes, but her back was to Peter so he couldn't see. "Yes, I am. Do you have a problem with that?"

"It's just, you go out a lot. I mean this will be the third night in a row…"

"Thanks for the tally," Claire continued straightening her hair. "It's not like I'm wanted around here. You've spent the last three nights with Claude," she reminded him. "And you won't even tell me why!"

"That's different," Peter protested.

"Yea, it is different. You didn't even want to speak to Claude when he showed up a week ago, and now you can't wait to be his best friend again?" She turned from the mirror momentarily so she could look Peter in the eyes. "At least I have good reason to be doing what I'm doing. Jaden's my boyfriend. Dating is normal when you're, you know, dating someone." She turned back to the mirror and finished the last strand of her hair. "Maybe you should try it sometime; it might make you a little less moody all the time."

"You think I'm moody?" Peter questioned.

Claire shook her head quickly. "No, I didn't mean that…"

He frowned; he had gotten good at being able to tell when she was lying. "I'm not moody."

"I know you're not," she agreed. "And even if you were, you'd have every right to be. I mean, I could only imagine what sort of mood I'd be in if I were trying to sort out a dozen different abilities and carry on a normal life…"

"But?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know that look in your eyes," Peter told her. "I can tell when you're holding something back from me."

She shook her head. "I'm not, I just…I need to finish getting ready. Jaden should be here in any minute." Claire turned back to the mirror and was glossing her eyelashes with a second coat of mascara.

Peter hesitated. He had promised her he would never do it, but at this moment he felt that he had no choice. She wasn't being completely honest with him and he needed to know why. He concentrated, blocking out all the noise except for what was going on inside her mind.

He has so much potential, if only he wouldn't be so scared.

Peter pulled himself out of her thoughts suddenly. She thinks I'm scared? Of all the things she could think of him, that was the last thing he would ever want her to think of him. He backed up slowly, giving her space. After reading that brief moment of her thoughts, he decided that he didn't want to hear any more, and so he backed into the other room and sat on the couch. Technically, he knew he was sulking, but he hoped she wouldn't notice this.

"Peter," Claire emerged from the bedroom ten minutes later. Her makeup was finished and she had put on her coat. "I don't think you're moody," she told him once she had located him on the couch.

He stared at her, once again prying into her mind.

Though right now, I'm not sure what to think of you.

"I'm dangerous Claire," he told her sharply.

"What?"

"Until I have better control over all my abilities, I'm a danger to society."

"You keep saying that, but I don't believe you. You haven't had any breakdowns or blowups or anything for weeks! How do you know if you're still dangerous, if you're too scared to even take a chance?"

"Take a chance?" Peter sat up straighter. "The last time I took a chance, I nearly exploded New York!"

"You're really going to have to move past that some day."

"Claire, it's not like I had a bad day, I blew up…"

"Yea, I remember, I was there." She wished she knew a better way to tell him what she was feeling. She hated seeing him as he was right now—miserable, depressed, and hopeless. "Peter, sometimes I think you feel like nobody else understands what you're going through. I mean, you'll let Claude get close to you, but what about me?"

"What about you?"

"I know what you're going through. Sure, I don't have to deal with a dozen strange powers, but I do have to learn how to assimilate my super-self with my normal-self. It's not easy, but I'm doing it."

"I know…" Peter felt a little ridiculous whenever she brought the attention to herself. He was supposed to be the one taking care of her, but more often then not it seemed that she was taking care of him. "I'm sorry Claire. I'm sorry I can't take better care of you. I'm sorry I'm not a better example for you…"

"It's not about you being an example for me," Claire insisted. "It's about you living your life, like you did before you let your powers frighten you into hiding."

"You think I'm hiding?"

"What else do you call this lifestyle?" Claire demanded. "You barely leave the house. And the only time you do leave the house, it's to go off somewhere alone and secretive—where do you go anyway?" Peter ignored the question, and she continued, disregarding the question. "If I didn't bring groceries in once a week, we'd both starve! Peter, you can't live like this! It's pathetic."

"I just need time," he claimed.

"No, you need a purpose," she decided suddenly. "Before you had a purpose—to stop yourself from blowing up. You don't have one anymore, so it's like you've just given up on life altogether."

"Great, so let's just go and get my a purpose," he rolled his eyes. "Life isn't that black and white, Claire."

"Yea, I know," she glared at him for taking that sarcastic tone with her. "And no one said it's supposed to be easy either. We've got to work to make things happen."

"I don't need a reminder about working hard…"

"I think that maybe you do," she snapped at him. "Because all I've seen you do lately is sit on your ass and wine about how much you're struggling with your abilities."

He was surprised by her intense outburst. Even when she was upset, Claire was usually good at keeping calm. This was clearly beyond upset, though. She was furious, and he had the feeling that there was more to her anger than his moodiness. It only took him a moment to dive into her mind again and discover the root of her frustration.

I left my family so that I could be here with you. You were supposed to help me understand where I belong, but all you've done is make me miss home more than ever. How will I ever know what my purpose is, if you can't even prove that purpose exists anymore? She wasn't looking at him anymore, but he could still see her eyes, and he knew that she was trying not to cry. Do you ever think of anybody other than yourself?

"I'm sorry," he offered. He didn't know what else to say. Everything she was thinking was true. He was being selfish, and useless. After everything she had sacrificed, everything she had been willing to do to save him, he was treating her horribly.

Claire looked at him curiously. "You're sorry?"

"I haven't been taking very good care of you," he told her. "I've been ignoring how much you've been going through because I'm too focused on myself. I realize that there's a lot of pressure on you, and I wish I could make it easier for you somehow…"

"That's not your responsibility," she told him. "I'm not asking for you to take care of me, or make life easier, or whatever. I'm just asking for you to notice me."

Now it was his turn for curiosity.

"Not just me," she corrected herself, "but everyone. I want you to realize that you're not the only person struggling in life."

"Okay," he answered after a moment's pause.

"Okay?" She repeated.

"Yea, okay."

"So, you'll try then?"

"Yea, I'll try. I don't really know what that means right now, but I'll try."

She smiled, but she wasn't completely convinced about Peter's change of mood. "I'm going to cancel my date tonight."

"What?" Peter shook his head. "Why? You've been getting ready for an hour!"

"Because I think I should stay here with you tonight."

"Do you think I need a babysitter?"

"No," she removed her jacket and slung it over an armchair. "I think you need company and I realize that I've been going out a lot lately, and we haven't been able to spend much time together."

"We worked on my strength last night!"

"I'm not talking about practicing your abilities," Claire told him. "That just might be the problem. We're focusing too much on our "special" selves and not caring about our normal selves. Let's just relax tonight."

"Claire, I don't want you to stay home just for me. You should go out with Jaden." Peter hated saying it. He didn't really want her going out with him, he wanted her to stay home, but he also wanted her to be happy.

"I'll go out with him some other time. You're more important," she assured him. "I mean, unless you don't want me hanging around here. Maybe you'd rather just be alone…"

"No, no," he stood quickly to stop her from putting her jacket back on. "I want you here."

She smiled. "Good, then why don't you order something for dinner and I'll call Jaden."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely," she trotted across the room to him and stood on tiptoes to place a reassuring kiss on his cheek. "I'll only be a minute. I'm going to change too, so I can be comfortable."

"You know, we could go out…" Peter suggested suddenly.

"Out?" Claire stopped on her way to the bedroom.

"Yea, like out to eat, or maybe to a movie…if you want." He motioned to her appearance. "It's just that you got yourself all fixed up, and I feel kind of guilty about you just changing into sweatpants."

She smiled. "I like sweatpants."

"I know, but if you were counting on going out…"

"We can go out if you want," she agreed. "It would be fun to get you out of the apartment."

"I'm going to ignore that comment, because I want to go out, and I don't want you to change your mind," he followed her into the bedroom and retrieved a change of clothes from the dresser that they were now sharing. "I'm going to take a quick shower, okay? I'll be fast." He smiled at her as he moved on to the bathroom, leaving her alone.

Claire waited for him to shut the bathroom door before pulling out her cell phone and dialing Jaden. He answered on the second ring.

"I am just leaving the hospital. I'll be there soon!"

"Hey, Jaden, actually, I'm calling because I'm afraid I have to cancel our plans for tonight."

"Is this a joke?"

"No, it's not," Claire moved into the living room and started pacing in circles around the coffee table. "Something's come up. I'm sorry, but I can't go out tonight."

"But I had everything planned! I've been planning for a long time. Tonight was going to be great…"

"You plan all our dates, Jaden." Claire reminded him.

"Why are you canceling on me?"

"Because there is something else that I have to do," she repeated. "I'm sorry, but we'll just have to reschedule."

"Please tell me this isn't because of your pathetic uncle again." Jaden wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily.

Claire hesitated. It was true that she cancelled a lot on Jaden for Peter, but usually it was because he was having a crisis with his abilities. This was the first time she had cancelled so they could just have fun. She didn't know how she would be able to explain that to Jaden though—so she didn't.

"It's not," she told him. "It's Jenny, from school. She's having this problem, and she really needs me tonight."

"Really? It can't wait?"

"I would feel bad if I made her wait. Trust me, if this wasn't such a serious matter I wouldn't even consider it, but she needs me…"

"I need you," Jaden argued.

"Jaden, stop pressing me on this one, okay?" Claire pleaded. "It's important to me."

"I thought I was important to you," he continued to argue.

"Right now, you're just irritating."

Jaden was quiet for a minute, and Claire wished she could take back her lecture.

"Look, I'm sorry that I can't meet you tonight, I really did want to, but my friends mean a lot to me…"

"I know," Jaden gave in. "We'll reschedule for another time. Just let me know when you want to."

"I will," Claire sighed. "Thank you for understanding."

"I don't understand, I just know that I can't change your mind once it's made up."

She laughed a little. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"I'll be waiting."

By time she had managed to get Jaden off the phone, Peter had finished his shower and had returned to the living room, fully dressed and looking better than she had seen him in a long time.

"Ready to go?" He asked Claire, putting on one of his charming smiles that only turned up half his mouth.

"I am, and you look more than ready," she slipped her cell phone into her purse as Peter retrieved her jacket for her. "So, what sounds good for dinner?"

"Anything you want, but if you happen to be having a craving for Italian, I would fully support that." Peter helped her into her jacket and obligingly pulled her long hair free from beneath the collar.

"Italian sounds great," Claire agreed. "And then how about a movie after?"

"Perfect," Peter offered her his arm and she took it as they headed toward the door. He knew that he should probably be feeling weird to be escorting his niece out for the evening, but his heart was beating furiously with excitement. Being this close to Claire was all he had been hoping for, and even though it was nothing more than an innocent dinner and movie, he couldn't help feeling elated that she had even agreed to it.

JADEN HILL

NEW YORK

Jaden shrunk deeper into the shadows as the taxi parked next to the curb; he couldn't risk them seeing him. The back door opened and Peter stepped out first, and then turned around to give Claire his hand. The two of them were laughing over a joke that Jaden was not a part of. He narrowed his eyes in their direction—as if it would do any good.

Why do I care? Jaden had been asking himself this exact question over and over for the last two hours. Ever since he had spotted Claire leaving the apartment building with Peter. He should be annoyed that she cancelled on him, and lied to him, but not for the reasons that he was. He should be annoyed because it damaged his mission, but in reality he was irritated because he was jealous. I have no reason to be jealous. I don't like her. I am in love with my girlfriend—my real girlfriend and she is so much better than Claire could ever hope to be.

"Peter wait!"

Jaden's attention was drawn to Claire's giggle. He couldn't help thinking how adorable it was. Hearing it felt addicting; he never wanted it to stop. Stop thinking about her! He lectured himself as he pressed up closer to the brick wall he was hiding against. Claire's laughing had started when the heel of her stiletto boot had gotten caught in a grate on the sidewalk and she was calling for Peter to help her out.

"Just hold still," Peter was saying to Claire. "I'll get you out."

"It's really stuck!" She was still laughing hysterically, which was probably only contributing to her inability to release her shoe.

"You have to stop laughing!" Peter was kneeling on the sidewalk, preparing to pull her foot free, but he had started to laugh as well and they were both being incredibly unsuccessful.

"I'm trying to!" She insisted.

"Okay, one more try…" Peter gripped her shoe tightly and pulled hard. Jaden was shocked at how easily Peter was able to pull it free; it made him wonder about the extent of Peter's powers. Losing her balance, Claire almost fell backwards, but Peter caught her easily and righted her, still laughing uncontrollably.

"Thank you!" She linked her arm with Peter's and squeezed him tight.

"Can you walk now?" He continued holding her arm as they walked together up to the ticket booth at the theater.

Jaden watched them until they had bought their tickets and gone into the theater. For a minute after they had disappeared, he stood still, staring at the front of the theater, still angrily contemplating how Claire had cancelled on their date, lied to him, and gone out with Peter. He was her uncle. She wasn't supposed to want to spend time with her uncle instead of her boyfriend.

His phone rang, and he couldn't have been more grateful for the distraction. "Hi Sasha."

"Hey honey, I thought you might be missing me."

"Very good guess," Jaden turned his back on the theater, not wanting to spend any more time thinking about the two of them. "How's it going with the doctor?"

"As well as it could be," she sighed though and he knew she wasn't very happy.

"Is he being difficult?"

"No, he's just so damn polite. Everyone we meet, he has to treat like their royalty or something." She grunted. "They're sick, we're healing them, they should be grateful enough for that. We shouldn't have to treat them special."

"Considering what'll come next for them, maybe it's a nice gesture for Suresh to be a little nice."

"Are you seriously defending him?"

"No," he corrected himself quickly. His night had been irritating enough without having to deal with a pissed off girlfriend as well. "I'm sorry, it's been a long night."

"Oh? Finally tired of playing the boyfriend to that lame-ass cheerleader?"

"No, she cancelled our date tonight."

"What?"

He pulled the phone away from his ear to avoid the impact of her yelling. "Don't worry, I'll deal with it."

"Why did she cancel the date? I though you said she was obsessed with you."

"She is," Jaden insisted. "She just had something else to do tonight."

"What else could she possibly have to do?" When he didn't answer, Sasha knew she had her answer. "She's with Peter, isn't she?"

"Yes," Jaden answered slowly.

"Damnit, Jaden! How are we supposed to get anywhere with our mission, when you can't even keep her away from him for one night!"

"I don't know what else I can do!" Jaden told her. "Every time I think she's becoming more attached to me, she runs back to him. She trusts him."

"Then make her trust you as much as him, or else you'll never win."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know, use your imagination." She started talking to someone else away from the phone and when she returned to the conversation she had to say goodbye. "The doctor wants me. He's so needy."

"Bye, I'll call you later."

"Don't bother calling me again until you've gained Claire's absolute trust!"

"But…"

"No," she cut him off. "This assignment is too important for you to blow, so I think I need to give you a little incentive. Until you get Claire, you don't get me."

"Fine." Jaden hung up without another word. He was too irritated with everyone to talk to anyone right now.