I Can Fix You
Previously on Heroes
"When were you ever planning on telling me the truth? When were you going to tell me that I spent the last two years, not in a coma, but stealing abilities from people I had murdered?" Gabriel asks, his voice hollow. "Were you ever going to tell me?"
"It may not have been the best decision, but it was the only decision we could have made."
"Nathan spent months trying to clean up the mess he made rounding people like us. People will ask for genocide."
"He's been at this for thirty years, Gabe, and Peter has to touch the other person in order to do what they do. We need you. Can you be the one we need? Otherwise, we are all dead."
Claire finishes, "He probably is coming after me. Do you think he figured out where we are?"
"He would only know we're in California. We have to get you out of here. "
"I. Am. Not. Going. To. Run," Claire stresses.
Chapter 10: You're Gonna Go Far, Kid
It is an awkward night in the Bennet home. In the den, Claire, Peter, Nathan, Matt, Angela, and Noah convene about recent events with Gabriel watching from afar in the corner of the room.
"So," Claire begins, "what do we do now?"
"What ever Mr. Gray can do," Angela says, "he is very strong and very capable. He is some how blocking my seeing him in my dreams…." Her voice is soft, as if she has failed them. "I do not think it would matter if Molly could help us or not."
"Besides knowing he's somewhere in California," Noah says, shooting Gabriel an accusatory glance, "where does that leave us?"
"What about the anonymous tip lines?" Peter wants to know. "Couldn't Gabriel put in a description of his father?"
"No," Gabriel speaks up. "What would happen if someone were to recognize him? If the authorities go after him, they will die." His words echo that of Peter's six months earlier, when he and Nathan were trying to convince Sullivan to let them into the suite Sylar and Claire were occupying. "I still stand by my words that we all should get as far away from here as we can."
"What about the people left behind?" Claire asks. "Who is going to stop him if we run away? That's what we'd be doing. Running away."
Gabriel releases a humorless chuckle, "And why do I have this feeling that the weight of the world is on my shoulders?"
"You are your father's son," Noah says. "A killer, just like him. You ought to be able to calculate his moves." He stands up and walks up to Gabriel, ignoring the astonished and cautious stares from the others. "Do you really think, if this ends well, you can continue living a normal life, just because you have gained some 'new' perspectives about yourself?"
"Noah," Angela warns, "now is not the time for this."
But Gabriel straightens is posture and, chin up, glares at Noah in return, "My father's actions were totally on his own accord. I, on the other hand, was only pathetic watchmaker easily swayed into the delusions of grandeur. To be easily manipulated by the man in front of me, just to see what made me tick. So yeah, I may be my father's son, but I never had a chance. You never gave me a chance! However, when something strikes just a wee bit too close to home, you cannot bare to take any responsibility in the fact that it was you that made me a monster!" During Gabriel's tirade, he starts shouting, and towards the end of the rant, he all but throws himself onto Noah, with Peter and Nathan holding Gabriel back, and Matt pulling Noah back from a similar scenario. "You could've just left me alone that day."
"Relax, Gabe!" Nathan says. "Breath!"
Gabriel violently shakes of Peter and Nathan and turns towards the door to the den. Exerting his frustrations, he punches the wall, leaving a large, gaping hole before heading out. The sliding door to the back yard is heard opening, and again as it is slammed shut. Everyone turns to look at Noah.
"My, God, Dad!" Claire exclaims. "What is wrong with you? Why do you have to make everything about you?!"
"Claire, listen to me," Noah tries to start, but Claire refuses.
"Stop it, just stop!" she commands. "Don't you dare say that you're looking out for me, because Gabe's right: if you and Elle had just left him alone, abandon the assignment, he would have been okay? Heartbroken, perhaps, but okay. He's been suffering enough since the memories came back."
"Noah," Matt speaks up for the first time, "we cannot afford to hold on to personal vendettas. Let it go."
"Sweetie, please," Noah tries again.
"Get out," Claire says through clenched teeth.
"What?"
"I said, 'get out'. Get out get out GET OUT!" Claire shoves past her adoptive father and sprints upstairs to her old bedroom.
Noah is at a loss for words. Outside of the den, he sees Sandra staring right back at him, tight-lipped, before following her daughter. He hears Peter muttering something to his mother and brother and follows Sandra. He looks at Matt and Angela, as Nathan heads outside to the back yard. "I'll be at the hotel. Call me as soon as we have more information," he says, before leaving.
Outside, Gabriel sits on a lawn chair while casually observing the horizon as children can be seen playing in their own yards. In his peripheral vision, he sees Nathan coming through the sliding door, and pulling a lawn chair out and sits down right next to him.
"A watchmaker, eh?" Nathan asks. "I never knew that."
Gabriel looks over at Nathan before returning his attention to the distance in front of him. "What do you want?"
Nathan shrugs, "Just checking up on ya."
"Why do you care?"
"I'll straight up admit that you're not exactly my number one favorite person in the world," Nathan says, "on the account that you did kill me. But, I'd be preaching to the choir here if I were to make any comments about character. I was willing to sacrifice Peter blowing up New York City, just to bring the nation together and become president."
Gabriel looks at Nathan with a quirked brow. Nathan continues, "But it was Claire who told me that the future is not written in stone. We write our own destinies, Gabriel, I think it's time that you write yours."
Gabriel just says nothing, and he sees Nathan producing two Budweiser's he had not noticed before. Gabriel accepts the offered beer, but does not take a sip. As Nathan takes a swig of his beer, he asks, "How come you're still here? Thought you'd've left."
Gabriel shrugs, "My keys are still in my jacket pocket in the foyer. It would defeat the purpose of a dramatic exit if I came back inside to get them."
Nathan lets out a humored chuckle as he takes another swig.
Around eleven p.m., Gabriel lies wide awake in his bed. Ever since the dream he had of recounting the events with Elle, he has been suffering from insomnia for a week. The only exception is of the night he shared with Claire at Reservation Point had he gotten any sleep. Thinking of Claire, he remembers the shouting match she had with her father. Grimly, Gabriel thinks to himself that there would have been a time when he would have reveled in the gap of the father's and daughter's relationship. Is that still me? He thinks to himself. What is to become of me if and when this is all over?
Gabriel is startled when his cell phone goes off. The particular ring tone indicates a text message from Claire, as she had taken his phone months earlier and set it to play the instrumental version of Hey Mickey whenever she texts him. His eyes widen as he reads the message. Im outside ur apt. lemme in!
Gabriel throws off his covers and silently shuffles to the front door. He opens the door and sees Claire, still dressed in the attire she had on earlier that day. "Claire, what are you doing here?"
Claire is slightly taken aback when Gabriel answers the door in only his boxers. "I, uh," she stammers as she follows Gabriel to his bedroom. "I had to see you."
She is taken aback again when she notices how gaunt Gabriel looks, "Gabriel? You look like hell," she voices her concern.
Self-consciously, Gabriel folds his arms over his chest, "Yeah, well, I haven't slept in a week. That night at The Point hardly counts, as I feel like total shit." He throws himself onto his double bed and stares at the bare ceiling. He feels the bed dip as Claire slides next to him. Gabriel automatically inches away from her. Despite their unspoken admittance of attraction for each other, he could not touch her.
Claire flinches, hurt, "Gabriel…." She leans closer to him, reaching out to turn his face toward hers. Leaning her forehead on his, she whispers, "It's ok, I'm still here."
"Will there ever be a time when you can forgive me?" Gabriel whispers back.
With wide eyes, Claire pulls back, "Gabriel, I…I…I forgave you a long time ago!" She wraps her arms around Gabriel's neck and cradles his face above her breasts. "I should have told you sooner, but I had already forgiven you. For everything."
Gabriel pulls away, and he sees a tear slowly falling down Claire's cheek. He places a large masculine hand behind Claire's head, and draws her closer as he places a soft kiss on her lips. After a moment, a slightly dazed and confused Gabriel wonders why Claire is pulling away. Then his eyes widen as he sees what Claire is doing.
"Claire, what are you doing?" he asks as she slips off the black v-neck sweater, revealing a purple camisole top and begins pulling off her shoes.
She begins the process of unzipping her jeans, "You haven't been sleeping and you look like hell." Claire then pulls Gabriel off the bed and pulls back the covers before crawling in herself. She looks at Gabriel expectantly, "So I'm going to make sure you finally get some rest."
Hesitantly, Gabriel slides into bed next to her and flicks off the lamp next to his bed. As he settles in, Claire slides an arm under him while the other is wrapped over him, his chest serving as a pillow. Relaxing, Gabriel allows himself to wrap his own arms around the girl, with one hand searching for Claire's while the other is gently caressing the exposed skin between the bottom of Claire's cami and the elastic of her panties. Victoria's Secret, Gabriel notes.
"Tell me a story," Claire says, a yawn escaping her lips.
"What kind of story?" Gabriel wants to know, already feeling peaceful and content with a pretty girl in his bed.
"Any kind of story, I like hearing your voice," she says. "I want to know what you were like growing up."
Gabriel lets out a yawn, "I was a loner, the shy quiet kid in the corner of the class room. I would stutter and stumble on my feet whenever a pretty girl looked at me. I was always picked on for being an outsider, a geek without a clue. As a pushover, I had let all the jocks walk all over me, but it did not matter to me because they did not matter to me. After graduation, I would never have to see them again. I just looked forward to the day when I would meet someone who would make me feel special, just the way I was…."
Claire listens to his words slur until she hears slow, even breathing. She takes his hand and presses it to her lips. Then, wrapping a leg over Gabriel's, Claire closes her eyes….and falls asleep, perfectly content.
A/N: they need to just hurry up and do it already, in my opinion. Ell oh Ell. I am surprised that I have reached the 100+ mark in reviews. Wow. I am so thankful for that. I was not expecting anyone to have stuck around as long as you guys have. Thank you.