PETER & CLAIRE
NEW YORK, PETER'S APARTMENT
"Gross! Peanut butter and popcorn?" Peter concentrated on the large bowl in Claire's lap and in a moment it had telekinetically flown into his lap. "That's it, no more popcorn for you."
"Hey! No fair using your abilities…" Claire leaned forward and took the bowl of popcorn back from Peter.
"We never set rules!" Peter protested. "You only told me I couldn't read your mind, but as far as the other powers go, I think they're fair game. If anything you should be encouraging me to practice them as often as possible."
Claire tried to think of a comeback, but Peter had a point—he should be practicing. "Fine…" she frowned at him and then smiled. "So, maybe we should create some guidelines then. You know, things you can do, things you can't…"
"You want to give me rules?"
"Yep," she ate a small handful of popcorn. "And you can give me some too, though I don't know what sort of guidelines you would have to give me. I can't really do anything!"
"How about no putting yourself in harm's way on purpose, just to test yourself." Peter suggested.
Claire narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't hurt myself on purpose…"
He looked at her suspiciously.
"Okay, fine, sometimes I do, but not always," she shrugged. "Most of the time, I'm just getting hurt by accident."
"That's because you're sort of a klutz."
"I am not!" She protested.
Peter's eyes drifted to the kitchen where shattered glass on the floor brought back the memory of Claire breaking a glass only thirty minutes earlier.
"A little accident-prone, maybe," she admitted. "I'm working on it though!"
"I know you are," he smiled. "But I'm making that your rule."
"Fine," she agreed. "I won't test my pain limits anymore."
"Good," Peter once again telekinetically summoned the bowl of popcorn to himself.
Claire rolled her eyes. "Your turn."
"My turn, what?"
"It's time for your rules," she told him. "Let's see…we've already established the 'no reading my mind' rule."
He nodded.
"And…no being invisible around me."
"What?" He shook his head. "Not fair."
"When we are practicing, that's one thing, but under normal circumstances you can't be invisible. When I'm around then let me know that you're around. It's polite."
"Fine," Peter agreed. "I'll be visible when you're around."
"Also, no freezing time on me."
"I wouldn't…"
"You would," she cut him off. "In fact you have. I know you have. You think you are sneaky, but I know you've frozen me before when I was talking to you and you didn't want to listen…"
"I did that once!" Peter protested. "But you were whining about something and I didn't want to deal with it."
"I don't whine," Claire argued. "But it doesn't matter what I was talking about. You should never freeze me when we're having a conversation. It doesn't promote trust."
"Fine, I won't freeze you…" he paused and then quickly added: "unless absolutely necessary."
Claire debated arguing with him, but she knew he meant it for the best.
"Anything else?"
"Hmm…maybe a little less moodiness."
"That has nothing to do with abilities!" Peter pointed out. "You can't make rules about behavior and personality."
"Who says?"
"I do," he stated. "And I'm older, so I'm in charge."
Claire's instincts forced her to stick her tongue out at him in juvenile retaliation. At the same exact time though, Peter stuck his tongue out as well and so they were staring at each other, both with tongues hanging out like angry two-year-olds. They remained like that for a moment and then they both started laughing.
"Copy cat!" Claire accused.
"You copied me…" Peter attempted.
"Did not…" Claire hesitated. "You totally knew I was about to do that. You read my mind!"
He shook his head, but it wasn't convincing.
"You broke the rules!" Claire sighed. "I don't know why I even try…"
"You try because you care about me," Peter smiled. "And I care about you."
"Good…" she glanced at the kitchen and thought about retrieving her desired peanut butter. "Since you aren't going to obey my rules, then how about you put your ability to use. Can you summon that peanut butter for me?" She pointed to the jar on the counter.
Peter shook his head. "No, that's disgusting! Peanut butter does not belong with popcorn."
"It's good, trust me!"
He sighed, but turned his attention to the peanut butter jar and concentrated hard. It rattled on the surface and then zipped through the air and into Peter's outstretched hand. He twisted off the lid of the jar and handed it to Claire once it was open.
"Thank you," she took it happily and chose a large kernel of popcorn to dip into the jar. Once it was successfully coated with peanut butter she pulled it out and popped it into her mouth. "So good!" She took another piece of popcorn and dipped it into the peanut butter; instead of eating it she held it up for him. "You have to try it."
"No way!"
"Come on," Claire leaned forward, forcing it closer to his mouth. "Just try it."
Peter hesitated briefly, but her fingers bumped against his lips and he parted them reluctantly. She shoved the peanut butter popcorn into his mouth and waited for his reaction.
"Wow…" he mumbled once he had swallowed.
"See? It's good isn't it?"
Peter shook his head. "It's disgusting."
"It is not!" Claire kicked out her legs beneath the blanket that they were sharing on the couch; her foot only barely nudged his leg.
"Are you trying to hurt me?"
"You know you like me," Claire grinned.
Peter smiled, if you only knew how much. "Of course I like you Claire. You're family." For the briefest moment he could have sword he saw her smile falter, but he didn't know why it would, so he ignored it. "It's getting late," he noticed with a glance at the clock.
"So?" Claire followed his gaze. "It's not a school night…plus I'm not five."
"Yea, I'm aware of that." Peter looked away. Perhaps a little too aware…
Claire settled back on the couch and reached for the remote control. "Want to watch a movie?"
"Sure, anything you want." Peter also made himself more comfortable. At that moment, he could honestly say that he felt perfect. Everything felt right. He was happy and at peace. He was relaxing with the only person he could want to be with and he needed nothing else to content him.
And then her phone rang.
Claire nearly overturned the popcorn bowl in her haste to answer the call.
"Hi," she had that giggle in her voice that told Peter exactly who was on the other end of the call. "I know, I'm sorry…"
Peter wished he could hear what Jaden was saying. That idiot, he vented to himself. He's probably sweet-talking her and trying to make her feel guilty for canceling on him. Pathetic crybaby…
"Peter…"
Peter snapped out of his thoughts when he realized Claire was talking to him. "Yea?"
"Would you mind if Jaden came over and watched the movie with us?"
Yes! He wanted to scream, but instead he just shrugged.
"Okay," Claire was back to the phone conversation. "How long will it take you?"
Peter watched Claire's face turn up in a smile and then she hung up the phone. "So, he's coming?"
"Yea, he'll be here in just a minute." She started automatically straightening up the room. "Do I look okay?"
"Yea, Claire, you look perfect." Peter turned on the TV. He was determined to simply ignore Jaden when he came over. Nothing was going to ruin the perfect night he had had with Claire.
It hadn't even been a full minute before Jaden was knocking on the door.
"That was fast," Peter commented as Claire responding to the door.
"Hey baby," Jaden stepped through the door and instantly gave Claire a kiss. "How's Jenny doing?"
"Jenny?"
"Yea, you said she was having a hard time…that's why you cancelled our date, right?"
Claire covered her fumble with a smile. "Right…Jenny…she's doing better, which is why I came home." She glanced at the couch. "You remember my uncle, don't you?"
Jaden nodded. "Good to see you again."
Peter just nodded in response.
"So, movie?" Claire took Jaden by the hand and led him to the couch.
Peter moved over to give Claire and Jaden more room on the couch. Claire sat next to Peter, but so close to Jaden that their legs were touching—Peter tried not to think about that fact.
"I vote that Peter chooses the movie," Claire decided, but she only seem half interested in what she was saying.
Peter glanced at her, but she was only paying attention to Jaden. He was kissing her neck and she was giggling. He wished she would giggle that way for him. He tried not to look at them, but he couldn't ignore the noises his lips made as they smacked against her skin. "Yea, I think I'm going to head out for a while."
"What?" Claire pushed Jaden away from herself as Peter stood up and moved to retrieve his jacket from the coat rack. "No, Peter, where are you going?"
"Just out," he answered. "I think you guys could use your privacy."
She frowned. "Okay, then I guess I'll see you later…" She gave him a smile. "Don't stay away too long though."
Peter looked at Jaden; his arm was already sneaking around Claire's shoulders, drawing her closer. "Don't' worry. I'll be back soon." I wouldn't leave him alone with you. I don't trust him. He watched Claire give into Jaden's kisses for a second before leaving the apartment.
The sound of the door shutting made Claire strangely uncomfortable. She pulled away from Jaden and leaned back against the couch.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Peter, she explained, "he's not doing very well." She stood and started to pace, as she was prone to do with trying to think things through.
Jaden watched her and let her talk.
"I have to be honest with you," she didn't look at him. "I wasn't with Jenny tonight. I was with Peter. I didn't want to tell you because you're always so annoyed when I hang out with him instead of you."
"I actually sort of assumed that you were with him," Jaden told her. "I'm not that dumb, you know?"
She smiled. "I know. I'm sorry I lied to you."
"You had your reasons."
"Yea," she sighed. "But really, I don't think it was a good idea for you to come over here. I know that you were upset about me canceling the date, and I wanted to see you, but I cancelled the date because I needed to spend time with Peter, so I should have spent the time with Peter and not with you…"
"I'm your boyfriend."
"I know that." Claire didn't understand why he was reminding her of that.
"You're my girlfriend!"
"Yea, I got that," Claire finally stopped pacing to stare at him. "Jaden, I don't get it. Why are you so against me spending time with Peter?"
"I'm not against that…I just wish you would spend more time with me."
"I spend a lot of time with you," she told him. "In fact I spend like every night with you. What's going on Jaden? This is weird behavior, even for you…"
He was quiet for a minute, as though he were trying to figure out what he really wanted to say. When he did speak, he stood up and moved toward her. "I need to tell you something…something that's really important…"
"Okay…" Claire worried about his tone.
"Sit down." He brought her back to the couch and she relented to sitting beside him once again, but this time they faced each other. "We've been together for a while now…"
Claire was quiet, but then Jaden was quiet and she thought he might be waiting for some sort of confirmation on her part, so she nodded quickly.
"Right, so it's been a while, and I feel like I've gotten to know you really well…"
"Same here," she agreed.
He nodded. "So what I'm trying to say is that I feel that it's been long enough for me to know how I feel about you."
"How you feel?" Claire started feeling a little nervous about where this conversation was heading.
"Yea," he continued. "Well, here it goes…" He cleared his voice and his eyes focused on her. "Claire, I love you."
For a minute Claire wondered if she had lost her ability to speak; she couldn't respond to his confession. She just stared at him, her eyes wide open, and her teeth locked together securely.
"Claire? Did you hear what I said?"
She nodded, but it still took her another minute to respond. "Okay…"
"Okay?" He repeated. "Is that seriously your response?"
Claire laughed, then realized what bad timing it was to laugh, and quickly shook her head. "No, I didn't mean it like it sounded," she assured him. "I like you too."
"You like me?"
"No, I mean, yes, I do, but…" she smiled at him, trying to buy herself some time to think of a way to express herself better. "It's only been a couple months."
"I know, but isn't that long enough?"
"I don't know," Claire told him honestly. "I've never been in this serious of a relationship before. I don't know what the proper amount of time is to tell someone that!"
"I see," Jaden shrugged. "Well, I guess it's not important. I just wanted you to know how I feel. I don't need you to feel the same to make it true for me."
"I'm not saying that it's not true, I just don't know…"
Jaden shook his head to quiet her. "Okay, there's something else I need to tell you."
"Really? Something else?" Claire questioned. "I sort of thought you covered everything."
"Yea, you'd think so, wouldn't you?" He paused, looked away from her for a moment, and then back at her. "I'm not like normal people, Claire."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm different," he tried to explain. "Some might say special, or weird, but I can do something that's not exactly normal."
"Yea, I still don't get what you're trying to say," Claire told him.
"I have an ability…sort of…if you want to call it that…"
"What is it?" Claire suddenly knew exactly what he was telling her. "What can you do Jaden?"
"I can move really fast."
A giggle erupted from Claire involuntarily. "I'm sorry…but what?"
"I'm not joking Claire!" Jaden insisted. "I'm like freakishly fast. It's not normal."
"Show me," she requested.
"Are you sure? I don't want to freak you out."
"Trust me, I'll be fine."
"Okay," Jaden stood and made sure Claire was watching him. He counted to three to give her warning and then took off.
Claire gasped. She almost thought he had vanished like Hiro and Peter could, but then she felt a slight wind on her hair. She glanced at the window, but it was closed.
"Jaden?" She pulled her knees to her chest, a little unsure of what to think of the new revelation regarding her boyfriend.
A moment later Jaden had reappeared in front of her; he was panting slightly. "See?"
"Oh my god…" She stood up and slowly closed the gasp between them. "You do move fast."
"Told you…" he was watching her expression carefully. "Did I totally freak you out?"
"No," she assured him. "I really appreciate your honesty. That shows how much you care about me."
"I just don't want to have any secrets between us."
"Me either…" she smiled, but it didn't quite light up her face like usual.
"Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
Her smile faded, and she didn't answer. Instead she put her arms around his neck and offered up her lips to him for a kiss, which he gave her readily.
"I see I underestimated how much time you two needed alone…"
Claire pulled away from Jaden when she heard Peter coming in the door. "Hi Peter…" she smiled at Peter and then at Jaden. "It's late Jaden. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure baby," he kissed her briefly. "Talk to you tomorrow." Jaden stepped around Peter and out the door. Peter didn't waste a moment in shutting the door, but Jaden remained in the hallway, curious to hear the conversation that would take place inside.
"Did he behave himself?" Jaden heard Peter asking Claire.
"Of course he did," Claire responded. "He always does."
"What's wrong with you?" Peter asked her. "You look funny…"
"Just thinking," Claire told him.
"Wait, are you serious? He told you he loved you?"
Jaden didn't understand how Peter knew that.
"Did you seriously just read my mind? After everything we talked about earlier…"
Wow, mind reading…Jaden pondered. That would come in handy, but if Peter's got that ability it means I really have to be careful around him…
"Look Peter, Jaden loves me, but that's none of your business…"
"I just don't want you to jump into this too fast. Just because a guy tells you he loves you…"
"He's not just 'a guy' though, he's my boyfriend."
"It doesn't make a difference. It's only been a few months. How do you even know you can trust him?"
"Because I know I can. I love him too."
Jaden grinned when he heard Claire's announcement.
"You do?" Peter didn't seem as delighted.
"Well yea, maybe…" Claire didn't sound as convinced anymore. "I don't know if I do or not, but I could. I really like him. I might actually love him. I don't know."
"That's sort of something someone should be able to decide, right?"
"God Peter, just give me a break, okay?" Claire was getting angry now. Jaden knew that happened naturally for her after she had been confused or frustrated.
"I'm just saying, either you love someone or you don't."
"No, it's not that easy." Claire argued. "I've never been in love before, I don't know how it's supposed to feel." Jaden could have sword she sounded close to tears. "How do I know if I love him or just feel this way because of what he told me?"
"I don't know what to tell you Claire." Peter's voice was gentler than before. "I wish I could give you the answers you need, but I can't. I don't know how you should be feeling. I don't think I've ever been in love before either."
Jaden pressed closer to the door when he couldn't hear their voices anymore. For a minute he wondered where they had went, but then he realized they just weren't talking for a moment. Finally Claire spoke again.
"Peter, I'm sorry tonight didn't end the way it should have. Tonight was supposed to have been about us…you and me going out and having a good time and not worrying about anything…" Claire once again sounded close to tears. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll make it up to you some other time, but I just want to go to bed now. I'm tired and I have so much to think about…"
"It's fine Claire," Peter's voice was moving and Jaden assumed he was changing locations within the apartment. "You gave me a great night. You should go to bed, try to get some sleep."
Jaden had heard all he wanted to hear, and so he left the apartment, instantly pulling out his cell phone to pass on news of his accomplishment to his real girlfriend.
MOHINDER & SASHA
FLYING SOMEWHERE OVER THE UNITED STATES
"Should we go over it again, just to make sure we don't have any confusion?"
"Sasha, we don't need to go over it again," Mohinder assured her. "I understand our agenda. When we land, you and I will go our separate ways for twenty-four hours. I will live my life, free from your partnership, and you will live yours. When the time is up, I will meet you at the airport and we will continue on with the next assignment, which you will know by then."
Sasha smiled curtly. "Yea, that's right, Dr. Sarcasm." She leaned forward in her seat so she could look out the plane window, around Mohinder. "So, what are you going to do with your twenty-four hours?"
Mohinder turned to look out the window as well; he would look anywhere except for at her. The plane was descending and the lights from the city below were visible through the misty expanse of dark night clouds. It was a beautiful view, possibly one of the most beautiful skylines Mohinder had ever seen. The beauty, he knew, came from a different source than the faint glimmer of the harbor or the glowing Space Needle. It was the promise of seeing Madeline that made the city beautiful to him. He had no interest in telling Sasha that though.
"What are you going to do?" He returned the question without answering it.
"That's my business," she told him.
"You asked me first, I assumed it was fair for me to ask you as well." Mohinder replied, with every bit as much attitude as she expressed toward him.
She shrugged her shoulders and pulled a stick of gum from the pocket of her jeans as the plane started its final descent. She shoved the gum in her mouth and turned away from him, ending the conversation.
They still weren't talking much by the time they had colleted their luggage and headed outside to look for a taxi. Mohinder knew exactly where he was going. He had told Sasha that he wanted to head home and get some sleep, but he really only had one thought on his mind and in order to accomplish it successfully, he wanted to be far away from Sasha, and so they took separate taxis.
"Where to?" The driver asked, once Mohinder's bags had been loaded and the taxi had pulled away from the curb.
"The hospital, please," Mohinder directed the driver as he stared out the window, watching Sasha climb into a taxi of her own still at the curb. He couldn't understand why he was so curious about her destination, but it bothered him not to know what she would be doing in Seattle for a day. Perhaps it was because she was such a secretive person and in the weeks they had been working together, he still hardly knew anything about her personal life.
The hospital was only a short drive from the airport, and so once the taxi had maneuvered out of the airport congestion, they only took fifteen minutes to arrive at the hospital. Mohinder paid the driver, tipped him well, and lugged his duffel bag and briefcase into the hospital, heading directly to the elevator to travel up to the very familiar floor. When the elevator dinged and the doors opened at the wanted floor, Mohinder felt a comforting relief that he hadn't experienced in weeks. Something about walking this hallway again gave him comfort that he had deeply missed. It only took him a minute to reach the door of Michael's hospital room.
"May I come in?" Dr. Suresh asked as he paused in the open doorway.
Mohinder had never experienced a reaction like he received from Madeline. She squealed, quite literally, rushed across the floor, and threw her arms around his neck.
"You're back!" She gasped into his ear.
"I told you I would be back eventually," Mohinder reminded her. He dropped his bag and briefcase, letting the crash onto the linoleum floor, so he could adequately wrap his arms around her waist. "Did you doubt me?"
"I was starting to," she admitted.
"I told her you wouldn't be able to stay away for too long," Michael spoke up from his bed.
Mohinder looked up, paying attention to his patient for the first time, and was glad to see that Michael was sitting up and he looked much better than he had when Mohinder left sixteen days ago. "You look well."
"I feel well," Michael confirmed. "I've been feeling better every day."
"I'm glad to hear it," Mohinder told him. He kept one arm around Madeline, but walked her back over to her brother's bedside.
"I've even been taking some walks around the hospital…always in short spurts, but it's been good to finally stretch my legs."
"I think it's good for him to get some exercise." Madeline told Mohinder. "I've been making sure that he doesn't get too fat and lazy."
"Who's fat?" Michael protested.
"It's all that pudding you've been eating here," Madeline joked with him.
"She's glad you're back, Doc," Michael told Mohinder. "I can tell."
"Oh?" Mohinder glanced sideways at Madeline and then back at her brother. "How can you tell?"
"It's her eyes," Michael explained. "See how they're sparkling?"
"Mike!" Madeline blushed, but she didn't try to deny it.
"And she's teasing me now. She hasn't done that in a while," Michael told him. "It's because of you. You put her in a good mood."
Mohinder smiled at Michael. "She puts me in a good mood too."
Madeline let out an exaggerated sigh and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her brother's cheek. Then she stood on tiptoes to kiss Mohinder's cheek as well. "What would I do without my boys?"
"I don't have a clue," Michael told her. "You'd probably be miserable…sad…alone..."
"Yea, I get the point," she rolled her eyes, but she was rubbing her hand across Mohinder's back, showing how content she was. "So, are you back for good?"
"I wish," Mohinder told her truthfully. "I have twenty-four hours and then I am meeting Sasha at the airport for our next assignment."
"It's not fair," Madeline complained. "I've missed you so much, and I don't even get a full week with you!"
"I know, it isn't fair," he agreed. "Trust me, if I had it my way, I'd never leave you again, but it's my job…"
"Say that again," she told him.
"What part?" He questioned; he was trying to remember exactly what he had said.
"About never leaving me…"
Mohinder smiled down at her. "If I only had one wish, it would be to stay here with you, forever."
She smiled up at him, for a minute not saying anything, and then she smiled. "God, I missed you."
"Yea, okay, you two want to be alone, I can tell." Michael spoke up from the bed. "If I were well enough to leave on my own, I would, but I think it would be better if you two just took off."
"But…"
"No sis, don't argue," Michael cut her off. "I'm tired anyway. I should sleep now."
"All right, you convinced me," Madeline gave her brother another quick kiss while Mohinder picked up his bags.
"I'll be back to check on you before I leave," Mohinder assured his patient.
"I look forward to it," Michael waved at him. "Take good care of my baby sis."
"I will," Mohinder promised.
"Sweet dreams," Madeline smiled at her brother as she took Mohinder's free hand and the two exited his room.