Learning How to Love - Heroes

Pairing: Claire/Elle
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Summary: This is my attempt at rewriting Claire and Elle's story to how I see it. Starting from the beginning, hopefully I'll be able to show how their relationship progresses over time. All I ask is that you be patient with me; it'll probably be several chapters before I get to the good stuff :)
Warning: There will be some language and, in the later chapters, I'm sure some sexual content.

Enjoy!

Squeak.

"Yes, I understand. We'll send some of our guys over-"

Squeak.

"-right away. Make sure the house is evacuated and question-"

Squeak.

"-the witnesses… If any of them saw anything out of the ordinary-"

Squeak.

"-let me know" Pause "… In the mean time-"

Squeak.

"ELLE!"

Electric blue eyes shot up to meet the scolding gaze of Bob Bishop. He was sitting on the other side of the desk with a death grip on his phone. Elle raised her perfectly arched, blonde eyebrows innocently and froze, ceasing her rocking back and forth in the squeaky desk chair. Bob relaxed his glare and went back to his phone conversation.

"Yeah, I'm still here," Bob continued, "Just do your job and keep me updated." He quickly hung up the phone before pushing a button to call the receptionist.

"Yes, Mr. Bishop?" a voice rang from the speaker.

"Get me Noah and Claude. Tell them to come to my office right away."

"Yes, Mr. Bishop, I'll get right on that," the receptionist replied.

Bob Bishop sat back in his luxurious desk chair and eyed his daughter warily. She gave him a playful smile before resuming her incessant rocking in the squeaky chair. Bob groaned.

"Don't you have something you need to do?" He asked.

"Like what?" she said, examining her fingernails. "I can't leave and the only people here to talk to are the prisoners… And I've already tortured all of them today." She gave him an 'aren't you proud of your daughter' smile.

Bob sighed. "Then find something else to do. I need to meet with one of my teams," he said, and, as if on cue, there was a light knock on the door. Bob stood up and walked around the desk. "Come in!" he called, pushing his daughter towards the door before softly adding, "Please try to behave yourself."

She groaned, "Ugh, fine fine." She quickly brushed past both Noah and Claude on her way out, ignoring their questioning glances. Shutting the door behind her, she quickly made her rounds again; checking up on all the prisoners and making sure they were nice and comfortable in their confined cells.

She blew out an exasperated breath as she walked slowly down the halls, idly reaching her hand out to ignite blue sparks across the concrete wall with her fingertips. Man, I hate this place, she thought. She could barely wait to become a full agent so that she could get out of the hell hole and do some real work. But she was only sixteen... she still had a few more years to go before she could earn that title. It drove her insane. She had been trapped there for the past seven years and knew next to nothing about the outside world.

She knew her name and she knew of her ability… She also knew she was responsible for several "horrendous misdeeds" that no one spoke of (which is what landed her here in the first place), but those events she couldn't remember. She could barely remember anything about her life before this. Her childhood was a series of missing puzzle pieces… making it impossible for her to piece together what memories she did have left. Her daddy told her that she had been traumatized on many occasions, and that was why she couldn't remember… Her mind blocked out those memories. However bad they might have been though, she would rather have them back. She would rather have some memory of what life was like outside the compound than nothing at all. Perhaps then she would understand everything better. Like why that guy is giving me the stink eye, she thought, sending a glare in his direction.

The prisoners all looked at her as though she were a freak. It didn't bother her most of the time; just made her torturing them all the more fun. But there were days it got to her. She didn't understand why people looked at her weirdly, as if she had two heads. They wouldn't tell her either… as if simply asking them what she had done to cause them to look at her in such an uncomfortable way only added to her "freakiness". As if I'm supposed to know what I've done without someone telling me, she scoffed, whatever, they're just scared of my power… speaking of which… She realized that the prisoner was still openly staring at her. She quickly threw a ball of electricity at the glass barrier which made the guy jump back and trip over his own cot. She chuckled darkly. Yeah, that's right.

Somewhere along the line she found a rubber band and began to idly stretch it and wrap it around her fingers while she lost herself in her thoughts. Perhaps daddy will let me visit outside the compound someday, she thought, not on an official mission, but if he's there with me surely he'll consider it. She smiled softly to herself. Yeah, she thought. She made a mental note to remember and ask him about it later.

She kept twirling the rubber band between her fingers as she made her way down one of the front hallways; a part of the façade that was the "paper factory". She didn't usually travel this far up to the front of the factory, but she was bored. She wandered around aimlessly while idly popping her finger with the rubber band. It kept her entertained for a while before the mail guy approached her.

"H-Hi Elle," the teenage boy stuttered.

Elle turned to look at him. "Oh hi, Bobby." They didn't run into each other too often, but it was often enough for Bobby to give her his name at least two or three times until she finally remembered it. She still tried to avoid him whenever she could though… He was a little odd. He always seemed sweaty and fidgety when Elle was around.

"I-I have a package for your dad," he said, offering her a smile, "Is he in his office?"

Elle nodded, absently looking over Bobby's shoulder to see a little curly headed monster rounding the corner into a room, "Yeah, he was earlier… He should still be in there." She returned her gaze to his eyes only to find that they were no longer on hers. His eyes were… travelling up and down her body. She quirked an eyebrow and looked down. What, she thought, is there something wrong with my outfit? She didn't buy her own clothes, obviously. She highly doubted daddy bought her clothes either. If she had to guess, all of her clothes were leftovers… either from previous agents or prisoners. Today she sported some baggy, army green cargo pants and a black tank top. Oh, and her favorite converse sneakers. The clothes barely fit her. In fact, none of her clothes did. She was very slender, and, not to mention, very short. It was hard for her to find any clothes that even remotely fit her out of her limited wardrobe.

She looked back up to Bobby's face, noticing the faint blush that had taken up residence in his cheeks. Maybe he noticed I'm not wearing a bra, she wondered. Psh, it's not like I need one anyway, she thought, remembering her complete lack of curves also played a big part in her not fitting into her clothes. Whatever. Considering the conversation finished, she brushed past Bobby and started walking towards the room where she saw the little monster disappear. Now, where did she go?

"Oh okay," she heard Bobby say over her shoulder as he turned to walk with her, "I'll just go check and see then." Elle nodded again, though she couldn't remember what they had been talking about, and turned to look at him as she leaned against the open doorway. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the little monster's wild, curly blonde hair sticking out from her head as she leant over the table and scratched away at the notebook sitting in front of her.

Bobby shifted nervously from foot to foot as he looked down, blushing again, "So Elle, I was w-wondering, if you're not t-too busy that is, m-maybe you would like to…" The rest of what he said was lost on Elle as she strategically pulled the rubber band over her finger and stretched it out. Making sure she was aimed right for her target, she released the band, all the while keeping her eyes on Bobby.

She knew her mission was successful when a loud, high pitched, "OW!" resonated through the room. Elle looked over to see that she'd hit her target dead on as the little monster turned to glare at her, her little hand covering her cheek. Elle doubled over, cackling hysterically.

"Um… Elle?" Bobby prodded after a few moments.

Elle took in large gulps of air as she tried to contain her laughter. Shit, that was funny! She straightened back up to look at him, still shaking softly. He was looking at her expectantly. "I-I'm sorry, Bobby," she paused as another fit of laughter took over. She took another deep breath, and tried to speak steadily even though there was still amusement in her voice, "What were you saying?"

He hung his head with something that looked like disappointment crossing his features. "Never mind," he muttered, "I'll see you later." He shuffled off quickly leaving Elle to stare at his back in confusion. She didn't have much time to ponder his actions though as a small foot kicked her square in the shin.

"Ouch!" she doubled over, this time to grab her leg. She glanced over the see the little monster standing beside her. "You little twerp!" she shouted.

"You started it!" the high pitched voice squealed.

"Did not," Elle retorted, quickly straightening her posture so that she could tower over the small child before placing her hands indignantly on her hips.

"Oh, so this just happened to fall from the sky and smack me in the face?" she yelled, holding up the rubber band as proof.

Damn, the little monster is observant, Elle noted. "No," she started, quickly making up some bullshit explanation, "Maybe you had it holding your hair up, but, let's face it…" She reached down and patted the wild mess of hair atop the younger girl's head, "Nothing could contain that mess."

The younger girl growled and attempted to charge at Elle, but Elle simply kept a hold of the younger girl's hair, holding her at arm's length so that her attack was futile. Elle laughed again at the little monster's struggle in her grasp.

This was Claire Bennet, of course, daughter of the infamous Noah Bennet; the leading agent here at the company and her dad's right hand man. Elle continued to snicker as the girl continued to struggle; this bickering back and forth had become quite the daily routine for them for some time now. She's pretty spunky for a little demon, she thought. As entertaining as the little monster was, though, Elle found herself quickly becoming bored. Tossing the girl to the side, she briskly strode over to the table to see what the girl had been writing earlier. Elle took in the little math book and the semi-finished word problem. What the… she thought as she flipped through the pages. "Isn't this homework a little advanced for a five year old?"

Claire quickly reached her side and proceeded to crawl atop the stool so that she could meet Elle's eyes. "I'm eight," she spat vehemently up at the taller blonde.

Elle's eyes widened in shock as she took in the smaller girl's appearance. Surely not, she thought, the girl's a midget! She studied her for a long moment before narrowing her eyes. "You're lying," Elle replied.

Claire was livid. She stamped her foot in a dramatic fashion and shouted back, "I am not! I'm eight! You can ask my father!"

Elle rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She looked at the little monster again, "You must be the smallest eight year old in history… Was your mom a dwarf or something?"

Claire roared and launched herself off the stool, but she never made her target as a larger pair of arms caught her in midair. Elle immediately choked down the laugh that almost erupted from her throat as she came face to face with Noah Bennet himself. She quickly regained her composure and smiled at him innocently, "Hi, Mr. Bennet."

Claire huffed and huffed as she struggled in his arms, still trying to attack the girl in front of her. Noah didn't appear to be amused. "Elle," he noted her existence before moving to set Claire back on the stool, giving Elle his back. "Get your stuff together. I have some things to take care of, but I'll need to drop you off at home first," he told his daughter.

Claire pointed an accusing finger at Elle, "But-but-" Noah lifted a hand up to silence her, "No buts. We're leaving now." Claire groaned and got down, quickly gathering up her books and shoving them into her backpack. Noah took the pack and motioned for her to head on out to the car.

Elle chuckled softly as the little monster glared at her before storming out. Ah, what a good day, Elle mused to herself but quickly lost her smile when she realized it was just her and Noah left. He looked at her sternly before taking a few deliberate steps forward. He gave her a small, tight smile before he began to speak, "I'd hate to have to bring this up with your father, Elle." His tone was purposefully light, but she could tell he meant every word. Elle stared up at him wide eyed and gulped softly. He stared at her for a moment longer before releasing his glare. "See that it doesn't happen again," he said as he brushed past her and headed out the door as well.

Elle released the breath she had been holding.

Whew, that was a close one...

[later on that afternoon]

Elle stood outside her father's office, silently repeating what she planned to say over again in her head. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and knocked on the door softly. She waited until she heard her daddy's muffled, "Come in," before slowly opening the door and making her way over to his desk.

He was busy filling out paperwork, of course. He didn't even bother to look up at her. Elle waited patiently though, chewing her lip as Bob finished signing some documents. When he still didn't look up at her, she slowly began to tap her fingernails on the desk in a steady rhythm. She kept that up for several moments until he finally sighed and gave up. Dropping the document back onto the desk, he sat up and met his daughter's gaze. "Yes, Elle?"

She smiled brightly at him. "Hi Daddy," was all she said.

He raised his eyebrows expectantly, but when he realized he wasn't going to get any more out of her without encouragement, he responded. "Hi Elle," he said with the sweetest tone he could muster.

Elle beamed at him before moving to sit down across from him. "So Daddy, I was wondering... I know your thoughts about me leaving the compound, and I know that's why I haven't been on any missions yet, but I'm going crazy in here, Daddy!" she quickly blurted out, giving him her biggest puppy dog eyes. "So, I thought maybe if you were to take me out somewhere, not on a mission or anything like that but maybe out to a movie or something... would it would be okay for me to get out for a night?" She watched him pleadingly.

Bob stayed quiet for a moment as he thought it over. "I don't know, Elle..."

"Please, Daddy, please!" she spouted, "I'll be on my best behavior ever, I promise!"

Bob watched her for a moment longer as she practically foamed at the mouth. He sighed softly, "I suppose we could work something out."

"YES!" Elle exclaimed, literally jumping out of her seat and doing a fist pump. She ran around the desk quickly to give her daddy a smothering hug. "You won't regret it, Daddy, I promise!"

Bob chuckled softly before pushing her back and holding her at arm's length. "Hold on a second, before you get carried away..." He paused to make sure he had her full attention. "I only agreed to this because we actually have the perfect opportunity for you and I to do something this weekend." He released her and gave her a small smile.

She stood up again and watched him as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "This weekend?" she questioned, "What's this weekend?"

He gave her a broader smile. "It's Noah's birthday," he said before turning back to the papers on his desk, "And he invited the whole office over for a cookout." He didn't explain any further and paid no mind to Elle as she continued to stand there absently.

Finally snapping out of it, she slowly shuffled back to her chair and sank down into it before her brain managed to form a response. "We're going to Noah Bennet's house?" she asked with barely masked distaste.

Bob looked up at her sharply, "You were the one that said you wanted to get out of the compound for a night."

"Yeah, but..." she started, "It's Noah Bennet... We see him everyday."

Her father returned his attention to his desk. "You either want to go out or you don't, Elle. It's up to you." His tone made it clear his decision was final.

Elle sighed and stood up. "Alright," she relented, "I suppose it's better than nothing."

Bob nodded, "Good girl."

Elle rolled her eyes and turned to leave his office again. Greeeeat, she thought. I ask for a night out and what do I get? A birthday party with a killer and the spawn of Satan herself. She sighed again.

What did I do to deserve this?

A/N: That's it for the first chapter. Sorry it isn't much.

I normally don't ask for reviews considering I'm not very good at leaving reviews myself :S. But just for this first chapter, I'd really like to hear what y'all think. I kind of struggled to get this chapter out, and I'm not really sure where I want to take this story yet or if I'll even continue it. So let me know what you guys think. If you want to see more of this story and what not.

If I do keep it going, I'll only do one more chapter with them at this age. Then I'll jump about eight years into the future and show how they reconnect when they're older.

Thanks for reading!