Under a Bad Sign 4
Title: Under a Bad Sign 4 (complete)
Characters/Pairing: Maya, Peter
Rating: PG
Word count: 4,112
Disclaimer: Do not own.
Summery: Rescued from Odessa Maya has to make a hard choice.
Note: KW Verse. Takes place after Let Go. Maya meets Peter. Sorry it's taken awhile.
Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4
"Peter Petrelli's been in a coma for two years."
Lemay's words constantly ring in her ears.
If Maya wasn't so used to it she'd laugh. It's gone well beyond the point of telling herself to stop feeling sorry for the misfortune she lives with, that it will get better or that it's all in her mind. She was cursed. Maybe someone with a real ability gave her the mal de ojo as a child and 2006 is when it came calling and hadn't stopped. No curandera could heal her and no loving god answered her prayers.
But the time for blame was past, all she could do was breathe in the next day and hope.
*
"A mansion?" Nadia whispers with awe as Maya nods, seated beside her. Lemay, again giving her more of his time and possible leeway then he should, drives them the ninety miles to Hyde Park. She wouldn't let herself be discouraged by the distressing information about Peter, he was still alive so the possibility of assistance was still open.
"It's more like a palace, like something you would find in Europe..."
"Where Adam comes from?"
Lemay's eyes dart to the mirror at the sound of the Englishman's name, looking at Nadia and then at Maya carefully. She nods, eyes narrowing at him and he looks back at the road. Lemay had been extremely interested to find the whereabouts of Monroe, why he would not tell her. Saying she had enough troubles on her plate and he didn't want to add more.
She looks down at Nadia who has been staring at the lush green scenery flicking past, something new and different to Texas. Her face is strangely peaceful, just enjoying the view and Maya reaches over the brush her child's hair back gently, a gesture that Gabriel had done numerous times.
"You ok baby? Hungry?" Nadia shakes her head and shrugs, looking back at her. Eyes that before had been mischievous and impassioned are now changed. An assiduousness now peers from her face, like she views things around her with extra insight and non more so then with her mother. Maya does not like it. She had told her as much as she could about Gabriel, trying not to lie but having to withhold the whole truth. He was helping people with his abilities but the task would be so great he wouldn't be able to see them. The words coming out of her mouth did not sound convincing but Nadia had nodded, even been proud that he would be helping others. But she couldn't stop the tears and those eyes gleaming under them.
"Can I write to him?"
Maya looks at Lemay and after a few seconds he nods. Maya exhales a shuddering breath and regards him with deep gratitude. "Si, I know that he would love that. You know if he could, he would be here."
"He wasn't before." she says, almost nonchalantly and Maya cocks her head.
"When?"
"Before the soldiers came, he wouldn't see us for months. You said he was sick but I dunno, maybe he wasn't. Maybe he just didn't want to see me." Her cheek gets sucked in, biting on it and Maya pulls her daughter to her, peering into her wet eyes.
"No, no, don't think that. He - he was ill and it, ah how to say it...it was like it overtook him."
Nadia's eyebrows dip and a sad but thoughtful expression comes over her. "In the head? You said he was crazy. You were always saying that but I didn't believe you. He was too...normal."
Maya swiftly glances at Lemay who watches the road and feeling awkward saying this with company she lowers her voice. "Madness sometimes does not show on the outside. It was not his fault, some people are just like that, even from when they are very little. He didn't have a good time growing up baby and it did something to him. But that doesn't change what he feels for you, he loves you, very much. I know this is hard on you and I wish that it wasn't but - but it has been something I've tried to tell you. Maybe I shouldn't have, you were too young..."
Nadia remains silent for some time, in taking it all until she is ready to speak. "What is wrong with him? Is he getting help?"
Maya shakes her head. "I honestly don't know, we both tried to find out before but..." she trails off, shying away from that topic. Instead she looks hopefully at Lemay. "But maybe he will get help. He just needs someone that knows about depression or whatever it is."
He keeps silent, not looking at her but Maya hopes that it will happen, for Nadia's sake.
*
The Vanderbilt Mansion - now Petrelli - stands in the Hudson Valley, surrounded by 211 acres of land. The last time Maya had been there she had been too preoccupied with the horrible events in her life that she really hadn't taken it in. Now it was like seeing it for the first time and the majesty of it all hits her like a fist. Nadia was speechless, gawping open mouthed at the neoclassic building standing titanic before them. Maya laughs.
"Impressive right?"
"You actually lived here mama?"
"Just for a little while, when I was pregnant with you...maybe later, if we are allowed, we could go for a walk, see the gardens..." she trails off, placing a hand over her eyes when the sound of a car approaches them. Maya turns to Lemay as he comes down from the front steps, shrugging.
"No one's staying there."
"Someone's coming."
A Ford Galaxy pulls up and a woman with brown waxy hair steps out and moves up to them stridently. "You know this is private property?" She speaks in a thick, lilting Irish accent and Maya leans closer to hear. She's always taken with other peoples languages and accents.
"Pardon, we didn't mean to trespass. I'm looking Peter Petrelli. I know he used to live here."
The Irish woman's eyes widen and then narrow. "What's ya name?"
"Maya Herrera. This is my daughter Nadia and this is Mr Lemay." As she made the introductions she woman had gasped and took a step towards her, face bathed with wonder. Maya leans back, surprised.
"You're Maya? Jesus you're finally here." All traces of suspicion are gone as she smiles widely and takes Maya's arm. She's greatly relieved.
"You knew I was coming?"
"Peter did. He said that he had found you but then..." she trails off, smile slipping before she touches a hand to her chest. "I'm Caitlin by the way, Peter's wife." She shepards them politely towards her car and Maya takes Nadia's hand and helps buckle her in. Revving the engine up Caitlin drives them away from the Mansion and back towards the house - a smaller mansion - they had past near the gates.
"You don't live up there anymore?"
"Christ no. Like living in a museum. There's fifty four rooms and I got sick of my hovers blowing up trying to clean the place." She grumbles and Nadia giggles and she eyes her with a smile. "How old are you love?"
"I'm seven but I'll be eight on the 21st of December." she replies promptly and Maya can see she's taken a shine to her.
"I thought you looked about the same age as my son, Richard. He's just a week older then you. Here we are then." She parks the car outside her home but before they enter Maya pulls her aside, out of ear shot.
"Lemay told me that Peter is in a coma."
Caitlin cuts her eyes towards the man in question and then back at Maya. "That man has his facts mixed up, as usual. Peter...what he does takes a lot out of him and he can't, won't, stop. He's almost catatonic most of the time but he can bring himself out of it."
"He - he's the one that cleared the air of the virus?"
"Here, yes. But it's too much for just one person. Even Peter." she stares at her significantly but Maya remains silent. Caitlin smiles. "So that's why I'm so relieved that you've come back."
"Why?"
"So you can help him." She says like it's obvious but Maya frowns.
"But I was told to come here for that reason, that Peter would help me."
Caitlin moves towards the front door. "I'm sure he will, when he's able..." Maya nods in understanding and looks back over her shoulder, at the mansion with a slight trepidation before looking at Caitlin in query.
"I don't know if you're the right person to ask but when I was here last, many years ago now, I left something there. My brother's ashes."
Caitlin regards her with sympathy, brushing her hand down her arm. "They're still there. Peter told me what happened and I'm sorry. I lost my big brother, around the same time you did. He was murdered."
"I'm sorry." Maya utters, swallowing as the other woman bolts her grief back up. She smiles swiftly in acceptance ad then rouses herself into a more cheerful mood.
"Please come in, I bet you're all starving!" She opens the door and takes off her coat and shows the rest of them in.
*
"We get a few people coming here every week, thinking he can heal them. I tell 'em it's not Lourdes but eh, I can't blame them..." Caitlin leads Maya up the stairs, lunch eaten. Nadia had been placed outside with Richard, a quiet and shy boy who Maya learned was named after his deceased uncle.
"I heard that in the hospitals they are people that can heal with a touch." Maya whispers, impressed.
Caitlin nods, stopping before a door. "They are but only so many. Healers are very much in demand, they're always looking for more. That's why people come here, they know what Peter can do. Or they think they do...Now don't be nervous ok? He's just sleeping and it usually takes him awhile to wake up, lazy sod." She adds with a quick loving smile and opens the door for Maya who steps through.
She had been expecting a man curled into a fetal position, drips and bleeping machines but it was remarkably normal. He sits up with a few pillows at his back, his eyes closed and face peaceful. Moving closer she sees that his skin is very pale and dark circles ring his eyes. She looks back at his wife who stays by the door.
"What is wrong with him?"
"He keeps on dying." she replies flatly and Maya gasps, standing by his bedside. Caitlin folds her arms over her chest, her gaze far away.
"I told you that using the ability was too much for one person, too much of a load. But he won't stop, silly beggar...he can never die, never grow old..." she trails off, blinking with that thousand yard stare and Maya feels her heart go out to the poor woman. Caitlin's clearly a strong person but she knows when someone has a wall built around them.
Maya looks down at Peter, not knowing how to answer. She takes a seat next to him and Caitlin leans off the door edge and uncrosses her arms with a smile.
"Right then, I'll leave you to it."
"What do I do?" Maya almost stands, not wanting her to go.
Caitlin cocks her head, staring at him. "Just talk to him and if that doesn't work try to go to sleep, to dream..." so saying she shuts the door and leaves Maya to ponder her advice. Clearing her throat Maya stares at him and tries to think what to say.
"Hello? Uh...I hope you can hear me. My name is Maya, we met...Well no we didn't. We saw each other once, from afar...I need your help..." Leaning back into the chair, and placing her hands around her knees Maya watches him silently as he continues to draw in deep breaths, very much asleep. Wiggling to make herself more comfortable she decides to take Caitlin's words seriously and closes her eyes.
...The river moves sluggish and appears very blue, reflecting the sky above. The scenery is exact, not something that she remembers. He stands by the balustrade, over looking the valley and turns to Maya as she stands still and nervous. She feels suddenly shy. But his smile at seeing her is very open, the gratitude and most of all relief is clear and she finds herself closer.
"Maya...it's been awhile." His voice is low, gruffer then she expected.
"I know, well we've never really met...Bennet told me that if we were ever face to face the world would end. Again." they share a smile at the memory of that gruff man, Peter nodding. The smiles fall and they quickly register each other's features, Maya for remembrance, Peter for assurance.
"You're finally here." she smiles and after a hesitating moment lets her hand rest on his arm. She exclaims with wonder.
"You feel so real! Where are we?"
"My dream." he turns back to the view and Maya drops her hand and joins him, staring over it. But the surreal landscape takes a backseat as she remembers why she is here. She stares seriously at the side of his face and she sees he's watching her peripherally.
"Gabriel said you can help me, he said you visited his dream."
"I did, we both have that ability. I will try to help you, with whatever but I need your help, more then you know." He turns his earnest face to her and Maya frowns.
"Your wife, she kept on saying this to me but I don't see how I can help you. If I could I would but..." she trails off, shrugging and he turns fully to her, expression now more uneasy.
"You don't know? He didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what? Gabriel?" she scoffs suddenly, this shouldn't be something to be shocked about. She sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. "Go on then, tell me."
"Uh, well...I'm not sure how to say it so I'll just get to the point. I have your ability and it literally kills me every time I absorb too much with it. It's an ability that works correctly with two, a synergy, otherwise..." he shakes his head, serious and Maya stares at him open mouthed, speechless. Her eyes flickers over him, especially to his eyes until she gulps, a convulsive motion.
"I don't know what to say...dios, it - it's killing you?" She frowns, coming closer with concern and he tilts his head back and takes her hand. She then finds herself seated on a bench, still on the balcony. Maya keeps her hand in his.
"There's information that's been kept from you and I think you know by who." his mouth thins before continuing. "I know you think that the ability is a curse, that it can only bring death. I thought the same at first but god, if you only knew! It's so much better then that. It has a flip side Maya: viruses, diseases can be absorbed with the ability and destroyed. That's what I've been doing for the last four years but it's also the reason I've been stuck, off and on, in that bed for two. It was never meant for one person to handle alone, it can be hard to stop once you start. I - I know you had a twin who had the same ability..."
Maya, transfixed and completely shocked by his speech now stirs and a dark melancholy surrounds her. "At one time I would have been so angry with him, now I'm just disappointed...he knew, right from the beginning, before you even did anything." she shakes with emotion, appalled and closes her eyes. "He all but told me but I didn't believe him, how could I? I could never trust him and even if I did it just seems impossible. I've killed hundreds of people...I've killed children, they would have been the same age as my daughter." Maya bites down hard on the inside of her cheeks, tears scorching her. This is the first time she had spoken about this with anyone, she couldn't even talk about it with her twin, the process too painful. He regards her quietly with sympathy, understanding in his eyes. Maya gasps and the tears spill. "Have - did you have control over it straight away?" She prays that he did.
"No, not at first...I killed ten people with it. That was the first time it happened." He looks away from her, depressed at the memory and Maya grips his hand tighter, feeling a great swell of empathy. No one knew what it was like to bare, not even her brother. Sitting together they spend what feels like hours talking, Peter telling her about the ability and his life, what happened after she had been kidnapped. Maya sensed that the man was not telling her everything about himself, there was a deep misery about him that he was trying to hide but she didn't pressure him to know. As for her tale she told him as much as she could and he was surprised at the forgiving tone she used while talking about Gabriel, requesting gently for him not to call him Sylar.
"I hated him for so long, just loathed him and it was an all consuming feeling. It ruined my life, I thought he was a demon, I couldn't stop thinking of him like that. Especially those first few years...But now I don't think he is evil, I know now. People are afraid of things they don't understand but I've lived with him for over eight years, so...I think I understand him, as much as that's possible. He feels guilt for what he has done and if things had been different for him I think he could have grown into a great man. But I do feel peace about my brother now, his murder has not been forgotten and justice has been served."
"I'm sorry...seems like you, me and Caitlin have all lost brothers. We still have his ashes you know, anytime you want them you're free to take them."
"Gracias. I - I don't even know what to do with them...I think he would like to be back home but..." she trails off, feeling nervous and Peter's expression becomes thoughtful.
"From what you've told me it sounds like you want to go back home. Now you have that chance."
"But Lemay -"
"Forget him!" he says with annoyance and Maya is surprised. Neither Peter nor Caitlin seemed to like the man. Peter leans closer to her, eyes intense. "Once he knows that you're needed, that you can save people, he won't do anything to challenge that. He lost his whole family in the first outbreak, not even he would wish that on anyone if it can be prevented. You're important Maya."
"You keep saying that but I do not have the ability anymore. And, t-this is going to sound terrible but just the thought of having it again makes me feel sick...I do not trust myself with it." she confesses, the memory of black-eyed people falling at her feet hazy but her reaction to it clear. Just a faint concern, what did it matter? She was already going to hell. "I never want Nadia to know, she has no idea. About anything." Peter grips her shoulders in his hands, making Maya stiffen slightly before she relaxes. She's not used to the touch of another man.
"I understand, more then you can believe. I know that fear...but we're talking about thousands of lives, people that you can save. If you could have a chance to make amends, if it was in your power, wouldn't you take it? It's been a source of salvation to me."
Maya stays silent, caught up in his emotional and righteous expression and it moves her. "I believe you, I do but I just can't shake the feeling. It has brought me nothing but misery."
Peter nods with understanding before he stands suddenly, bringing her up with him. He suddenly has a very proactive and bright outlook. "Then I'll have to show you, won't I? As for your ability I think someone can help us there."
"Who?"
"Rene."
The Haitian, Maya thinks and she experiences a strange fluttery feeling at the pit of her stomach. He had been been a man she had immediately grown attached to, someone she felt very safe with.
"Where is he?"
"Haiti. Stay the night, or however long you need and when you're ready we'll teleport over. From there...well, we'll see what happens. How does that sound?"
She smiles in thanks, outwardly grateful but inwardly she can't stop the pessimism from rearing. Things seemed to be taking something of an upturn, her life and freedom something that finally feels more substantial and in her control but it was a feeling she never puts much faith in anymore. She had been burned too many times.
But she would take Peter's advice and just see what unfolds.
*
"I'm fine mom, stop worrying. I'm not a baby..."
"Chica you'll still be my baby when you're pushing forty."
Nadia smiles at her mother's tone and she can see it eases her. She had been so stressed and unhappy for so long that Nadia didn't want to add to it. The news about her father was distressing but she had suspected it would be. No one keeps a good secret. Now that she has time to think back maybe there were signs that things were not right with her dad, the forced isolation being the most obvious example. Her mother had labelled him crazy in such broad strokes that she may have missed the subtle signs.
Her mother had told her the truth about that but not everything, Nadia is sure. But this time she doesn't want to prod any further. She can't take anymore bad news. She clings to the prospect of communication through letters with her dad and can not wait to put pen to paper. These people, the Petrelli's , are helping them. Peter - a multiple ability person just like her father - is going to take her mom to another country, Haiti. A place that shares the same Island as her mom's home. She had been given the choice to come but she could see the trepidation in her mother's eyes. She didn't want her to come along, why Nadia didn't know but she guesses it has something to do with the secret.
"You'll only be gone for a few days right?"
"Right! And Peter can take us back like that." she snaps her fingers and then leans over to kiss Nadia's forehead, brushing her hair back. "I think it would be safer for you here Nad. Until I can find a good place for us to live."
Nadia wasn't going to lie, the thought of living in this place exists her more then any place her mother could find. "I can explore the mansion! Richy said he'd show me around." He was a weird little kid, fragile and wheezy but nice enough she guessed. Her mother stands as Peter comes forward and smiles down at her.
"Hey kiddo. Remember the priceless antiques cost a trillion-zillion dollars so if you break them..."
"...I can give you an IOU?" She comes back with sassily and he laughs. Peter was nice but sometimes she catches him staring at her features for too long, especially her eyebrows. It's making her feel self-conscious. She looks up at them as they stare at each other and a gaze passes between them, one Nadia couldn't read. It made her feel strange, whatever it was.
"Ready?" Peter asks and her mother nods, pulling her hair up to tie back with a band. She looks back down at Nadia and tears rim her eyes and she gets down on her hunches again.
"I don't like leaving you, I've never left you..."
"You did once, when you and daddy went on the roadtrip. You told me you saw snow. You got a cold." Seems so long ago now.
Her mother smiles wistfully at the memory before growing sad again. "I know but you were not alone then."
"I'm not alone now. Caitlin will look after me. I think I can take care of myself for a few days." Teary eyes shine with pride and she's pulled into a hug.
"I'll be back very soon, ok? Be a good girl Nadia, we are guests to these people." She says, standing and Nadia nods seriously. She can feel her throat growing tight and the back of her eyes itch as Peter takes her mother's hand and she would have run to them if a hand hadn't settled on her shoulder. She look up to see Caitlin smiling down at her and when she looks back her mother and Peter are gone. The Irish woman pulls her against her stomach and quietly shushes away her tears.
Characters/Pairing: Maya, Peter
Rating: PG
Word count: 4,112
Disclaimer: Do not own.
Summery: Rescued from Odessa Maya has to make a hard choice.
Note: KW Verse. Takes place after Let Go. Maya meets Peter. Sorry it's taken awhile.
Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4
"Peter Petrelli's been in a coma for two years."
Lemay's words constantly ring in her ears.
If Maya wasn't so used to it she'd laugh. It's gone well beyond the point of telling herself to stop feeling sorry for the misfortune she lives with, that it will get better or that it's all in her mind. She was cursed. Maybe someone with a real ability gave her the mal de ojo as a child and 2006 is when it came calling and hadn't stopped. No curandera could heal her and no loving god answered her prayers.
But the time for blame was past, all she could do was breathe in the next day and hope.
*
"A mansion?" Nadia whispers with awe as Maya nods, seated beside her. Lemay, again giving her more of his time and possible leeway then he should, drives them the ninety miles to Hyde Park. She wouldn't let herself be discouraged by the distressing information about Peter, he was still alive so the possibility of assistance was still open.
"It's more like a palace, like something you would find in Europe..."
"Where Adam comes from?"
Lemay's eyes dart to the mirror at the sound of the Englishman's name, looking at Nadia and then at Maya carefully. She nods, eyes narrowing at him and he looks back at the road. Lemay had been extremely interested to find the whereabouts of Monroe, why he would not tell her. Saying she had enough troubles on her plate and he didn't want to add more.
She looks down at Nadia who has been staring at the lush green scenery flicking past, something new and different to Texas. Her face is strangely peaceful, just enjoying the view and Maya reaches over the brush her child's hair back gently, a gesture that Gabriel had done numerous times.
"You ok baby? Hungry?" Nadia shakes her head and shrugs, looking back at her. Eyes that before had been mischievous and impassioned are now changed. An assiduousness now peers from her face, like she views things around her with extra insight and non more so then with her mother. Maya does not like it. She had told her as much as she could about Gabriel, trying not to lie but having to withhold the whole truth. He was helping people with his abilities but the task would be so great he wouldn't be able to see them. The words coming out of her mouth did not sound convincing but Nadia had nodded, even been proud that he would be helping others. But she couldn't stop the tears and those eyes gleaming under them.
"Can I write to him?"
Maya looks at Lemay and after a few seconds he nods. Maya exhales a shuddering breath and regards him with deep gratitude. "Si, I know that he would love that. You know if he could, he would be here."
"He wasn't before." she says, almost nonchalantly and Maya cocks her head.
"When?"
"Before the soldiers came, he wouldn't see us for months. You said he was sick but I dunno, maybe he wasn't. Maybe he just didn't want to see me." Her cheek gets sucked in, biting on it and Maya pulls her daughter to her, peering into her wet eyes.
"No, no, don't think that. He - he was ill and it, ah how to say it...it was like it overtook him."
Nadia's eyebrows dip and a sad but thoughtful expression comes over her. "In the head? You said he was crazy. You were always saying that but I didn't believe you. He was too...normal."
Maya swiftly glances at Lemay who watches the road and feeling awkward saying this with company she lowers her voice. "Madness sometimes does not show on the outside. It was not his fault, some people are just like that, even from when they are very little. He didn't have a good time growing up baby and it did something to him. But that doesn't change what he feels for you, he loves you, very much. I know this is hard on you and I wish that it wasn't but - but it has been something I've tried to tell you. Maybe I shouldn't have, you were too young..."
Nadia remains silent for some time, in taking it all until she is ready to speak. "What is wrong with him? Is he getting help?"
Maya shakes her head. "I honestly don't know, we both tried to find out before but..." she trails off, shying away from that topic. Instead she looks hopefully at Lemay. "But maybe he will get help. He just needs someone that knows about depression or whatever it is."
He keeps silent, not looking at her but Maya hopes that it will happen, for Nadia's sake.
*
The Vanderbilt Mansion - now Petrelli - stands in the Hudson Valley, surrounded by 211 acres of land. The last time Maya had been there she had been too preoccupied with the horrible events in her life that she really hadn't taken it in. Now it was like seeing it for the first time and the majesty of it all hits her like a fist. Nadia was speechless, gawping open mouthed at the neoclassic building standing titanic before them. Maya laughs.
"Impressive right?"
"You actually lived here mama?"
"Just for a little while, when I was pregnant with you...maybe later, if we are allowed, we could go for a walk, see the gardens..." she trails off, placing a hand over her eyes when the sound of a car approaches them. Maya turns to Lemay as he comes down from the front steps, shrugging.
"No one's staying there."
"Someone's coming."
A Ford Galaxy pulls up and a woman with brown waxy hair steps out and moves up to them stridently. "You know this is private property?" She speaks in a thick, lilting Irish accent and Maya leans closer to hear. She's always taken with other peoples languages and accents.
"Pardon, we didn't mean to trespass. I'm looking Peter Petrelli. I know he used to live here."
The Irish woman's eyes widen and then narrow. "What's ya name?"
"Maya Herrera. This is my daughter Nadia and this is Mr Lemay." As she made the introductions she woman had gasped and took a step towards her, face bathed with wonder. Maya leans back, surprised.
"You're Maya? Jesus you're finally here." All traces of suspicion are gone as she smiles widely and takes Maya's arm. She's greatly relieved.
"You knew I was coming?"
"Peter did. He said that he had found you but then..." she trails off, smile slipping before she touches a hand to her chest. "I'm Caitlin by the way, Peter's wife." She shepards them politely towards her car and Maya takes Nadia's hand and helps buckle her in. Revving the engine up Caitlin drives them away from the Mansion and back towards the house - a smaller mansion - they had past near the gates.
"You don't live up there anymore?"
"Christ no. Like living in a museum. There's fifty four rooms and I got sick of my hovers blowing up trying to clean the place." She grumbles and Nadia giggles and she eyes her with a smile. "How old are you love?"
"I'm seven but I'll be eight on the 21st of December." she replies promptly and Maya can see she's taken a shine to her.
"I thought you looked about the same age as my son, Richard. He's just a week older then you. Here we are then." She parks the car outside her home but before they enter Maya pulls her aside, out of ear shot.
"Lemay told me that Peter is in a coma."
Caitlin cuts her eyes towards the man in question and then back at Maya. "That man has his facts mixed up, as usual. Peter...what he does takes a lot out of him and he can't, won't, stop. He's almost catatonic most of the time but he can bring himself out of it."
"He - he's the one that cleared the air of the virus?"
"Here, yes. But it's too much for just one person. Even Peter." she stares at her significantly but Maya remains silent. Caitlin smiles. "So that's why I'm so relieved that you've come back."
"Why?"
"So you can help him." She says like it's obvious but Maya frowns.
"But I was told to come here for that reason, that Peter would help me."
Caitlin moves towards the front door. "I'm sure he will, when he's able..." Maya nods in understanding and looks back over her shoulder, at the mansion with a slight trepidation before looking at Caitlin in query.
"I don't know if you're the right person to ask but when I was here last, many years ago now, I left something there. My brother's ashes."
Caitlin regards her with sympathy, brushing her hand down her arm. "They're still there. Peter told me what happened and I'm sorry. I lost my big brother, around the same time you did. He was murdered."
"I'm sorry." Maya utters, swallowing as the other woman bolts her grief back up. She smiles swiftly in acceptance ad then rouses herself into a more cheerful mood.
"Please come in, I bet you're all starving!" She opens the door and takes off her coat and shows the rest of them in.
*
"We get a few people coming here every week, thinking he can heal them. I tell 'em it's not Lourdes but eh, I can't blame them..." Caitlin leads Maya up the stairs, lunch eaten. Nadia had been placed outside with Richard, a quiet and shy boy who Maya learned was named after his deceased uncle.
"I heard that in the hospitals they are people that can heal with a touch." Maya whispers, impressed.
Caitlin nods, stopping before a door. "They are but only so many. Healers are very much in demand, they're always looking for more. That's why people come here, they know what Peter can do. Or they think they do...Now don't be nervous ok? He's just sleeping and it usually takes him awhile to wake up, lazy sod." She adds with a quick loving smile and opens the door for Maya who steps through.
She had been expecting a man curled into a fetal position, drips and bleeping machines but it was remarkably normal. He sits up with a few pillows at his back, his eyes closed and face peaceful. Moving closer she sees that his skin is very pale and dark circles ring his eyes. She looks back at his wife who stays by the door.
"What is wrong with him?"
"He keeps on dying." she replies flatly and Maya gasps, standing by his bedside. Caitlin folds her arms over her chest, her gaze far away.
"I told you that using the ability was too much for one person, too much of a load. But he won't stop, silly beggar...he can never die, never grow old..." she trails off, blinking with that thousand yard stare and Maya feels her heart go out to the poor woman. Caitlin's clearly a strong person but she knows when someone has a wall built around them.
Maya looks down at Peter, not knowing how to answer. She takes a seat next to him and Caitlin leans off the door edge and uncrosses her arms with a smile.
"Right then, I'll leave you to it."
"What do I do?" Maya almost stands, not wanting her to go.
Caitlin cocks her head, staring at him. "Just talk to him and if that doesn't work try to go to sleep, to dream..." so saying she shuts the door and leaves Maya to ponder her advice. Clearing her throat Maya stares at him and tries to think what to say.
"Hello? Uh...I hope you can hear me. My name is Maya, we met...Well no we didn't. We saw each other once, from afar...I need your help..." Leaning back into the chair, and placing her hands around her knees Maya watches him silently as he continues to draw in deep breaths, very much asleep. Wiggling to make herself more comfortable she decides to take Caitlin's words seriously and closes her eyes.
...The river moves sluggish and appears very blue, reflecting the sky above. The scenery is exact, not something that she remembers. He stands by the balustrade, over looking the valley and turns to Maya as she stands still and nervous. She feels suddenly shy. But his smile at seeing her is very open, the gratitude and most of all relief is clear and she finds herself closer.
"Maya...it's been awhile." His voice is low, gruffer then she expected.
"I know, well we've never really met...Bennet told me that if we were ever face to face the world would end. Again." they share a smile at the memory of that gruff man, Peter nodding. The smiles fall and they quickly register each other's features, Maya for remembrance, Peter for assurance.
"You're finally here." she smiles and after a hesitating moment lets her hand rest on his arm. She exclaims with wonder.
"You feel so real! Where are we?"
"My dream." he turns back to the view and Maya drops her hand and joins him, staring over it. But the surreal landscape takes a backseat as she remembers why she is here. She stares seriously at the side of his face and she sees he's watching her peripherally.
"Gabriel said you can help me, he said you visited his dream."
"I did, we both have that ability. I will try to help you, with whatever but I need your help, more then you know." He turns his earnest face to her and Maya frowns.
"Your wife, she kept on saying this to me but I don't see how I can help you. If I could I would but..." she trails off, shrugging and he turns fully to her, expression now more uneasy.
"You don't know? He didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what? Gabriel?" she scoffs suddenly, this shouldn't be something to be shocked about. She sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. "Go on then, tell me."
"Uh, well...I'm not sure how to say it so I'll just get to the point. I have your ability and it literally kills me every time I absorb too much with it. It's an ability that works correctly with two, a synergy, otherwise..." he shakes his head, serious and Maya stares at him open mouthed, speechless. Her eyes flickers over him, especially to his eyes until she gulps, a convulsive motion.
"I don't know what to say...dios, it - it's killing you?" She frowns, coming closer with concern and he tilts his head back and takes her hand. She then finds herself seated on a bench, still on the balcony. Maya keeps her hand in his.
"There's information that's been kept from you and I think you know by who." his mouth thins before continuing. "I know you think that the ability is a curse, that it can only bring death. I thought the same at first but god, if you only knew! It's so much better then that. It has a flip side Maya: viruses, diseases can be absorbed with the ability and destroyed. That's what I've been doing for the last four years but it's also the reason I've been stuck, off and on, in that bed for two. It was never meant for one person to handle alone, it can be hard to stop once you start. I - I know you had a twin who had the same ability..."
Maya, transfixed and completely shocked by his speech now stirs and a dark melancholy surrounds her. "At one time I would have been so angry with him, now I'm just disappointed...he knew, right from the beginning, before you even did anything." she shakes with emotion, appalled and closes her eyes. "He all but told me but I didn't believe him, how could I? I could never trust him and even if I did it just seems impossible. I've killed hundreds of people...I've killed children, they would have been the same age as my daughter." Maya bites down hard on the inside of her cheeks, tears scorching her. This is the first time she had spoken about this with anyone, she couldn't even talk about it with her twin, the process too painful. He regards her quietly with sympathy, understanding in his eyes. Maya gasps and the tears spill. "Have - did you have control over it straight away?" She prays that he did.
"No, not at first...I killed ten people with it. That was the first time it happened." He looks away from her, depressed at the memory and Maya grips his hand tighter, feeling a great swell of empathy. No one knew what it was like to bare, not even her brother. Sitting together they spend what feels like hours talking, Peter telling her about the ability and his life, what happened after she had been kidnapped. Maya sensed that the man was not telling her everything about himself, there was a deep misery about him that he was trying to hide but she didn't pressure him to know. As for her tale she told him as much as she could and he was surprised at the forgiving tone she used while talking about Gabriel, requesting gently for him not to call him Sylar.
"I hated him for so long, just loathed him and it was an all consuming feeling. It ruined my life, I thought he was a demon, I couldn't stop thinking of him like that. Especially those first few years...But now I don't think he is evil, I know now. People are afraid of things they don't understand but I've lived with him for over eight years, so...I think I understand him, as much as that's possible. He feels guilt for what he has done and if things had been different for him I think he could have grown into a great man. But I do feel peace about my brother now, his murder has not been forgotten and justice has been served."
"I'm sorry...seems like you, me and Caitlin have all lost brothers. We still have his ashes you know, anytime you want them you're free to take them."
"Gracias. I - I don't even know what to do with them...I think he would like to be back home but..." she trails off, feeling nervous and Peter's expression becomes thoughtful.
"From what you've told me it sounds like you want to go back home. Now you have that chance."
"But Lemay -"
"Forget him!" he says with annoyance and Maya is surprised. Neither Peter nor Caitlin seemed to like the man. Peter leans closer to her, eyes intense. "Once he knows that you're needed, that you can save people, he won't do anything to challenge that. He lost his whole family in the first outbreak, not even he would wish that on anyone if it can be prevented. You're important Maya."
"You keep saying that but I do not have the ability anymore. And, t-this is going to sound terrible but just the thought of having it again makes me feel sick...I do not trust myself with it." she confesses, the memory of black-eyed people falling at her feet hazy but her reaction to it clear. Just a faint concern, what did it matter? She was already going to hell. "I never want Nadia to know, she has no idea. About anything." Peter grips her shoulders in his hands, making Maya stiffen slightly before she relaxes. She's not used to the touch of another man.
"I understand, more then you can believe. I know that fear...but we're talking about thousands of lives, people that you can save. If you could have a chance to make amends, if it was in your power, wouldn't you take it? It's been a source of salvation to me."
Maya stays silent, caught up in his emotional and righteous expression and it moves her. "I believe you, I do but I just can't shake the feeling. It has brought me nothing but misery."
Peter nods with understanding before he stands suddenly, bringing her up with him. He suddenly has a very proactive and bright outlook. "Then I'll have to show you, won't I? As for your ability I think someone can help us there."
"Who?"
"Rene."
The Haitian, Maya thinks and she experiences a strange fluttery feeling at the pit of her stomach. He had been been a man she had immediately grown attached to, someone she felt very safe with.
"Where is he?"
"Haiti. Stay the night, or however long you need and when you're ready we'll teleport over. From there...well, we'll see what happens. How does that sound?"
She smiles in thanks, outwardly grateful but inwardly she can't stop the pessimism from rearing. Things seemed to be taking something of an upturn, her life and freedom something that finally feels more substantial and in her control but it was a feeling she never puts much faith in anymore. She had been burned too many times.
But she would take Peter's advice and just see what unfolds.
*
"I'm fine mom, stop worrying. I'm not a baby..."
"Chica you'll still be my baby when you're pushing forty."
Nadia smiles at her mother's tone and she can see it eases her. She had been so stressed and unhappy for so long that Nadia didn't want to add to it. The news about her father was distressing but she had suspected it would be. No one keeps a good secret. Now that she has time to think back maybe there were signs that things were not right with her dad, the forced isolation being the most obvious example. Her mother had labelled him crazy in such broad strokes that she may have missed the subtle signs.
Her mother had told her the truth about that but not everything, Nadia is sure. But this time she doesn't want to prod any further. She can't take anymore bad news. She clings to the prospect of communication through letters with her dad and can not wait to put pen to paper. These people, the Petrelli's , are helping them. Peter - a multiple ability person just like her father - is going to take her mom to another country, Haiti. A place that shares the same Island as her mom's home. She had been given the choice to come but she could see the trepidation in her mother's eyes. She didn't want her to come along, why Nadia didn't know but she guesses it has something to do with the secret.
"You'll only be gone for a few days right?"
"Right! And Peter can take us back like that." she snaps her fingers and then leans over to kiss Nadia's forehead, brushing her hair back. "I think it would be safer for you here Nad. Until I can find a good place for us to live."
Nadia wasn't going to lie, the thought of living in this place exists her more then any place her mother could find. "I can explore the mansion! Richy said he'd show me around." He was a weird little kid, fragile and wheezy but nice enough she guessed. Her mother stands as Peter comes forward and smiles down at her.
"Hey kiddo. Remember the priceless antiques cost a trillion-zillion dollars so if you break them..."
"...I can give you an IOU?" She comes back with sassily and he laughs. Peter was nice but sometimes she catches him staring at her features for too long, especially her eyebrows. It's making her feel self-conscious. She looks up at them as they stare at each other and a gaze passes between them, one Nadia couldn't read. It made her feel strange, whatever it was.
"Ready?" Peter asks and her mother nods, pulling her hair up to tie back with a band. She looks back down at Nadia and tears rim her eyes and she gets down on her hunches again.
"I don't like leaving you, I've never left you..."
"You did once, when you and daddy went on the roadtrip. You told me you saw snow. You got a cold." Seems so long ago now.
Her mother smiles wistfully at the memory before growing sad again. "I know but you were not alone then."
"I'm not alone now. Caitlin will look after me. I think I can take care of myself for a few days." Teary eyes shine with pride and she's pulled into a hug.
"I'll be back very soon, ok? Be a good girl Nadia, we are guests to these people." She says, standing and Nadia nods seriously. She can feel her throat growing tight and the back of her eyes itch as Peter takes her mother's hand and she would have run to them if a hand hadn't settled on her shoulder. She look up to see Caitlin smiling down at her and when she looks back her mother and Peter are gone. The Irish woman pulls her against her stomach and quietly shushes away her tears.