CLAUDE & ASSOCIATES

NEW YORK

Sarah led Peter a few more blocks to an apartment complex and then up to the third floor and down the long hallway to a door. She knocked quickly twice and then three times slower and then rapped her nails against the door. He assumed it was some kind of code. A moment passed and then Peter heard the door being unlocked from the inside and then it opened a crack. An eye peeked out and then the door opened completely and a young woman with silky auburn hair stood in the doorway to greet them.

"Who is this?" She smiled wide, flashing white teeth that would make a dentist envious.

"Cool it Rosalie, this one's not for you," Sarah pushed past the other girl and motioned for Peter to follow her into the apartment. "Is Claude here?" she asked Rosalie.

"Yea, he's in the bedroom on the phone," Rosalie kept her eyes glued to Peter.

"I need him," Sarah frowned. "Wait here," she told Peter. "If he's in the middle of…"

"No," Peter cut her off. "I'll go. He'll want to see me."

"I don't know if that's a good idea…"

"Trust me," Peter headed straight to the bedroom and pushed the door open without knocking. "Heard you were looking for me."

Claude turned around. His lips curled up in a slight smile and he held up his hand to motion to Peter to wait. Claude turned around and continued his phone conversation in a quieter voice, but Peter moved forward to listen.

"I know it's not your usual stuff Hana, but it's important," Claude was saying.

Peter wondered who Hana was.

"Just a few more days—a week at most. Just until I'm sure that…" he suddenly glanced over his shoulder towards Peter. "I've got to go. Call me tomorrow." He hung up and smiled at Peter. "You're here."

"Who's Hana?"

"My sister," he laughed. "What's it to you?"

"Your sister? Really?"

"No mate, I haven't got a sister." Claude crossed his arms and stared hard at Peter for a minute.

"Reading minds is my job Claude," Peter interrupted his concentration. "So what do you want from me exactly?"

"What brought you here?"

"Actually it was a who," Peter corrected him. "A girl called Sarah."

"Really? Didn't know she had it in her."

"I recognized her."

"You did?" He sounded very surprised and once again concentrated hard as though he wanted to read Peter's thoughts.

"From the future."

"Oh," Claude's slight smile, which he had been wearing since he had first seen Peter, suddenly vanished. "I'm betting that wasn't a future where we were all living our happily ever after…"

"Not exactly," Peter crossed his arms, now mirroring Claude's stance. "It was more the kind of future where good people were being captured and tortured, and bad people were living a bit too comfortably for my taste."

"So you came to me?"

"In this future, Sarah was one of the good guys that was living like a fugitive. She knew me then, or at least she did, before I died."

"I see. So, what exactly do you want me to do?" Claude now played the part of the confused and helpless one, giving Peter a sense of control.

"You're going to help me change it."

"I'm a little surprised you came to me mate."

"Yea?"

"Yea," he crossed the room towards the window, turning his back to Peter. "Last time the world was facing badness I wasn't exactly there for you."

"I remember," Peter assured him. "I figured it was about time you made up for the past. Besides, you came to me first, so I figure you had a plan of your own."

"It just so happens that I do," he turned around again and was once again grinning.

"Good, then what are we waiting for? Let's save the damn world…again."

MOHINDER & SASHA

TURRIN, ITALY

"He's okay though right?" Mohinder spoke quickly into the phone, feeling his heart begin to race as he considered the problems that his girlfriend had been facing without him there to offer support. "I mean, everything has returned to normal…or at least as normal as can be expected with him?"

"For now."

"Maddie, I'm so sorry this has happened, but I really do not know how to help."

"I just wish you were here."

"Me too, sweetheart," Mohinder glanced over his shoulder towards Sasha who was making her own phone call a few yards away. "If I could leave right now I would, but I am not in control of our locations. You know that."

"That doesn't mean that I can't whine and complain while I miss you…"

"Which I adore you for," Mohinder assured her. "But your brother…he's really okay right?"

"I don't know. I'm not the doctor." She was quiet for a moment and then let out a sigh. "Where's your drill sergeant?"

"Very funny," he checked on her again and saw she hadn't finished her phone call yet. "She's talking to someone too."

"Boyfriend?"

"Supposedly," Mohinder was still watching her. She seemed upset. "I've heard her mention one before, but she keeps her private life very closed to me."

"Mohinder, you haven't told Sasha about my ability, have you?"

"No, of course not! You asked me not to, and I promised I wouldn't. You know I would never lie to you."

"Okay…"

"What's wrong Maddie?"

"Nothing. You have enough to worry about."

Mohinder wasn't convinced, but he didn't have time to press his girlfriend anymore because Sasha had ended her phone call and was now approaching him with a very serious expression on her face, which he knew meant it was time for business. He told Madeline goodbye and hung up quickly, turning to greet Sasha.

"What's up?"

"The usual," Sasha told him. She wasn't smiling, and Mohinder had a sneaking suspicion she wasn't thrilled to be going on a new assignment at this time. Even though they had agreed to keep their personal lives off limits, he took a chance to decipher her mood.

"Is there something wrong? I mean, your phone call…was it bad news?"

She lifted an eyebrow at him and pursed her lips. "I thought we agreed not to talk about our relationships."

"I wasn't aware you were talking to your boyfriend," he told her innocently, though truthfully he had suspected as much. "I'm sorry I pried. It won't happen again."

She started to speak, and then shut her mouth quickly and turned away from him. When she turned back she was smiling. "How about we break our rule for five minutes?"

"Five minutes?"

"Yes, five minutes and you can ask me whatever I want and I'll answer, and the same goes for me to you."

"I don't know…" Mohinder didn't know what she would ask, but he was certain he wouldn't want to give her any answers concerning Madeline.

"Fine, forget it," she sighed. "You were just showing an interest. It was kind of nice to be honest, but it's not important. Come on, we have an assignment." She started walking away. It took Mohinder to follow her. "Come on!" She repeated more urgently.

He followed slowly, still debating whether or not he wanted to talk to her honestly, but Madeline's secrets meant too much to him, and he did not trust Sasha on any level. "Where to this time?"

"New York actually," Sasha spoke without turning around.

Mohinder sped up to speak to her. "New York? Really? Not Ghana or Iceland or somewhere crazy…"

"Nope," she paused and turned around. "We're going to New York." Analyzing his expression for a moment she shook her head. "Don't even think about it."

"What?"

"This is a business trip," she told him. "Not a personal vacation. If I were you, I wouldn't even tell her you were coming."

"What? Who?"

"Molly. I know you've missed her, and I'm sure she would love to see you, but there just really won't be any time."

Mohinder nodded. "I understand. It's probably better that I don't tell her. She wouldn't let me leave again without a fight. Besides, Claire's taking care of her…I think. I haven't talked to them in a while actually. It would be nice if I could check in with them…"

"No," she shook her head. "Absolutely not. We don't have time for personal distractions of any kind. We go in and get our job done and then we leave. That's it."

"Why are you being so intense about this? Who's in New York that you have to ignore?"

"Never mind," she sighed. "It's not important."

Mohinder frowned. "Come on Sasha. I really am interested. I want to know what's bothering you."

She shook her head. "It's personal. And we don't do personal."

CLAIRE

SCHOOL, NEW YORK

"I am so excited for prom, I can't even describe it!"

Claire indulged her friend's chatter as they dressed for cheer practice in the locker room after school on Friday. Jenny had been talking of nothing except prom ever since she had been asked by one of the hottest seniors on the football team. As a junior, Claire wasn't going to be a part of prom.

"It's going to be great," Claire agreed for her sake. "I'm happy for you!"

"You know, you could go too," Jenny told her; she had been telling her repeatedly for the past week.

"Jenny, I don't really want to…it would be weird going with someone other than Jaden," Claire reminded her, again.

"But it wouldn't really be like a date," Jenny persisted. "There are a dozen guys who would love to have the honor of taking you to prom!"

"Is she trying to get you to go to the prom, again?"

Violet, who was also on the cheer squad, jumped into the conversation as she started pulling her clothes from her own locker. She was also a junior, and like Claire, not a part of prom.

"She's persistent," Claire laughed.

"This goes for you too Vi," Jenny turned to Violet eagerly. "You can both easily get dates! Seriously."

"Well, I'm not dating anyone, so I am totally interested."

"Good! One down," Jenny finished dressing and turned her full attention to Claire. "Will you at least ask Jaden if he minds? If he doesn't, then we could have a lot of fun together. We'll all share a limo!"

"I'll ask him," Claire promised, mainly with the motivation of simply ending the conversation. "But really, I'm not sure I want to go, even if Jaden's okay with it."

"What?" Jenny and Violet both spoke up now.

"Everyone wants to go to prom!" Jenny insisted.

"There is a lot going on in my life right now," Claire mumbled. "Prom is just one more thing to add to my list, and it's not something that I really want to stress about right now." Her cell phone rang and she answered it quickly without checking the ID. "Hello!"

"Claire! Please don't hang up on me!"

"Peter…" Claire turned away from the girls automatically and lowered her voice. "Stop calling me."

"I can't! Claire, please, you have to talk to me!"

"No," she took a few steps away from the girls. "I'm not ready to talk to you yet. Please leave me alone."

"I'm sorry…I never meant to…"

She hung up quickly and took a few breaths to steady herself before returning to her friends. They were staring at her curiously.

"Peter? Another boyfriend?" Jenny grinned.

"No!" Claire answered very quickly. "Umm, that was my uncle."

"Right, Peter Petrelli," Violet nodded. "I saw him on TV during the whole campaign thing. He is so hot!"

"Yea he is," Jenny agreed. "You're so lucky."

"Lucky?" Claire frowned. "Because my uncle's hot?"

"Yea, my uncle's fat and partially bald."

"But he's my uncle."

"That doesn't mean you can't appreciate how gorgeous he is. Come on, can you honestly tell me you've never thought about it?"

"No, I…I haven't…"

"Liar," the girls laughed and headed out to the field for practice.

Claire took a minute to follow them. She stared at the cell phone still in her hand, unable to stop thinking about Peter. It had been almost three weeks since she had left his apartment that night. Since then he had called her at least once a day, sometimes more. The first three days he didn't call her at all, which she attributed to the day she refused to see him when he came to visit at Nathan's. At first, she thought he had taken the hint, but then after the third day, he started calling continually. Sometimes he left messages, telling her that he was sorry and wasn't going to give up until she gave him a chance to explain himself. One day she would answer his calls, she decided, but not yet. She wasn't ready.

SYLAR & EMILY

LOS ANGELES

"Are you sure this is the address?" Emily rolled down the car window of the passenger side where she was sitting.

Sylar slowed the car to a stop and parked next to the curb, across the street from the house they had been searching for. He opened his door and climbed out of the car to take a better look at the house.

"Gabriel," Emily climbed out of the car as well and looked at the house. "Is this it?"

He didn't respond.

"Gabriel?" She looked to him now. "What's wrong? This isn't it, is it? This is wrong? You got the address wrong or drove to the wrong place…"

"No, this is it."

"Are you sure?" She started to smile. "I'm sorry to doubt…I'm just so excited…I can't help wondering if this really might be the house where my daughter is…just inside…"

"Emily…" he came around the car and stood in front of her. He hung his head, unable to look into her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" She was still smiling. "You've been amazing! You tracked down my daughter and now you've brought me to her door…or at least I hope…"

"She won't be here Emily," Sylar told her solemnly.

"How do you know?" She laughed a little. "You can't know that…"

He turned away from her and stared at the house for a moment. "I've been here before."

"What? How? When?" Emily shook her head. "Gabriel, what are you talking about?"

"You know who I am Emily," he knelt down on the ground suddenly, and put his head to her stomach hopelessly. "I told you about the bad things I've done…the people I've hurt…"

"I know," she placed her hands on his head and ran her fingers through his hair soothingly. "I know everything, but we've moved past that, haven't we?"

"I wish it was that easy," he took a deep breath. "But my past isn't going to forgive me that easily."

"Gabriel, please tell me what you're talking about," she lifted her chin. "You're scaring me."

"About a year ago my search for people with powers brought me to this house. I killed a husband and wife and took their abilities," he told her.

"Oh god…Gabriel…"

"They had a daughter. I wanted her ability more than either of them. They were just in my way really…"

"Their daughter?" Emily's voice broke and she started to cry. She pulled her hands away from Sylar and took a step back, unable to comfort him any longer. "You killed her…"

"No!" He stood suddenly. "I didn't get to the girl."

"You didn't?" She looked at him hopefully.

"But not for lack of trying," he sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"Are you sure it's her?"

"I'm pretty sure. Fate has a funny way of bringing your painful past back to haunt you." He shook his head and briefly covered his face with his hands. "Emily, your daughter's name is Molly."