PETER & CLAIRE

CENTRAL PARK ZOO, NEW YORK

"But seriously, don't you think it's weird?"

"I don't know Claire, I guess."

"You guess? Come on, this random kid that I just happened to bump into at school, just happens to show up in the hospital on one of the only days that I just happen to walk Jaden in to work, and he just happens to have an ability! That's totally weird." Claire argued.

"So what? You think there's something more than just coincidence at work here?"

"I don't know," Claire sighed. She realized that she had jumped to conclusions pretty quickly, when her run-in with Sam probably was nothing more than a strange coincidence. "Maybe it was fate." Claire had already jumped to her next theory.

"Since when do you believe in fate?"

"Ever since I met you."

Peter couldn't stop himself from smiling. The way she was looking at him in that moment made his heart thump unusually fast. Of course in the next moment he remembered that his dreams could never blend with his reality, and his smile faded.

"Oooh! Look!" Claire's normal voice had escalated into an unnatural squeak, forcing Peter to pay attention to where she was pointing.

"You're pointing at the penguins, aren't you?" Peter rolled his eyes.

"They're so cute!" She grabbed his hand and started pulling him through the Sunday afternoon throng toward the frozen habitat.

"Yea…adorable…" he agreed, not because he truly cared about the 'cute' penguins, but because he loved how she cared about them. Her entire face seemed brighter as she watched the water birds waddle around on the ice and flop into the water.

She leaned forward over the railing that separated them from the habitat, trying to get a closer look at them. "Did you know that some penguins mate for life?"

He smiled at the back of her head. "Lucky them." He didn't know what encouraged him to pry into her mind at that moment, but he felt that he needed to. Something inspired him to do it—he had to know what she was thinking.

I wish people life was that simple. She was thinking. He knew that if she was aware of what he was doing, she'd be angry, but at that moment he didn't care. He just wanted to be closer to her anyway he could, and if reading her thoughts was the only way he could that right now, then so be it. So he continued to invade her privacy. I suppose if I really wanted to, I could find someone to make me happy, or content at least. Nobody's really going to make me happy, not like he would…Peter pulled out briefly. He couldn't imagine who she was thinking about. But that's never going to happen.

"Ready to move on to the Polar Bears?" Claire had turned around suddenly and Peter was forced to remove himself from her mind.

"Ready when you are," he smiled. She grasped his hand again and started pulling him to the next location. "So, do you have any big plans for tomorrow?"

Peter frowned. "What's tomorrow?"

Claire stopped and stared at him curiously. "Valentine's Day, of course."

"That's tomorrow?" Peter couldn't believe he had actually forgotten what day it was. It didn't really matter to him much anymore. All that mattered was working on his abilities and keeping Claire safe. "So, I guess you have big plans with Jaden."

"Yea, he's got something planned. It's a surprise though, so he won't tell me anything."

"I thought you didn't like surprises."

"I don't." Claire's lip twitched. "Jaden clearly doesn't know me as well as you do."

"Clearly," Peter answered. Her response made him indescribably happy. "Well, I'm sure you two will have a good time…" he hated saying it, but it felt like the right thing.

"Yea…" she didn't sound completely convinced. "You don't have any plans then?"

Peter shook his head. "Have you seen me go on any dates lately?"

"No. And I've been wanting to ask you about that…"

"Not again, Claire." Peter pulled away from her and continued on towards the Polar Bear habitat that Claire had started taking them to.

"Peter, I'm serious!" Claire chased after him. "I know we've talked about it before, and you weren't really all that happy about it then either, but I'm worried for you. You're twenty-five years old. You need a girlfriend, or at least a date every once in a while. It would help you to not take life so seriously, I think."

"Why would I want that? Life is serious. We can't ignore that."

"I'm not saying you should ignore it, but I think it could be good for you to put it on hold for a while." Claire almost bumped into him when he stopped unexpectedly and turned to face her.

"Claire, I really do appreciate your concern, I do…" he brushed a loose curl out of her face and smiled at her sweetly. "I don't need a girlfriend to distract me though. I have you."

Claire blushed, and he hoped he hadn't said too much.

"I mean, you know, when I need a distraction or fun, then you're around. Like today, this…"

"You really think hanging out with me for the day at Central Park is the same as going on a date with an actual potential girlfriend?" Claire laughed.

Peter wished he could tell her the truth. He wanted to tell her that she was the only person he could ever be interested in going on a date with, but he never could officially because it was wrong. "Believe it or not Claire, but I enjoy spending time with you."

"I know you do," she told him. "Because I enjoy being with you too. But still…"

"Claire, can we please not argue about this," he begged. "I've barely seen you for more than a couple hours this week—you've been so busy with cheerleading and homework and Jaden. I don't want to spend the only afternoon we have together arguing about something so useless."

"Fine," Claire relented. "I won't bring it up again."

"Thank you," Peter gave her a hug. His arms tightened automatically; he never wanted to let go.

"You're welcome," she laughed.

Peter released her when he realized that it was a little unusual for him to be hugging her so suddenly and for so long. "So…do Polar Bears mate for life too?"

Claire grinned. "I don't know."

They reached the bears, which were separated from the people by glass walls and a chain-link roof. Peter once again admired Claire's silly childishness as she pressed her nose up against the glass; her eyes focused on the Polar Bears playing together on the other side of the divider.

"What do you want to do for dinner?"

"Whatever you want." Peter felt himself falling into a daze as he watched her. She was still staring at the bears, so he felt safe in letting his eyes roam her profile. He analyzed her with unending admiration. He loved every detail—the slight dip in her nose, the tiny mole on her cheek, the way her beautiful blonde hair curled around her ear.

"Peter?"

"Sorry, what?" He realized she was talking to him.

She smiled slightly. "I was asking you how Thai sounded for dinner."

"Yea, that would be good," Peter agreed. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket and he slipped it out to check the ID. "Damn, Claire, I'm going to have to rain check on Thai food."

"What? Seriously? Today was supposed to be about us!" Claire pouted and stood on her tiptoes, trying to read the caller ID on his phone, but he quickly shoved it back into his pocket, out of her sight. "Who was calling? Where are you going? Do you have a date and you just didn't tell me for some reason?"

"One question at a time, please!" Peter tried to reassure her with one of his lopsided smiles, that he knew always won her over.

"You can't smile your way out of this one," Claire told him.

He laughed. "You know, sometimes I wonder which one of us has the ability to read minds."

"Don't change the subject. Where do you have to go?"

"That's my business Claire." He didn't mean to snap at her, but he didn't know how to lie to her.

She frowned. "This isn't the first time you've run off without giving me an explanation."

"I know."

"It's the same thin, isn't it? Whatever it is you have to do…it's the same as the other times you've been gone for hours and not told me why."

"Yes," he answered.

"And you're still not going to tell me?"

"No."

"Fine."

"Claire…" Peter winced at the tone of her voice. "I'm sorry, but it's just that right now I can't explain myself…"

"Whatever. It really doesn't matter." She was smiling again, but he knew her well enough to know that she didn't mean it. "We all have secrets Peter."

"What?"

"Yea," she repeated. "It's not like I tell you everything."

"Right…" Peter nodded. "Of course you don't. Why would you?"

She looked away instead of answering, and he once again jumped into her mind.

Because I love you.

Peter stared at her. He couldn't respond, because he shouldn't have heard it. And then he had to tell himself that it probably didn't mean anything—not like he wanted it to. They were family, so it was natural for her to love him, as her uncle and nothing else. But something about the tone of her thought though made him wonder if that was how she meant it after all.

"You should get going, I guess," she spoke up.

"I'm sorry."

"Yea, you said that already," she reminded him. "It's fine. I'll get takeout and get a jump start on studying for the quiz I have in history on Wednesday."

"I'll see you later tonight."

"Okay."

"Do you want me to get you a cab?"

"No, it's okay. I'm going to walk. This weather is too perfect to miss out on." She started walking away from him.

"Be safe!" He called after her. She turned her head briefly to look over her shoulder and wave. He felt a brief ache in his heart as he watched her leave. All he wanted was to be close to her, but there were more important things for him to attend to at that moment.

THE COMPANY

LONDON

"This isn't working," Angela exclaimed angrily.

"You know some people consider patience to be a virtue." Mr. Oakland replied calmly. "The boy is young and perhaps a little daft at times, but I believe he is more than capable to fulfill his assignment."

"The boy is an idiot. He's had nearly six months to complete this mission. How difficult could it be?"

"Clearly your granddaughter is more attached to her uncle than you originally though," Mr. Oakland told her.

"Clearly," Angela raised her eyebrows at him. She didn't appreciate him commenting on her family. "Still, Peter is only her uncle. If Jaden was truly doing his duty to the best of his ability, he should have been able to sway her attention to himself."

"I'll talk to him."

"No, it won't do any good." Angela decided quickly, obviously rethinking her earlier statement. "If I know Claire at all, she won't abandon the people that she cares about just because there is someone new in her life. She's dedicated to helping Peter, and not even the best boyfriend in the world could pull her away from that purpose."

"Then what do you propose we do to speed things up?"

"I think it might prove worthwhile if we were to get inside Peter's mind," Angela explained.

"You want to try and force him to distance himself from Claire through his nightmares?"

"Perhaps," Angela continued formulating her idea. "Though I doubt he will do so very willingly. I know how much my son cares for her. It's a little unhealthy, actually."

"Are you suggesting that Peter's feelings for his niece are more romantic than they ought to be?"

Angela shrugged. "Perhaps. It's not as though I have any real proof. I just know enough to know how highly he values the relationship he has with her. Even if it weren't necessary for our purpose, I would still prefer my son to be less attached to his niece. Family is a sweet sentiment, but there are limits."

"Let's return to your previous thought of implanting ideas in your son's head," Mr. Oakland suggested. "What do you plan on putting into his mind in order to draw him away from the girl?"

Her face was serious as she answered. "I think if he is pushed even closer to her, he may naturally have to pull away." She sighed. "Now all we have to do is convince him to create the right nightmares for Peter. It won't be easy. He's been resisting getting in to Peter's head. It's very irritating."

"Don't worry. You know there's ways around that."

SYLAR & EMILY

NEW YORK

"You know I've been thinking about something," Sylar set the grocery bags down on the counter. "What am I supposed to call you?"

"What do you mean?" Emily reached into one of the grocery bags and pulled out a carton of chocolate chip ice cream, promptly placing it in the freezer.

"Well, I've calling you Emily for so long, but am I supposed to call you Andrea now that I know better?"

She shook her head. "I haven't been Andrea for a very long time, and I'd sort of like to keep it that way."

"Okay," he nodded. "Emily it is then."

"Gabriel, how are we supposed to live here?"

"What?" He paused with his arm raised, just as he prepared to stack cans of soup in one of the cupboards.

"How are we supposed to live without getting a job? What kind of life can we have without identities?"

"We have identities…" Sylar was a little confused about Emily's sudden outburst.

"I can't use my identity. Neither of us can. The company is undoubtedly already scouring the country to find us. If they hear either of our names are being used in New York, they'll be here in an instant," Emily explained. "I changed my name ten years ago and it hid me well enough, but clearly not perfectly, because they finally managed to track me down."

"I can protect you."

"You've said that before," Emily smiled. "But I'd rather not have to fight them if we can stop it."

"So, we could change our names," Sylar suggested. "Like you did. We can hide ourselves with new identities."

"It wouldn't work forever," Emily insisted. "They'll be more thorough this time. I'm actually surprised it took them as long as it did to track me as Emily Banks. This time they'll have even better luck because they can look for the both of us together."

"Maybe they'll just give us up."

"Do you truly believe that?"

"No, but it sounded like a nice idea in my head." Sylar finished unloading the groceries and folded the paper bags before shoving them in an empty drawer for storage. "Emily, I wish I could follow your train of thought here, but what exactly are you trying to say?"

Her green eyes narrowed at him. "I'm just trying to express my confusion and frustration."

"Okay…" He hesitated. "I still don't know what it is that you want me to do…"

"I'm worried," she confessed.

"Worried about what?"

She turned her back to him and busied herself with folding the rest of the grocery bags.

"Emily, come on." He touched her arm cautiously. Ever since he had told her the truth about himself, he had been careful to keep his distance, since she still had her doubts about him; he didn't want to upset her. "Please tell me what's really bothering you?"

She finally turned back to face him—there were tears in her eyes. "I'm worried about my daughter. If they were so desperate to track me down after all those years, I can only imagine the effort they're putting in to finding her."

"I didn't know they wanted her."

"She's the whole reason I left. I knew that they would only experiment on her like they did with me. She's the product of two people with special abilities."

"I still have some questions about that whole experimenting thing…" Her frown quieted him. "Which we can talk about later…if you want to."

"After all I've done for her, I can't let them find her." Her tears had left mascara streaks down her cheeks. He thought it was adorable.

Sylar took a chance and reached out to wipe away a tear that was rolling down her cheek; he was delighted when she didn't pull away from him. "Then we'll just have to make sure they don't."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Emily asked him.

"We'll find her first."

MATT & JANICE

NEW YORK

"I have an interview this afternoon."

Matt stopped abruptly with one leg in and one out of his pants. He looked at his wife, who was brushing out her hair in front of the mirror. "An interview?"

She glanced at him through the mirror's reflection. "Yep."

"What sort of an interview?"

"What sort do you think?" Janice kept her focus on the mirror. "I have a job interview with a law firm."

"Janice, you're having a baby in just a couple months. Why are you even looking into a career right now?"

"Getting pregnant wasn't exactly part of my life plan. I enjoy working, Matt. I need a job. After I have the baby, I'll start interviewing nannies."

"Nannies?" Matt shook his head. "I don't want our child to be raised by someone else."

"Then why don't you quit your job?"

"Janice, please," Matt shook his head and finished getting dressed before speaking again. "A mother is supposed to take care of her child."

"This isn't the fifties, Matt. A husband can stay home just as well as a wife can." Janice finished brushing out her hair and then twisted it up into a bun and secured it with pins. "I would go crazy sitting home all day. I need to work."

"Well, so do I!" Matt protested. "I love my job Janice."

"No you don't," she argued. "You hate the fact that you are still just a cop. Being in a different city isn't going to change that."

"I'm planning on taking the detective exam here though."

"Again? Do you think it will make a difference?"

"God Janice, why do you have to be that way?"

"What way?"

"You're my wife," he pointed out. "You're supposed to support me and encourage me. I have a hard enough time believing in my self, it would be nice if I at least had you to count on."

Janice turned away from the mirror suddenly. Matt noticed that her eyes were watering a little, though he couldn't understand why she would be crying. "I'm sorry Matt." In an instant she had crossed the room and thrown herself into his arms.

"What?" He held his arms around her, awkwardly making space for her protruding stomach. "Talk to me Janice. Tell me what's going on."

"I don't know…" she kept her arms around his neck and started to cry into his shoulder. "I feel like we're falling apart."

"We?" Matt gently directed her over to the bed and encouraged her to sit down—he sat beside her.

"Us," she clarified. "Our marriage." She continued to cry, and it was becoming difficult for Matt to make out all her words. "We used to be so happy…"

"And what are we now?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, but I don't feel very happy. Do you?"

"No," he sighed. "I don't."

"I want to be happy again."

"Is it the baby? Do you not want it?"

She looked at him suddenly. "I do want it. I hate that my emotions have gotten so crazy, but I don't want you to think I don't want the baby. When I found out I was pregnant, it was the happiest day of my life."

"Mine too," Matt agreed. He kissed the top of her head and tried not to let himself think about the mixed emotions that he had gotten when he first learned they were going to have a baby. His first thought had been delight, but it had been hampered by the fact that Janice had been unfaithful to their marriage. That truth had damaged the pure delight that he should have been able to experience.

"I feel like life has just been changing too fast for me to catch up."

"I know the feeling," he agreed. "I can't help but feel responsible for a lot of the changes in our lives."

She shrugged. "Maybe you are, but that doesn't make a difference."

"So how do I fix this?"

"It's not about you fixing things, Matt. You are always so eager to fix everything, but sometimes you have to accept that you just can't. Not immediately, anyway."

"Then what can I work on?"

"It's not you alone," she told him. "We have to both work on it."

"Our marriage, you mean?"

"I just want us to be happy again, like we used to, before things got…"

"Complicated," he finished for her. He knew they were both thinking of the affair she had with his old partner. "I want that too."

They were both silent for a minute.

"So where does that leave us?" Matt asked at last.

"Exactly where we were," she answered. "Working to make things better, and still in love…hopefully."

"You know I love you Janice."

She tipped her head up to him and he kissed her softly. "I'm going to cancel my interview."

"You don't have to," he insisted. "If you want to work, we can figure out a way…"

She shook her head. "No. I wanted this job because I was feeling bored or neglected or something, but that's just something I have to deal with. It's time for me to be a mother, and I really do want to be. Your job is enough to take care of us, especially once you make detective, which you will."

"Thanks," he kissed her again. "So, there is something you mentioned that I think I can work on fixing."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Not letting you feel neglected."

"It's not your fault, Matt. You have a job and other responsibilities."

"Responsibilities?"

"I know how important Molly is to you," Janice told him. "It was wrong of me to ask you not to see her."

"She shouldn't have taken priority over you though," Matt decided. "Nothing should. Molly isn't my daughter, and not matter how much I care about her, my child comes first."

"I appreciate you saying that, but she needs you too. I understand that, even if I didn't want to admit it before. I want you to spend time with her."

"Really?"

"Yes," she nodded. "As much time as you want."

"Can she come here some time? I think you'd really like her once you got to know her."

Janice smiled. "Sure. I would love to meet her."

"Good, I'll set it up," he kissed her once more. "I love you."

"I love you too."