Years of Longing, part 3*/?
Title: Keep Her Safe
Fandom: Heroes
Rating/Genre: G/het
Characters/Pairing: Angela Petrelli, Claire Bennet, Noah Bennet, Jackie, the Haitian (Angela/Noah if you squint)
Summary: Umm… “Save the cheerleader”? But Claire is not a cheerleader yet; in this fic, she’s only eight years old, and Angela has a dream…
Prompt: Mystic table, #3 Innocence at 10iloveyou
Word count:1 723
Spoilers/Warnings: None
Notes: If you like, this can be a “chapter” that fits chronologically after Qu’elle est belle.
Edit: Edit: * This is the 4th chapter I've posted, but chronologically, it's part 3! (Stupid me, I know...)
The two blonde girls are swinging in the swings on the playground. Sun shining. People everywhere. Teenage boys voices: “What time is it? - Two minutes pas two! - Shit, mom is gonna kill us if we miss the bus!” Laughing voices. The girls are swinging higher and higher, faster and faster. Then, without warning, the chain breaks from one of the swings. It takes just a second. The girl is flying through the air with a shrill scream. People running, girl immobile on the ground. Blood, from her head. Her leg - shining white through red flesh. “Call an ambulance!” No. Don’t call. Ambulance arrives. Then, hospital. The mother is talking about concussion, plaster, broken spine - what if she’ll never walk again? The father is paler than a sheet of paper, sweating, his eyes desperate. “Children heals easily…”, he murmurs. Yes, especially this child. Doctors arrive. “She was unconscious, bleeding from her head, needed stitches, her leg was broken…” Was broken? Everything spins faster. “Can’t explain, a mystery, some people want to ask you some questions about her, do you mind? The girl is not hurt. We want to ask you about her.” No. it wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
As long as I’m still dreaming, it has not happened yet.
***
Two blonde girls were running toward the swings, racing. It was a competition, but just for fun - right?
Suddenly, the smaller one of the two stopped.
“Hey, Claire, who’s that?”
The other one turned around, but didn’t look too closely.
“You stopped”, she said, “that means I won.”
“It does not! I’m faster than you anyway. The lady’s looking at us. Do you know her?”
Claire didn't know her, but then the unknown woman at the gate waved and smiled. She waved twice. A young black man was standing by her side, two steps behind her.
“It looks like she wants to say something”, Claire said and started walking, somewhat hesitatingly, toward the dark haired woman and her companion.
The other girl didn’t follow.
“We’re not supposed to talk to strangers!”
Claire sighed and talked to her friend over her shoulder:
“But what if it’s important? And what could they do anyway? Kidnap us right in front of your mom? She’s sitting on a bench over there…”
The other girl started walking, and the two girls reached the entrance of the playground, where the woman smiled warmly at them.
“Hello, Claire. I’m Angela, and this is a friend of mine. We work with your dad, and we’re here to pick you up.”
“No you’re not!” Claire immediately replied, “I’m supposed to stay here until four o’clock when my dad is coming to pick me up.”
“I know, sweetheart. And you’re a good girl; it’s very wise of you to be suspicious. But you see, your dad has changed his plans for today. We’re all going to have ice-cream. Look, there he is, do you see him?”
Yes, the woman who said her name was Angela was right; Claire could see her dad coming from the parking lot, and when he was close enough for her to see a well-known smile on his face, she relaxed.
“I love ice-cream,” she said, “cool. Bye Jackie, see you tomorrow.”
Jackie looked annoyed.
“I’m gonna tell my mom that I want ice-cream, too. A big one.”
“You do that, Jackie”, Angela says, “and don’t go anywhere near those swings. They are not safe.”
The girls turned around and looked at the set of swings that nobody was using at the moment. Then a boy rushed toward them, and with a giant leap he landed on one of the swings - and the chains broke immediately. But as the boy didn’t have any speed yet, the fall wasn’t serious and he didn’t seem to get hurt.
Jackie and Claire looked wide-eyed at the stranger.
“Wow”, Jackie said, “did you know that just by looking at it?”
“Yes”, Angela replied.
“Hi Claire-bear”, said Noah Bennet as he came closer, “I see you’ve met Angela already.”
Jackie’s mother had noticed the sudden assembly of people at the gate, and came to ask what was going on. Noah explained that an old friend had unexpectedly come to visit, and that’s why he decided to pick up Claire early.
With her father’s hand in hers, surrounded by Angela and her friend, Claire walked to the car. During the ride and when they were eating their ice-cream, Claire answered the unfamiliar lady’s questions about her school, her friends, her younger brother Lyle. She talked about her dance classes after school, and said that she wanted to become a cheerleader when she was older, just like Jackie’s sister.
“I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful cheerleader one day”, Angela smiled, and the eight-year-old beamed with joy.
The lady was nice, she thought; she seemed interested and listened to everything she said. Claire thought about how she was going to tell her mom about dad’s friends later, but somehow, when she got home, Claire had forgotten all about the woman called Angela. She didn’t even remember the ice-cream.
***
Noah Bennet glanced at the Haitian who was turning his back on them, looking at something - or so it seemed - at the other end of the street. He didn’t seem to listen to or even care about the two persons in his company.
“Angela”, Noah said, “he took everything, didn’t he? Claire won’t remember this.”
Angela nodded, but looked a little sad. When Noah asked her why she was there, she said that she was just passing by.
“Yeah, right. It’s not like you’ve got a plan with everything you do…”
Angela looked almost surprised at the younger Company employee.
“What’s the matter, Noah?”
“Nothing”, he murmured and fixed her with his determined eyes, “I just wish I knew what your plans are.”
Angela sniffed at his words.
“No. Believe me; you don’t. And you should be glad that you don’t need to know. Your job is to keep Claire safe, and to do what you’re told. That’s all, and I trust you don’t have a problem with that.”
Noah knew that she was right; he was not supposed to question the orders he was given. But he didn’t question the orders, really, or Angela Petrelli’s authority nor her unwillingness to give him any details. It was something else he wanted from her and she knew it; he was certain of it.
“I know that I’m supposed to keep Claire safe”, he said, “I carried her out of a fire when she was a baby, before I knew her and before I knew that I would ever know her. And she’s my daughter now. If I did that then, don’t you see that there is nothing I wouldn’t do for her now?”
“Yes”, Angela admitted, but Noah wasn’t sure that he believed her.
“So why did you come, why didn’t you just call me, and I could have picked her up at the playground myself.”
Angela pressed her lips together.
“I wanted to see the child”, she said; calm as if she was talking about a specially designed piece of clothing. “I haven’t seen her since she was a baby, and I was curious.”
“And now you’ve seen her. Why, did you think I don’t take care of her good enough?”
“I never said that. That’s not what this is about.”
Noah didn’t seem to notice the shiver in Angela’s voice and the longing behind it. He was getting upset. Noah mostly stayed calm and focused at least on the surface, especially on the rare occasions he got a chance to see Angela, but this was about Claire.
“What am I supposed to do, then?” he said. “She’s a little girl, not a piece of gold in a safe. She has to be allowed to do things, I can’t watch her every step.”
“Of course not.” Angela made her voice sharp to cut through Noah’s anger. “I know perfectly well that Claire is a little girl, and she is supposed to have a normal, happy childhood with you and your family, that’s the point of all this. But watch her as closely as you can, Noah.”
Noah looked confused for a moment, as if he suddenly forgot what they were talking about. All he knew was that Angela took one small step away from him, as if to say that the discussion was over.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Of course”, she said; seemingly surprised at his question.
“Why can’t you stay?” he blurted out with a glimpse of that boyish eagerness Angela thought he had gotten over. “Why don’t you stay, why are we never alone?”
“We wouldn’t be alone if I stayed because I’ve got company”, Angela pointed out, but not without kindness, “and you’ve got a family, remember?”
Noah knew that he really shouldn’t say things like that to Angela Petrelli, she had made that clear to him years ago, but now he couldn’t stop.
“Yeah, but what if we went somewhere else”, he suggested, “it wouldn’t be a problem; you know I travel a lot…”
“Don’t be ridiculous”, Angela interrupted, “what in the world has gotten into you?”
Angela’s words lacked conviction; at least, that was what Noah tried to believe.
“You know the answer to that. That’s why we’re never alone anymore, because you’re afraid of what might hap - “
“That’s enough!”
This time, it was hard to doubt Angela’s conviction.
Noah met her steady gaze, and he just couldn’t tell from the look in her eyes what she was thinking.
“I thought that you would understand”, Angela said, “for Claire’s sake. But it’s obvious that you don’t. Noah… I didn’t want to do this, but now I think it’s for the best if you forget that I was here today.”
So the Haitian had been listening after all. He turned around, and walked towards them; silently, unhesitatingly, and without emotion in his face, as if Noah was nothing but a piece of garbage he had to remove from his lady’s sight.
“No, Angela, why do you… Angela, I don’t want to forget that I saw you today.”
But Angela turned around, and walked away.
She stopped, and then turned to look at the two men over her shoulder.
“Keep Claire safe, remember! That’s the important thing.”
Fandom: Heroes
Rating/Genre: G/het
Characters/Pairing: Angela Petrelli, Claire Bennet, Noah Bennet, Jackie, the Haitian (Angela/Noah if you squint)
Summary: Umm… “Save the cheerleader”? But Claire is not a cheerleader yet; in this fic, she’s only eight years old, and Angela has a dream…
Prompt: Mystic table, #3 Innocence at 10iloveyou
Word count:1 723
Spoilers/Warnings: None
Notes: If you like, this can be a “chapter” that fits chronologically after Qu’elle est belle.
Edit: Edit: * This is the 4th chapter I've posted, but chronologically, it's part 3! (Stupid me, I know...)
The two blonde girls are swinging in the swings on the playground. Sun shining. People everywhere. Teenage boys voices: “What time is it? - Two minutes pas two! - Shit, mom is gonna kill us if we miss the bus!” Laughing voices. The girls are swinging higher and higher, faster and faster. Then, without warning, the chain breaks from one of the swings. It takes just a second. The girl is flying through the air with a shrill scream. People running, girl immobile on the ground. Blood, from her head. Her leg - shining white through red flesh. “Call an ambulance!” No. Don’t call. Ambulance arrives. Then, hospital. The mother is talking about concussion, plaster, broken spine - what if she’ll never walk again? The father is paler than a sheet of paper, sweating, his eyes desperate. “Children heals easily…”, he murmurs. Yes, especially this child. Doctors arrive. “She was unconscious, bleeding from her head, needed stitches, her leg was broken…” Was broken? Everything spins faster. “Can’t explain, a mystery, some people want to ask you some questions about her, do you mind? The girl is not hurt. We want to ask you about her.” No. it wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
As long as I’m still dreaming, it has not happened yet.
***
Two blonde girls were running toward the swings, racing. It was a competition, but just for fun - right?
Suddenly, the smaller one of the two stopped.
“Hey, Claire, who’s that?”
The other one turned around, but didn’t look too closely.
“You stopped”, she said, “that means I won.”
“It does not! I’m faster than you anyway. The lady’s looking at us. Do you know her?”
Claire didn't know her, but then the unknown woman at the gate waved and smiled. She waved twice. A young black man was standing by her side, two steps behind her.
“It looks like she wants to say something”, Claire said and started walking, somewhat hesitatingly, toward the dark haired woman and her companion.
The other girl didn’t follow.
“We’re not supposed to talk to strangers!”
Claire sighed and talked to her friend over her shoulder:
“But what if it’s important? And what could they do anyway? Kidnap us right in front of your mom? She’s sitting on a bench over there…”
The other girl started walking, and the two girls reached the entrance of the playground, where the woman smiled warmly at them.
“Hello, Claire. I’m Angela, and this is a friend of mine. We work with your dad, and we’re here to pick you up.”
“No you’re not!” Claire immediately replied, “I’m supposed to stay here until four o’clock when my dad is coming to pick me up.”
“I know, sweetheart. And you’re a good girl; it’s very wise of you to be suspicious. But you see, your dad has changed his plans for today. We’re all going to have ice-cream. Look, there he is, do you see him?”
Yes, the woman who said her name was Angela was right; Claire could see her dad coming from the parking lot, and when he was close enough for her to see a well-known smile on his face, she relaxed.
“I love ice-cream,” she said, “cool. Bye Jackie, see you tomorrow.”
Jackie looked annoyed.
“I’m gonna tell my mom that I want ice-cream, too. A big one.”
“You do that, Jackie”, Angela says, “and don’t go anywhere near those swings. They are not safe.”
The girls turned around and looked at the set of swings that nobody was using at the moment. Then a boy rushed toward them, and with a giant leap he landed on one of the swings - and the chains broke immediately. But as the boy didn’t have any speed yet, the fall wasn’t serious and he didn’t seem to get hurt.
Jackie and Claire looked wide-eyed at the stranger.
“Wow”, Jackie said, “did you know that just by looking at it?”
“Yes”, Angela replied.
“Hi Claire-bear”, said Noah Bennet as he came closer, “I see you’ve met Angela already.”
Jackie’s mother had noticed the sudden assembly of people at the gate, and came to ask what was going on. Noah explained that an old friend had unexpectedly come to visit, and that’s why he decided to pick up Claire early.
With her father’s hand in hers, surrounded by Angela and her friend, Claire walked to the car. During the ride and when they were eating their ice-cream, Claire answered the unfamiliar lady’s questions about her school, her friends, her younger brother Lyle. She talked about her dance classes after school, and said that she wanted to become a cheerleader when she was older, just like Jackie’s sister.
“I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful cheerleader one day”, Angela smiled, and the eight-year-old beamed with joy.
The lady was nice, she thought; she seemed interested and listened to everything she said. Claire thought about how she was going to tell her mom about dad’s friends later, but somehow, when she got home, Claire had forgotten all about the woman called Angela. She didn’t even remember the ice-cream.
***
Noah Bennet glanced at the Haitian who was turning his back on them, looking at something - or so it seemed - at the other end of the street. He didn’t seem to listen to or even care about the two persons in his company.
“Angela”, Noah said, “he took everything, didn’t he? Claire won’t remember this.”
Angela nodded, but looked a little sad. When Noah asked her why she was there, she said that she was just passing by.
“Yeah, right. It’s not like you’ve got a plan with everything you do…”
Angela looked almost surprised at the younger Company employee.
“What’s the matter, Noah?”
“Nothing”, he murmured and fixed her with his determined eyes, “I just wish I knew what your plans are.”
Angela sniffed at his words.
“No. Believe me; you don’t. And you should be glad that you don’t need to know. Your job is to keep Claire safe, and to do what you’re told. That’s all, and I trust you don’t have a problem with that.”
Noah knew that she was right; he was not supposed to question the orders he was given. But he didn’t question the orders, really, or Angela Petrelli’s authority nor her unwillingness to give him any details. It was something else he wanted from her and she knew it; he was certain of it.
“I know that I’m supposed to keep Claire safe”, he said, “I carried her out of a fire when she was a baby, before I knew her and before I knew that I would ever know her. And she’s my daughter now. If I did that then, don’t you see that there is nothing I wouldn’t do for her now?”
“Yes”, Angela admitted, but Noah wasn’t sure that he believed her.
“So why did you come, why didn’t you just call me, and I could have picked her up at the playground myself.”
Angela pressed her lips together.
“I wanted to see the child”, she said; calm as if she was talking about a specially designed piece of clothing. “I haven’t seen her since she was a baby, and I was curious.”
“And now you’ve seen her. Why, did you think I don’t take care of her good enough?”
“I never said that. That’s not what this is about.”
Noah didn’t seem to notice the shiver in Angela’s voice and the longing behind it. He was getting upset. Noah mostly stayed calm and focused at least on the surface, especially on the rare occasions he got a chance to see Angela, but this was about Claire.
“What am I supposed to do, then?” he said. “She’s a little girl, not a piece of gold in a safe. She has to be allowed to do things, I can’t watch her every step.”
“Of course not.” Angela made her voice sharp to cut through Noah’s anger. “I know perfectly well that Claire is a little girl, and she is supposed to have a normal, happy childhood with you and your family, that’s the point of all this. But watch her as closely as you can, Noah.”
Noah looked confused for a moment, as if he suddenly forgot what they were talking about. All he knew was that Angela took one small step away from him, as if to say that the discussion was over.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Of course”, she said; seemingly surprised at his question.
“Why can’t you stay?” he blurted out with a glimpse of that boyish eagerness Angela thought he had gotten over. “Why don’t you stay, why are we never alone?”
“We wouldn’t be alone if I stayed because I’ve got company”, Angela pointed out, but not without kindness, “and you’ve got a family, remember?”
Noah knew that he really shouldn’t say things like that to Angela Petrelli, she had made that clear to him years ago, but now he couldn’t stop.
“Yeah, but what if we went somewhere else”, he suggested, “it wouldn’t be a problem; you know I travel a lot…”
“Don’t be ridiculous”, Angela interrupted, “what in the world has gotten into you?”
Angela’s words lacked conviction; at least, that was what Noah tried to believe.
“You know the answer to that. That’s why we’re never alone anymore, because you’re afraid of what might hap - “
“That’s enough!”
This time, it was hard to doubt Angela’s conviction.
Noah met her steady gaze, and he just couldn’t tell from the look in her eyes what she was thinking.
“I thought that you would understand”, Angela said, “for Claire’s sake. But it’s obvious that you don’t. Noah… I didn’t want to do this, but now I think it’s for the best if you forget that I was here today.”
So the Haitian had been listening after all. He turned around, and walked towards them; silently, unhesitatingly, and without emotion in his face, as if Noah was nothing but a piece of garbage he had to remove from his lady’s sight.
“No, Angela, why do you… Angela, I don’t want to forget that I saw you today.”
But Angela turned around, and walked away.
She stopped, and then turned to look at the two men over her shoulder.
“Keep Claire safe, remember! That’s the important thing.”