Fic: RapunzElle

[josiefier]

Title: RapunzElle
Summary: The entrapment, the flowing hair, the secret visits from a beau. You guessed it, Noah and Elle set to Rapunzel.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Heroes is not owned by me, but by Tim Kring. I’m simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.
A/N: You can thank a friend for most of the summary. Also this is the first of three Noelle fairy tales I've written, so here now is possibly my favorite Heroes pairing with my absolute favorite fairy tale. *bows down to those amazing Grimm boys*

~~



When Elle Bishop was seven years old her father, Bob brought her into The Company. He and his team tested her, experimented on her and in truth tortured her for several years just to see what she could do with her ability.

As Elle began to grow up her father feared her attachment to other men. He knew she would one day give into temptation with a man and likely be forever distracted from the goals he had for her. He wouldn’t have it.

It was on his daughter’s thirteenth birthday Bob led her to a special, secluded room on the top level of Primatech. All things considered it was a very nice room. It was larger than the cells and also unlike the cells it had four solid walls and a window as well as a nicely made up four-poster bed fit for a princess. It was all Elle would know as she continued to grow up. In truth it had all that she needed in the form of necessities, though hardly what she really wanted. Still her father had presented it with promises of no one being able to ever use her for her ability or harm her because of what she could do. Claiming it was for her safety made her much more welcoming of the idea.

Her father was the only other person she saw for the next several years. He would bring her meals and just check up on her every so often. Mostly to be sure she wasn’t trying to escape and that no one had found her. He knew she longed for friendship but the more she asked about the outside the darker he painted the portrait of the world.

Bob’s plan had been working but there was one thing he hadn’t counted on and that was Elle being in the window on the very day a curious Company Man looked up at the sight of movement in the sole window.

It was on Elle’s twenty-first birthday that Noah’s curiosity had gotten the better of him. He had never been told of someone on the top level. Bob had been sure never to mention his daughter to anyone. His men had their assignments, took the criminals to their cells on their designated levels, each one lower than the next. Until that moment Noah had believed that Level 1 of Primatech was the top level. Or at least the top level for those who worked there.

Part of him had wanted to ask Bob about what he had seen, but having known the man for as long as he had he knew how he would react. He could go to the room with the window himself and face the consequences later or be told that what he had seen was nothing and return the next day to find the window gone.

The choice was simple, really.

“You’re early,” Elle commented to the man knocking on her door as she walked towards it.

“Somehow I don’t think I’m who you were expecting,” Noah smiled slightly as he watched the petite blonde pull the door open. At the sight of her he suddenly felt rather uncertain about what he had done. Bob had to be hiding her away for a reason, it was now he thought he knew why.

Elle took a step back and then another. “Who are you?”

“I work here. My name is Bennet. Who are you? Why are you up here?”

“I’m Elle. I live here,” she answered, still trying to understand what this man could want. After all to her memory she had never known him and certainly didn’t know people worked here. The window faced away from the parking areas and the prisoner loading areas. For all she knew she was the only one there. Or so her father had led her to believe at least.

A quick glance around the modest room proved to Noah that she was telling the truth. “Why?”

“Because it’s not safe for me out there. My father always tells me that those outside would only want to use my ability or kill me because of what I can do. I‘m better off here.”

“Your father?” he asked before he could even think.

“Bob Bishop,” she nodded with a smile.

Noah sighed. He should have known. Only Bob would make his daughter as much of a prisoner within The Company as the criminals in the cells on the levels below despite hardly being deserving of it.

“I need you to do something for me,” he carefully told her.

“What?” She backed away again. She had said too much, she knew it now. No one else was supposed to be here, she could only think how he meant to hurt her.

“I need you to not tell your father I was here. This was my fault, I wouldn‘t want him to harm you for it.”

“Wait,” she quietly called to him as he turned to walk out the door. “How did you know I was here?”

His gaze met hers as he answered, “I saw you in the window.”

With that she watched him leave and already she was wishing he hadn’t. He had been her first chance at a friend in what had seemed like her whole life. All that time of her father excluding her from the outside world and yet this man didn’t seem to be so bad. She had mentioned her ability and he hadn’t even asked what it was, much less for her to show it to him or try to use it for his own benefit. He certainly hadn’t hurt her, hadn’t even tried and had seemed to care when he told her not to tell her father. But then he could have just been trying to gain her trust to later use it against her. Yes, her father had warned her about people like that but then he had also sworn no one would find her.

The next day Elle was in the window again, staring down at the ground beneath. She hadn’t seen Noah the day before until hr had come to her room, but he had said that he saw her. She hoped he would again, that he would come to her again. No matter how dangerous it could be for them both, she was glad to finally have someone to talk to, even if for only minutes at a time.

Of course he saw her later, he knew where to find her now and his curiosity was still growing. Why had she been there so long? Would Bob ever let her leave? How little did she really know about the world? It wasn’t for another two days that he could bring himself to sneak back up to her room.

She was at the door in an instant. Bob had left an hour before and she knew he wouldn’t be back for at least another several.

“You came back,” she smiled, relieved at the sight of the older man.

“You didn’t tell your father about me,” he half-smiled in reply as he stepped into her room.

“Because I wanted to see you again,” she nervously admitted.

“How can he do this to you?” he asked before he could stop himself.

“He says he’s protecting me,” she answered, surprised he would ask again.

“There are other, better ways he could protect you than keeping you hidden and alone up here.” He couldn’t imagine doing this to Claire, though he had to admit the thought had occurred to him once or twice.

“I’m not really alone anymore, am I?” she almost laughed. He certainly knew where to find her and he had come back after all.

“You know what I mean, Elle. This isn’t fair to you. You should be allowed to have a real life outside of here.”

“Daddy says that if I did I’d just get hurt.”

He nodded. He knew what it was like. He guessed now was a good time to admit it. “There are ways to keep you safe outside of here. I’ve seen it for myself.”

“How?” This was a first for her. Could it be true?

“My daughter has an ability too,” he stated just above a whisper.

“And she’s not here?” Elle’s heart was only sinking at the realizations.

“I’ve done everything I can to keep her away from here. This is a place for the worst of the specials, a place where they do horrible things to some, create some even by downright torturing them.” He was speaking of her then and he sensed that she knew it in some way, but he couldn’t say it. Finally he took a breath and asked, “How long have you been here?”

“For as long as I can remember. My whole life, I guess. It’s all I’ve known, this room, right here.”

Noah stayed longer that day, his paternal instincts taking over as he now felt the same need to protect her that he had felt for Claire ever since discovering her power. He left only when Elle told him he had to, knowing what would happen if Bob found him there.

He came back that very night after he had carefully watched Bob leave, making sure to wait a few extra minutes just to be certain he wouldn’t come back so soon.

“I thought -” Elle said as she opened the door, thinking it was her father again.

“Hi,” Noah breathed.

“I live here, what’s your excuse?” Elle smirked. It was after nine, he had talked about his home earlier, it didn’t makes sense why he was still there.

He smiled. “I can’t seem to stay away.”

“Then don’t,” she told him as she closed the door. He had held her earlier, he had worked to cheer her up as best he could and hadn’t left until he had seen her smile despite what it could have meant for him. Now he was back again.

Hours began to pass as he told her about how he could help her, how he would help her. He hadn’t anticipated kissing her, certainly hadn’t anticipated her returning it, nor had he imagined she would cling to him as she did or welcome his becoming too lost in the moment. She was following his lead every step of the way and when they awoke the next morning she was still in his arms.

He kissed her goodbye and left her with the promise he would be back that night. They ended up repeating the same thing for the next two months, both careful to avoid saying anything to make her father suspicious.

At least until one fateful day that Noah had slipped. He and Bob had been talking about Claire, about how she had wanted him to come home and he had said Elle’s name. Already that was enough to tell the man everything he had needed to know. Why his daughter had been so much happier of late, why she never let him stay more than a matter of minutes in her room anymore. Noah. He should have known. He had always had a habit of sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.

“What took you so long?” Elle asked when she heard the knock on her door later that night. Noah usually showed up just after sunset, it had been hours since then.

“Expecting someone else, were you?” Bob asked her.

Elle knew she was right to be scared when he stepped further into her room. He had to know. Why else wouldn’t he have left already and why else wouldn’t Noah have been there?

Noah had wanted to stay away for the night, wanting to protect her. Why couldn’t he have kept quiet? Why did he have to mention Claire? Why couldn’t he stop thinking about Elle for just five minutes when he had been talking to her father? Why had he said her name?

Despite wanting to stay away he had seen that Bob had stayed late. In his concern he watched him, wanting to know he wouldn’t go to Elle. When he saw where his superior was headed he opted to follow. He wouldn’t have Elle blamed for what he had done.

With a sigh Noah reached the top of the back stairs and just as he reached Elle’s door he could only watch as it flew open. Bob’s angry eyes staring deep into his.

“How did I know?” Bob growled.

“Bob, it’s not -”

“No?” he asked as he looked back to his softly sobbing daughter.

Noah’s gaze followed. He would have gone to her, but the sound of a safety being taken off of Bob’s gun stopped him.

“I always knew the day would come that you would betray me, Bennet. I just never assumed it would be like this. I knew I should have welded that door shut.”

Noah stepped into the room, part of him not caring if Bob would shoot him for it. “You put Elle here to keep her safe and now you’re ready to shoot the one person who’s actually been trying to help her, to prove to her that she doesn’t have to be locked away to be safe? The truth is you keep her here because you’re scared. You know what she would do to you if she knew the truths you’ve been keeping from her.”

“You always were too curious and too helpful for your own good, Bennet. Tell me, how does Claire like her life of luxury where she’s still left to fear for her life against certain specials you can never seem to keep locked away?”

Noah almost smirked. “You want to shoot me? Go ahead. Prove to Elle here and now who really loves her enough to risk everything to protect her.”

“Noah!” she cried, standing from the bed.

With that Bob fired and hit Noah, sending him out of the window. Elle’s scream was all either of the men heard until Noah landed. Without even thinking Elle turned back to her father and proved how right her lover had been right about Bob rightfully living in fear of his daughter. In seconds she was sending a long, sharp blast of electricity into him. As far as she knew Noah was dead and not even she would allow her father to live after that. Noah had been kinder to her in the last few months than her father had been in her twenty-one years.

“Are you lost?” she heard a man with an accent ask once she had made her way down the stairs.

Turning, she saw him, tall and lean with brown skin and curly black hair. She tried to smile but she couldn’t muster the strength. “I think so.”

“Are you hurt?” Mohinder asked.

“I don’t think so. But someone is, outside. My father shot a man. He fell from my window.”

Mohinder tried to follow but this girl was obviously in shock. He called for a few men to search and within moments they found Noah. They also found Bob. By then however Mohinder had insisted on examining Elle, wanting to be sure she was as unharmed as she claimed. Soon her hopes of leaving Primatech were vanishing almost as quickly as they had appeared when the man told her that she was pregnant.

At least now people knew about her and where she was, though of course now she was in a room that more closely resembled a cell. No one spoke of Noah and they, somewhat rightfully, blamed her for killing her father.

Still it was Mohinder to finally take a bit of pity on her soon after she gave birth to a pair of blonde haired, blue eyed twins. He slipped her a vial, of what she wasn’t sure at first but then she remembered one of her first conversations with Noah. It was blood in the vial and Mohinder had told her it was for if either or both of her children fell ill since he had been ordered not to do anything to help the children should something happen to them. An hour later she was outside of Primatech for the first time in her life. She didn’t know where to go or what to do, but Mohinder had given her a name. Claire Bennet.

It had been a much more difficult conversation than Elle or Claire had ever experienced, but Claire had agreed to let her father’s former lover and mother to two of his biological children stay until she was able to move into her own apartment.

As for Noah he was still back in the building in his own cell where he had been since the day Bob had shot him. As far as most were concerned he was just as much to blame for Bob being dead as Elle had been. For that reason he had been kept prisoner and Mohinder, nor the others who came into contact with the man had given him back his sight which he had lost in the fall. They had saved him from what would have been a fatal gunshot wound, but there was only so far they would go for a man they considered to be a traitor.

However what Noah hadn’t anticipated was about to work to his benefit. There was still one person in The Company who understood what he had done and why. One person who was still on his side and willing to help him. She had only been biding her time.

The irony wasn’t lost on Elle that she was currently raising Noah’s children in Costa Verde. Anything to feel closer to him despite believing he had died almost a year ago. After all it wasn’t until then she had been able to believe she would be capable of knowing a man who could give her children. Her father made it known his intent was to keep her alone for her entire life. The only comfort she had now was her twins, knowing she still had a bit of Noah with her.

Of course the day he found her had been a surprise to them both.

“Don’t say I never did anything for you,” Angela smirked as her limo stopped in front of Noah’s home.

No sooner than he had stepped inside with Claire’s help did he hear Elle’s voice singing a sad lullaby he couldn’t quite place. At first he thought it was his imagination, but his surprise had to have shown because Claire acknowledged it.

“Her, yeah, I guess you two have met,” she nearly groaned. Being a seventeen-year-old with infant siblings wasn’t exactly an idea she enjoyed.

“Elle?” he breathed.

“The guest room.” She had hardly managed to get the final word out before Noah moved to take to the stairs, Lyle quickly helping him carefully climb them as he followed her voice.

Elle heard the knob of the door turning, her body stiffening in fear for a moment. Her children now lying sleeping in their crib, so only had seconds of horrifying visions before she saw a man stumble slightly inside.

“Elle?” he asked as he took another step.

Her eyes went wide in surprise. How? She couldn’t think, only breathe his name and move towards him.

“Do you need me to stay?” Lyle asked.

“No,” they told him in unison, Elle helping Noah to a chair. She couldn’t believe any of this, but she finally had him back, she had to know what had happened. “I thought you were -”

“I would have been,” he sighed as he felt her arms slip around his neck and he held her as tightly as he could.

“What happened to you?”

“They brought me in, saved me from dying but they didn’t give me back everything I lost that day.”

She pulled back to look at him, seeing that his eyes still weren’t meeting hers or taking in the unmistakable sights of the room told her all she needed to know.

“Where -” he tried as he felt her slip out of his grasp.

“Dr. Suresh gave me something before I left. Something that was supposed to be for the babies, but they’ve been fine and you’re clearly not. Just don’t tell Claire I’ve had it all this time.”

“Wait. Babies?” No one had told him.

She took that moment of his surprise as her best opportunity. She readied the syringe and filled it with some of Claire’s blood from the vial. She winced at his groan when just injected it into him, but she watched and waited.

“Elle -”

“Shh,” she replied, not wanting to tell him until he could see them for himself. She knew it was working when he began to blink rapidly, his eyes having to adjust to the bright light of the room after a year of pure darkness.

“You said -”

“See for yourself,” she smiled as she looked over to the crib. “Your son and your daughter.”

He did and then looked back to her. “When?”

“I found out the day I thought I’d lost you.”

With that he pulled her into another tight embrace before pulling back just enough to kiss her deeply, wanting to blast away the year they had been forced to spend apart.

At the end of the day they had their lives, their freedom, their children and the life with each other they had been dreaming of since the day they had met back in that tiny room seemingly so long ago.

The End