Authors Note: Okay, so I was thinking today about, you know, Sylar. And that's when a thought came to mind: How does he see? I mean, Gabriel had glasses. Did he get contacts? Then something occurred to me. Gabriel took his glass off when Chandra walks in... And then it hit me, hard. I wear contacts for my nearsightedness. But Gabriel Gray probably wears his for farsightedness! I slapped myself when I figured it out. And because I don't want to go back and re-post my previous chapters I decided to keep it as is. But from now on, Gabriel wears his glasses for his farsightedness. :)

Also, for the same reason mentioned above, I want inform you that Gabriel has a sister named Katherine. She's two years junior to him and is his adoptive sibling. As in Virginia took her in as well as Gabriel. She might be mentioned in future chapters, and doesn't actually appear until the third season. She's not my original character, though, she's my friend's. She's written a few stories focused on her, but she won't post them. They're really good, so I'm going to continue to patronize her until she gets them up. ;D

Is She, or Is She Not?

"Are you alright?"

Gabriel continues to stare open mouthed at the woman in front of him. She cocks her head slightly to the left, her expression displaying concern.

"Hey, are you alright?", she asks again, "He didn't hurt you, did he?" She sounds worried, a tone Gabriel doesn't hear too much even from his closest friends. He finds it intriguing that this stranger would take up such a tone. Or not a stranger. An acquaintance, yes, but not a total stranger. She's his hero.

Reality suddenly hits Gabriel, the logical gears in his mind finally turning. What is he doing? What is the possibility that the same girl he had been researching an hour or two ago just so happens to be walking around Brooklyn in the dead of night? Even if she had seen what had unfolded in the alleyway, what is the likelihood that she'd save him? It's just not probable, and Gabriel agrees that he's insane for believing it could be. That doesn't happen in the real world.

Still, there's a small pain in his chest, a yearning for the fantasy to be real. He wishes so much that the world could be like this, that the woman in front of him is who he envisions. He wishes with his heart, but denies any hope with his head. The thought is stupid, illogical. It can't happen, it can't be.

"Hey!" the woman wakes him from his reverie, her voice tinged with annoyance, "Are you okay!" Gabriel blinks awkwardly. He has a feeling that he's been out of it for several moments, no doubt making the area uncomfortable for her. "Uh," he stammers, "yeah, I guess. Sorry." She stares at him for second, her eyebrows furrowed in irritation, lips-oh, lips- pressed forward into a pout, before she lets out a sigh. Gabriel thinks that it sounds relieved, another sure sign that she had been worried about him.

"It's fine." she says, her head bowing, "I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm sorry." Now she's apologizing, he thinks, This night just keeps getting weirder. He shakes his head, "No, it's okay. Don't apologize, please." She tips her head up a little, just so much so that Gabriel can see her blue eyes staring at him through the dark bangs in her face. The eyes, they seem brighter to Gabriel than before. The edges of his lips upturn into a reassuring smile.

She raises her head again, a sad sweet smile slipping onto her own face. That smile. Gabriel's sure he's seen it before. But no, she's not that girl. She can't be. The doubt he has about his previous conclusion grows.

Her eyebrows furrow again, "Are you sure you're okay?" He has to stop zoning out. She stares at him for the answer. Well, he physically feels fine, his mental stability on the other hand he fears is questionable. But why worry her with doubts and fears? He grins, "Yeah, I'm fine. A bit shaky from the..." he searches for a word, "incident a moment ago, but otherwise alright."

She smiles lightly and nods, "Good." And the alleyway goes into an awkward silence again. He doesn't know what to say. Or do. So he just sits, freezing in the snow, watching the woman ahead of him breathe gently in and out.

Her smile fades as the moment stretches on. She glances around the area and Gabriel can sense her discomfort. He rolls his shoulders forward, then back. Oh God, she thinks I'm a freak, he thinks as he grins awkwardly, She's going to try and make up an excuse to leave. As if she really needs an excuse. He can see it now, 'I have to be somewhere right now, at one in the morning…'

Just as Gabriel predicts, the woman opens her mouth to says something, but is halted. Her lips closes slowly as a look of realization spreads across her expression. Gabriel's thick eyebrows furrow curiously, "Wha-"

He gasps as the woman suddenly leans forward, putting her hands on his knees for support, and places her face inches away from his own. Time hangs as she stares at him. Her eyes look into him, the blue in their irises bright and glowing with curiosity and wonder. An odd scent wafts up to his nose; it smells...sweet. Calming, like lavender. But something else, too. It's almost musky. Seductive.

Her stare is unblinking and frankly it's making Gabriel uncomfortable. She's so close he realizes for the first time that her blue eyes are actually tainted with a deep green near the pupils. Interesting...

She squints her eyes and stretches her neck to get closer to Gabriel, Gabriel reflexively leaning back to avoid getting conked on the head. He blinks, having to go cross-eyed to see her face now. She cocks her head, examining his facial features. Gabriel imagines for a moment that she leans even closer and kisses him and he gasps at how the thought makes his stomach flip in anticipation.

But instead of going nearer, she lays back into a normal sitting position again, the curious expression on her face not leaving. She raises one eyebrow and tilts her head to the opposite side. It reminds Gabriel of a puppy. Her eyes look over him, watching him, inspecting him, noting little things about him.

What was she thinking? Gabriel would really like to know. He can see the gears turning in her head, like the pieces of a watch, all working for one common goal. One question, what's that goal?

"Do I know you?" she asks. Gabriel's breath hitches.

Could this be her? He opens his mouth to answer, but before he can he notices her eyes go up to look at his hair. A wave of self-consciousness washes over him. Does she disapprove? She suddenly reaches out a hand. Gabriel flinches slightly when it nears his face, but she doesn't seem to notice. The hand brushes his forehead lightly as fingers pull a fallen piece of hair out of his face and smoothes it back into place gently. Her hand then comes down, and the back of her fingers slide soothingly down his cheek before pulling away.

Gabriel feels his face heat up with the feel of her soft fingers against his slightly stubbly cheek. He prays she doesn't see him. But, of course, she does. Her face splits into an amused grin and she giggles. Gabriel's stomach fills with butterflies at the light, joyous sound. His face turns maroon.

She spies something in her peripheral vision and turns her face to it. Gabriel's too frozen-both literally and metaphorically-to follow her gaze. She goes up on her knees to reach for the object. When she pulls back, Gabriel sees something familiar in her hand: his thick-rimmed glasses. That's where they had gone. She opens the frames and looks through them, then looks up at Gabriel. "Are these yours?", she asks, motioning to the glasses.

"Uh, um, yeah.", Gabriel stutters. He reaches for them, but before he can get a hold she pulls them away. He looks up at her, confused. She gives him this look, a strange glint coming to her eyes as she smiles mischievously, "Let me do it." She brings the open frames up to her mouth and breathes on the lenses, fogging them, before wiping away the vapor and any impurities with her sea green wide-necked sweatshirt. She brings them to her face again to test the clarity. When they pass the test, she switches them around in her hands and places them on Gabriel's face, pushing them back on the bridge of his nose with her index finger. His eyes once again go cross-eyed to watch the tip of her appendage.

He readjusts his eyes when he hears her giggle again, finding this humorous. His stomach flip flops again at the sound and he can't help but grin at the fact he made her laugh. They sit there for a moment, smiles spread across their faces. Her grin slowly fades in energy until she's staring at Gabriel contently, her lips curled into a sweet smile. She looks so beautiful, like an angel, snow falling around her, straight dark locks framing her face, deep blue eyes seeing through to his soul. Gabriel...feels something. A warmth within him, he's not sure what it is. It feels...nice. Somehow, though he's not sure how, this stranger is able to provoke emotions in him he's seldom felt before in his life. It's an odd thought, an odd feeling, but welcome nonetheless.

She inspects him again, her eyes roaming up and down his body in curiosity. They fall upon his jacket and her expression changes into that of concern, "You must be freezing." Oh, yeah. Gabriel had actually forgotten about his unsuited attire of a small jacket and thin khaki pants, but now that it's brought to his attention again he feels a dull pain in his legs. He flinches with the sensation.

"Yeah," he mutters, "I am. It's cold, I wasn't planning on being out this late. I got caught up at the library." She nods knowingly, "Ah, the place of eternal knowledge. That happens to me a lot, too." Her reassuring smile makes him feel better, despite the cold. "Yeah." he says confidently, "Good to know."

They stay silent for a moment before the woman rises to her feet. She goes behind Gabriel and helps him up. His legs ache more as he stretches them, the hurt from lack of movement and warmth makes him force out a painful grunt. The woman glances at him, concerned once again, as she slips under his arm and holds his waist to support him. He smiles down at her.

Gabriel notes her height, she's not too short. Actually she's quite tall for a woman, the top of her head coming up to about his nose. Most girls only make it to his shoulder, if that. Hm, height, once again something to admire.

She helps him to walk across the street. Gabriel's not really sure where they're going, but it's no doubt better than out in the early winter night. He trusts her to take care of him. That's odd, him putting his trust in someone he just met. He glimpses her out of the corner of his eye. Her posture, the way her chin is held, seems...different. Not in a bad way, actually quite the opposite, he likes it. He admires it. He admires her. He doesn't care if she didn't save his life fifteen years ago, that doesn't matter. In spite of his lack of knowledge of her, he believes she's extraordinary.

"Thank you." Gabriel breathes just loud enough for the woman under his arm to hear. He watches her smile and, to his surprise, a slight flush comes to her cheeks. This makes him grin with her; he's not the only shy one. She bites her bottom lip and the hand not wrapped around his body goes to her chest to touch something and Gabriel's breath hitches. Catching the light, a small glistening pendant at the end of a gold chain twirls between her fingers.

He'd recognize that necklace anywhere, the length, the luster, the color all giving it away.

So she is his past savior.