Chapter 59- Sisters

Claire glanced at Uhura just to reassure herself that her benefactor had not suddenly disappeared and left her on her own. She certainly felt the weight of the collective eyes of Nathan, her father and Peter on her, but she was ambivalent about it. On the one hand she was grateful that they were concerned and she knew that no matter how futile the effort, each would step in the moment they felt she was threatened. On the other hand, she was a bit incensed that no matter how many times she reminded them that she was not a little girl and she was certainly not breakable- permanently anyway- they insisted on treating her like a porcelain doll to be coddled. She was confident that Uhura could do her job, but keeping visual contact was reassuring.

What was also strikingly curious to her was the fact that she was in a bar and no one seemed to notice her. In some ways she had always been aware that she was beautiful and she had endured more than her fair share of ogles from jocks and nerds alike in high school, especially on Fridays when she wore her cheerleading uniform. It was nothing that she really encouraged, in fact she was often embarrassed by the attention and wondered what she was capable of if she chose to really use her sexuality to her advantage. Not that she would…it was just a thought… Yet here she was and not one being aside from her vigilant protectors seemed to notice. Well, that wasn't entirely true: she had caught Chekov glancing in her direction rosy cheeked and blurry eyed on more than one occasion but she chalked it up to his being apparently drunk. Every time she caught him, he quickly looked away and for some reason Sulu thought it was hysterically funny and took every opportunity to rib his friend who would only turn many shades redder.

What she couldn't have known was that the experience was much the same for Uhura. She too was accustomed to being harassed by all manner of beings in bars- including her future Captain who at the time she thought was nothing more than pathetically amusing- but here she too was largely ignored and rather than insulting she found the relative peace and quiet welcoming. You can only shoot down so many hopefuls with a straight face before it starts to ruin your night. It wasn't that she thought she was better than anyone else- a little more self assured than others perhaps- but she wasn't a megalomaniac by any means. She simply knew where she wanted to go in life and she knew a dangerous detour when she saw one that would derail all of her carefully laid career plans. Besides, she had a younger, less experienced follower to look out for and she took that responsibility very seriously. "So," she smiled turning to Claire to hand her a spiced tea, "having fun yet?"

Claire accepted the drink and gave a tense, weary smile. "Sure!" She replied glancing around. "I'll bet none of my classmates could say they have been in an alien bar far, far away."

"Well, they could but no one would believe them." Uhura laughed. "And they probably wouldn't believe you either."

"It wouldn't be the first time." Claire mumbled taking a sip of the wonderfully warm and surprisingly tasty tea. For some reason it was the most comforting thing she had experienced since leaving the ship and she was suddenly thankful for such small things.

Uhura smiled down at her charge. She could sense the uncertainty in the young woman and she felt sorry for her. Personally, she could never remember a time when she didn't know where she was going in life, yet Claire seemed so…lost. For all her incredible gifts, she was still trying to find her place in the world. "I imagine it can't be easy for you- having such a secret and never being able to tell anyone. It must feel like denying a large part of yourself."

"Yeah." Claire almost sighed. It was like Uhura in all her perfection somehow understood her. "I know I could do things to help but I have to stand on the sidelines and pretend I am just normal when I know I'm not."

"Well, you did help Spock and that was a major victory." She reminded. "I don't think you could have been more timely or helpful than you were then. I…" her beautiful eyes fell to the floor as she faltered, "I don't know what we would have done if things turned out differently."

Something about her reaction caught Claire as more than just a concerned coworker and it slowly dawned on her why. "Oh!" She exclaimed wide-eyed. "Oh…I…I'm just glad he's ok too." She finally spit out. "He seems like an…important…guy…" She stammered embarrassingly.

"Well, he is the First Officer." Uhura admitted. "He's only the one who would take command of the ship if something happened to Kirk and he's one of only a few of his race left, so yeah, he is kind of important."

Claire didn't think it was possible, but she could see cracks forming in her handler's carefully constructed persona- she really was human after all. But far from detracting from her reliability, it only added to her strength because Claire knew that not everything was as it appeared and sometimes what appeared to be a weakness was actually a great asset. "Yeah, he seems like a reliable, decisive person. Kinda reminds me of Sylar in some ways, but totally not like him." She paused and shot her companion a confused look. "Does that make any sense?"

"Well," Uhura laughed as she considered the pair, "they do resemble each other. I don't really know Sylar the way you do, but from what I have seen he seems like a very intelligent man. A little misguided maybe, but while Spock radiates calm Sylar has the bad boy vibe goin' on."

"Oh, it's not just a vibe, trust me."

"So are you two…?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No!" Claire exclaimed nauseated. "God! Why does everyone ask me that? I watched him murder one of my classmates he mistook for me! He tried to kill me too but my power kept me from dying. You don't know the things he is capable of! Why in the hell would I ever give him the time of day?"

"I'm sorry." Uhura said putting her hands up in mock surrender. "I didn't know about those things. It's just that I heard you sat with him instead of your uncle in sickbay and that would imply that there was something between you that would make you do that."

"Nothing but pity." She said sadly. "I hate him for everything he has done to me and my family and friends, but to leave him alone would have only given him more reason to act the way he does."

"It's hard to take the high road." Uhura commended. "But maybe it is helping. He has done some good since he came. Maybe he is learning from your example."

Claire glanced at Sylar further down the bar who momentarily locked eyes with her before he looked away and there was something in those dark eyes that resembled…sadness? Remorse? It couldn't be, she decided. He never regretted anything he ever did. "I think Spock has done the most for that." She stated observing the ever vigilant Vulcan standing at attention with his hands behind his back watching over Sylar.

"He does seem to have some influence with him." Uhura replied in a mysterious tone. "Peter can use his powers to battle him, but Spock can seem to reign him in with just a few words."

Claire smiled faintly as she watched the pair at a distance. "I wonder if he could completely transform him if he had enough time?" She wondered aloud. "Does Spock have any powers that humans don't?"

"Vulcans can mind meld." She shrugged. "But I seriously doubt he has with Sylar. That is something they are reluctant to do since it completely opens the mind of the respective participants to total free flowing communication. It is a more intimate function and I doubt he would expose himself to the darkness in Sylar's mind." After she thought about it for a moment, she added "But knowing him he would if it meant saving him."

"Just like he traded himself to save the Klingons on the ship." Claire echoed. She began to wonder if something did go on between the two of them because previously Sylar would have never volunteered to stay with Peter on the mining planet nor would he have sacrificed himself to save the crippled ship from enemy attack. She couldn't help but remember the totally different man she sat by in the sickbay- the one who was human and frail and so unlike the man who had broken into her house and cut open her head without regard to her feelings of being violated so long as he got what he came for. But lately the man who was now leaning against the bar was neither of those men, but something in between and she was hopeful that he would stay that way. Eventually she may be able to forgive him if he could renounce his evil ways, but something inside of her told her not to hold her breath.

"So if not him, do you have anyone else?" Uhura asked politely.

"Ah, no." She smiled. "I'm not really looking for that right now."

"Good for you. There's nothing wrong with working on yourself first before you go looking to get wrapped up in someone else's drama."

"Sounds a little bitter…" Claire playfully mused. "Was there a someone for you?"

"I didn't mean it like that." Uhura defended. "I just meant that too often young women go rushing into relationships because that's what they are expected to do. But how can you be an equal to another when you don't even know who you are? It always seemed backward to me to get into a relationship where you are expected to know the wants and needs of the other person before you even had yourself figured out."

Claire nodded in appreciation. "You sound like my dad, but I know you both are probably right. I was in college when I left because it's what my grandmother wanted, but I just feel like I'm wasting my time there. Don't get me wrong, I'm learning a lot about English lit and chemistry and I even made a friend, but I can't help but feel like I am meant for something else: something bigger."

"Maybe you are." Uhura granted with a smile. "And look at it all as a learning experience. Sometimes negative experiences tell you where you shouldn't be and they point you in the right direction. There is a lesson to be learned in everything if you only open your eyes and look for it. There is no shame in failing, the shame comes from not learning anything from it."

"That…" she stated emphatically, "does not sound like my dad."

"Yeah, he seems wound a little tight, but it's obvious that he loves you, Claire, and I'm sure he would do anything to see you grow up into a confident, successful, and secure young woman- no matter what you choose to do in life."

Claire agreed and reached out her hand to place her nearly empty glass on the bar. The tea, although delicious, had grown cold and now had a deeply bitter aftertaste. Just as she made the move, a Klingon crossed between the bar and Uhura and knocked the glass out of her hand, spilling the remaining contents on the passing woman. Claire blanched white when the woman looked down at her soiled clothing and snarled with jagged teeth at the offender.

"Oh God, I am soooo sorry." Claire quickly apologized looking for napkins to help dry off the victim, although the tea would certainly leave a stain in the fabric. In the end, she resorted to swiping the towel the bartender had left unattended and patted down the angry woman.

"Claire, don't…!" Uhura yelled even as she frantically wiped at the woman's clothes. Claire turned to her startled. "You shouldn't have touched her." She said with a heavy sigh. "That's provocation."

"Provocation?" Claire cried. "To what?" Deep down she knew the answer.

"Well," the woman growled, "you have dishonored me in the worst way by defiling me. I now challenge you to a fight if you are not a coward."

Claire stared at her wide-eyed in horror as her mouth opened and closed several times in an effort to say something….anything! The woman was easily twice her size and she knew nothing about fighting which made the odds pretty long that she would come out for the better at the end of it all. She quickly glanced at her protectors, but Peter, Noah, and Nathan were all distracted and none knew of her impending danger.

"Well?" The woman taunted.

She looked back to her and weighed her options. She could just admit that she was a coward, but she didn't know what would come of that. Was there some public humiliation ritual involved? She could accept the challenge and although she knew she would survive, she couldn't suppress her regeneration ability and that would be problematic. Fighting was definitely out…she squared her jaw and opened her mouth to reply…