Author: Zoe Saugin
Fandom: Heroes
Pairings: Peter/Claire, Matt/Mohinder (maybe), Micah/Molly
A/N: A Paire fic, written for my friend, because she loves Paire so much. Enjoy. It will be a chapter fic. It was originally going to be a one-shot, but the fearsome plot bunnies burrowed into my head. Slightly AU, Angela Petrelli is not in jail. No spoilers, really, except the entire first season. It's my first Heroes fic, so sorry if it's OOC.
Prologue: The Sins of the Daughter
All she left for them was a note.
It was her handwriting, loopy and connected, and it undeniably screamed 'Claire' to anyone who knew her.
The note read simply this:
Mom, Dad, Lyle—I don't want you guys to blame yourselves. It's not your fault. It's mine, for putting this family in danger, making us run, and hide. It's not fair to you. So I'm leaving—I'm not telling you where, so that it can't be pulled out of you. I love you, and I'll miss you. Love, your Claire-bear.
And just like that, she was gone.
She took the car as far as the gas station thirty-seven miles away, where she bought hair dye and became a brunette. Then she hitched a ride to Las Vegas, making money by lying about her age and working as a blackjack dealer in a casino. Once she had enough money, she bought a plane ticket to New York, where she hailed a taxi to take her to the one place she had never wanted to return to—the Petrelli mansion.
It was too painful to be there, now that Peter was gone. She was just Nathan's illegitimate daughter, and that was simply unacceptable to Angela and Heidi Petrelli. But she had nowhere else to go. Someone had caught on to her ploy in Vegas, so she couldn't stay there.
With a sinking heart, Claire Bennet raised her hand to ring the doorbell.
As she waited there, eyes shut in anticipation, she considered all the things she could possibly say to whoever opened that door.
If it was one of the boys, she could just ask to see their dad.
If it was Nathan, she could ask for a place to stay.
If it was Heidi, she would ask to see Nathan and Heidi together. One would probably cancel out the other, right?
If it was Angela…Claire preferred not to think about that.
Hearing the door swing open, she opened her eyes, seeing the last person on earth she expected to see.
Wait, make that the second to last person she expected to see.
"Claire?" said a very much alive and still very attractive Peter Petrelli. "What happened to your hair?"
Claire was at a loss for words. She stared at the slightly fidgeting Peter before jumping at him, almost knocking him over, and hugging him in a way that he should have been repulsed by, since she was his niece, albeit his niece who he had repetitive eyesex with whenever they were near each other. But it wasn't really repulsive.
It was actually really, really nice.
"Peter." She said, enjoying the way his name rolled off her tongue. "You're…alive. And here."
He chuckled, and she reveled in the sound of it. "It surprised me as much as you. I thought I was dead…though I have you to thank that I'm not." He pulled her slightly tighter into the hug. "It was your power that saved me."
"Of course. The healing thing." She said. "How long?"
"How long?" He asked, confused.
"How long have you been back?" she elaborated.
"I had amnesia, but I think roughly four or five months."
Suddenly aware of how close they were, Claire pulled back, her body screaming at the loss of contact. "Months? No one told me…"
"I've been in Ireland." He admitted.
"Oh…" Screw this. Her mind yelled, and her body reacted, hugging him again. "I can't believe you're back!"
His arms instinctively wrapped around her body. "Yes, Claire. We established that I am here. Now, why are you here?"
"I couldn't keep putting them in danger. So I left. I ran away. Took the car, then hitched to Vegas. I got a job," at Peter's look, she waved her hand disdainfully, "not that kind of job. Blackjack dealer. Dyed my hair, bought a plane ticket, ended up here."
Unnoticed to the Peter and Claire, Heidi and Nathan had entered the foyer, curious to see who had been at the door. "Pete?" ventured Nathan, not recognizing the hair and not seeing her face. "Who is this?"
At his voice, Claire and Peter sprang apart. "Nate—" started Peter at the same time that Claire ventured, "Nathan—"
"Claire?" asked Nathan in surprise. "What are you doing here?" Seeing her face fall, he quickly amended the sentence, "Not that you're not always welcome—"
"Claire," said Heidi, smiling warmly. "Come in, please. Are you hungry?" She glared at her husband reproachfully.
"Um, yes." Said Claire quietly, suddenly realizing just how hungry she was.
"Well, we have some things in the kitchen. Do you remember your way around?" Heidi indicated a door.
"Yes, of course." Said Claire, forcing a smile. She left the foyer, heading for the kitchen. Peter went to go after her, but Nathan caught his arm. "What is she doing here?"
"She will tell you," said Heidi, putting a hand on Nathan's arm. "The girl is obviously scared. Let's not spook her, okay?"
"Right." Said Nathan, letting go of Peter's arm. The younger man followed Claire into the kitchen, and within minutes their laughter was echoing around the house.
"Mom is not going to like this." Said Nathan, shaking his head.
Next Chapter:
"You can't pretend you don't wonder if Meredith wasn't sleeping around behind your back!"
"Don't you think it is slightly…odd…that an uncle and niece share that kind of bond?" "The word I was going to use was incestuous, but yours is much more politically correct."
Angela Petrelli makes her appearance, Peter and Claire go shopping, and someone gets suspicious of Claire's claim of paternity…