Creed (Heroes)
Title: Creed
Author: eyesdelight
Fandom: Heroes
Characters: Angela Petrelli, Nathan, Peter, mention of Claire & Bennet
Summary: A mother must believe in many things.
Rating: PG/PG-13 for one word
Word Count: 1015
A mother keeps secrets.
If her husband is ill, if he continuously ponders the meaning of his own existence and believes a world without him would fare better than a world containing him, a mother must protect her sons from the truth.
"Your father's had a heart attack. The hospital wants to keep him for a little while."
And when Nathan, too shrewd and too clever for his twelve years of life, questions the lie a mother tells as absolute truth, she must smile and nod and not say another word, even if pressed.
For the truth is so much more horrific than she's willing to admit, and she'll be damned to Hell for eternity before she exposes her children to it.
***
A mother fixes things.
Fight-bourne scrapes and black eyes. She tuts and fusses with hydrogen peroxide and Band-Aids while Nathan squirms under her deft fingers.
"Tommy Carlopoli started it," the boy mutters through teeth clenched in pain. "Called Peter a fag. How'm I supposed to react to that, Ma? I can't let something like that slide. It could get around the neighborhood."
More tuts. More fussing. A mother always winces in sympathy when tending to her child's wounds. "Still, you shouldn't throw punches in the streets like a common thug."
"Ma..." Nathan drones in warning, taking on his father's tone of polite yet firm objection, surely an attorney in the making.
"You're good with words, Nathan. Like your father. String them together and the entire world will stop what they're doing and stare at you in rapt attention."
"What, like I'm the President or something?" Nathan, by nature, is always curious, and always serious. And a mother knows how to play to her child's strengths.
"Maybe." The smile appears indulgent, a placation of a boy's fanciful dreams. Yet something else lurks behind the mere look of appeasement. "Someday."
***
A mother must help make decisions that affect her child's life.
"Nathan says I'm stupid for not going into the army first."
"'Stupid'? Come now. Did your brother really say that?" A mother twists words to her child's favor, particularly when said child has always been rather...sensitive.
Her son smiles, that soft, sincere half-smile which has gotten him in trouble ever since he was six. No one believes the sincerity behind that smile. And if it weren't for Nathan, Peter might not have survived childhood with all his limbs intact.
"Well," Peter says quickly. "He called it a 'bad decision' but I know what he meant. We're in a war, Ma. If I join up as a medic, they're gonna shove me into Afghanistan or Iraq, and I'm gonna get shot at for trying to save people. That's not what I want. I mean, I want to help people, take care of them. And not have to worry about my own ass while doing it."
"And you've told Nathan all this, naturally?"
"Nah. You know Nathan. He won't listen."
"Oh, I wouldn't jump to conclusions about him just yet. He could surprise you. Remember when Nathan took that job with the DA instead of staying with the family firm? I doubt your father's completely forgiven him yet."
"But, Ma. That's Nathan. He's strong enough and smart enough to do whatever he wants, and I...I'm not like that. I mean, I'm not lawyer material. You gotta be ruthless. Make hard decisions that affect the rest of people's lives."
"And you believe nursing is any different? Life or death, Peter. That's what the medical profession is. The choices are just as difficult, if not more."
Peter laughs, a rare sound these days. He has somehow absorbed some of the seriousness from his brother and grown up. "At least I'd get to see every person's eyes, Ma. They're not just a name on a slip of paper. I'd get to see them, talk to them, ask them how their day was. Important stuff."
"I can't force you to choose one way or the other, Peter. All I can say is that whatever you decide to do, I'll support you. Besides," she matches Peter's near-grin, "this family has enough lawyers and military men. Perhaps you'll be the one to save the world."
***
And sometimes when circumstances warrant it, a mother must make the hard decisions, for not only her children, but for her children's children.
Nathan's daughter has flourished under Bennet's care. Every milestone Claire reaches is recorded and reported to the trust. Her first steps, her first words ("Teddy bear!"), her first day of school.
The family connection with Claire is undeniable. The girl is Nathan's; she's a Petrelli. But too many things prevent father and daughter from meeting. A child out of wedlock would terminate Nathan's political aspirations, and a Petrelli will save the world. This will happen and cannot be prevented. It must happen, else the world be devoured by darkness.
Bennet has played the role of dutiful father well, taking pictures for "posterity" and documenting Claire's life. Perhaps he plays it too well, getting too emotionally attached.
But within the company, she is the most vocal of Bennet's supporters. For she wishes the most normal of lives for Claire, and if Nathan cannot be present, then Bennet is a more than deserving surrogate. After all, when the cuckoo lays her egg in a another bird's nest, instinct drives her to find the best substitute parent, one who will care for the child regardless of DNA.
But now the child realizes she is different, and no one is able to inform her that "different" means "special" and not "freak". The girl acts rashly and for her own benefit. No doubt, she's a Petrelli.
A grandmother can be secretly proud of her granddaughter, particularly when she is as resourceful as Claire Bennet. Perhaps things won't play out the way they are meant to, for even Angela Petrelli must admit to herself that there is a slight bit of wiggle room in destiny and in the future.
After all, if things had played out the way she first believed, she would never have dreamed of becoming a Petrelli.
Author: eyesdelight
Fandom: Heroes
Characters: Angela Petrelli, Nathan, Peter, mention of Claire & Bennet
Summary: A mother must believe in many things.
Rating: PG/PG-13 for one word
Word Count: 1015
A mother keeps secrets.
If her husband is ill, if he continuously ponders the meaning of his own existence and believes a world without him would fare better than a world containing him, a mother must protect her sons from the truth.
"Your father's had a heart attack. The hospital wants to keep him for a little while."
And when Nathan, too shrewd and too clever for his twelve years of life, questions the lie a mother tells as absolute truth, she must smile and nod and not say another word, even if pressed.
For the truth is so much more horrific than she's willing to admit, and she'll be damned to Hell for eternity before she exposes her children to it.
***
A mother fixes things.
Fight-bourne scrapes and black eyes. She tuts and fusses with hydrogen peroxide and Band-Aids while Nathan squirms under her deft fingers.
"Tommy Carlopoli started it," the boy mutters through teeth clenched in pain. "Called Peter a fag. How'm I supposed to react to that, Ma? I can't let something like that slide. It could get around the neighborhood."
More tuts. More fussing. A mother always winces in sympathy when tending to her child's wounds. "Still, you shouldn't throw punches in the streets like a common thug."
"Ma..." Nathan drones in warning, taking on his father's tone of polite yet firm objection, surely an attorney in the making.
"You're good with words, Nathan. Like your father. String them together and the entire world will stop what they're doing and stare at you in rapt attention."
"What, like I'm the President or something?" Nathan, by nature, is always curious, and always serious. And a mother knows how to play to her child's strengths.
"Maybe." The smile appears indulgent, a placation of a boy's fanciful dreams. Yet something else lurks behind the mere look of appeasement. "Someday."
***
A mother must help make decisions that affect her child's life.
"Nathan says I'm stupid for not going into the army first."
"'Stupid'? Come now. Did your brother really say that?" A mother twists words to her child's favor, particularly when said child has always been rather...sensitive.
Her son smiles, that soft, sincere half-smile which has gotten him in trouble ever since he was six. No one believes the sincerity behind that smile. And if it weren't for Nathan, Peter might not have survived childhood with all his limbs intact.
"Well," Peter says quickly. "He called it a 'bad decision' but I know what he meant. We're in a war, Ma. If I join up as a medic, they're gonna shove me into Afghanistan or Iraq, and I'm gonna get shot at for trying to save people. That's not what I want. I mean, I want to help people, take care of them. And not have to worry about my own ass while doing it."
"And you've told Nathan all this, naturally?"
"Nah. You know Nathan. He won't listen."
"Oh, I wouldn't jump to conclusions about him just yet. He could surprise you. Remember when Nathan took that job with the DA instead of staying with the family firm? I doubt your father's completely forgiven him yet."
"But, Ma. That's Nathan. He's strong enough and smart enough to do whatever he wants, and I...I'm not like that. I mean, I'm not lawyer material. You gotta be ruthless. Make hard decisions that affect the rest of people's lives."
"And you believe nursing is any different? Life or death, Peter. That's what the medical profession is. The choices are just as difficult, if not more."
Peter laughs, a rare sound these days. He has somehow absorbed some of the seriousness from his brother and grown up. "At least I'd get to see every person's eyes, Ma. They're not just a name on a slip of paper. I'd get to see them, talk to them, ask them how their day was. Important stuff."
"I can't force you to choose one way or the other, Peter. All I can say is that whatever you decide to do, I'll support you. Besides," she matches Peter's near-grin, "this family has enough lawyers and military men. Perhaps you'll be the one to save the world."
***
And sometimes when circumstances warrant it, a mother must make the hard decisions, for not only her children, but for her children's children.
Nathan's daughter has flourished under Bennet's care. Every milestone Claire reaches is recorded and reported to the trust. Her first steps, her first words ("Teddy bear!"), her first day of school.
The family connection with Claire is undeniable. The girl is Nathan's; she's a Petrelli. But too many things prevent father and daughter from meeting. A child out of wedlock would terminate Nathan's political aspirations, and a Petrelli will save the world. This will happen and cannot be prevented. It must happen, else the world be devoured by darkness.
Bennet has played the role of dutiful father well, taking pictures for "posterity" and documenting Claire's life. Perhaps he plays it too well, getting too emotionally attached.
But within the company, she is the most vocal of Bennet's supporters. For she wishes the most normal of lives for Claire, and if Nathan cannot be present, then Bennet is a more than deserving surrogate. After all, when the cuckoo lays her egg in a another bird's nest, instinct drives her to find the best substitute parent, one who will care for the child regardless of DNA.
But now the child realizes she is different, and no one is able to inform her that "different" means "special" and not "freak". The girl acts rashly and for her own benefit. No doubt, she's a Petrelli.
A grandmother can be secretly proud of her granddaughter, particularly when she is as resourceful as Claire Bennet. Perhaps things won't play out the way they are meant to, for even Angela Petrelli must admit to herself that there is a slight bit of wiggle room in destiny and in the future.
After all, if things had played out the way she first believed, she would never have dreamed of becoming a Petrelli.