The Road to Recovery(Claire, Invite)

[wrosen]

Location: Claire's Suite in the White House
Date: April 10th, 2009

It has been a couple days since the big memorial, but things were still a little shakey. Especially with Claire. One wrong statement, could start the emotional fireworks all over again. West, of course, did not want to set them off or deal with the clean up. He loved her, that was for sure, but today he just wasn't in the mood too.

West walked up the stairs, after being check for the 50th time. He knocked on Claire's door, after approaching it. He awaited for her responce. He was usually here everyday, unless something came up for either of them. But they always made it work. He smiled, as he heard noises from behind the door.

[clairebear]

Ever since the memorial Claire had been going through a myriad of emotions. Pretty much the last thing she had said to West was she was uncertain of how she felt about him. The past two days had made her feel no different. She was still unsure. Only because he had abandoned her twice and she was uncertain of how long he would be in her life before he abandoned her again.

Today Claire had her hair in plaits and wearing a strappy white top and black leisure pants. She knew that West would be coming to visit her at some point. She thought telling him what she told him at the memorial he wouldn't want to see her again but it had turned out to be the complete opposite. It was almost as if he wouldn't leave her alone.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that however. In one way she was happy that he was paying her attention and in another, she was still so confused about how she felt she wished he would give her some breathing space until she made up her mind. However, they were still married, she had never filed for divorce because she knew deep down she still had feelings for West. What those feelings were she couldn't be sure, but hopefully one day soon, something would snap back into place for her and everything would be good with the world again.

She then heard her door be knocked upon, and she put down her magazine and got up off the bed and went to the door, and swung it open. Once she saw him, that cute smile, that floppy hair of his, that was when she thought she felt 'that something' snap back into place. She pouted her lips slightly, as they spread into a smile, getting bigger, until she more or less threw herself at him, and dragged him into the room kicking the door closed with her foot.

She sat down on the bed again, naturally pulling West down with her, and then she looked into his eyes, "I'm really sorry West, about, you know, the other day." She said sadly and softly, as she tried to keep smiling at him and yet feeling so bad for the way she had treated him. Then a sudden influx of the memorial service came rushing back into her head and she felt herself begin to cry again. Yes those myriad of emotions still hadn't settled it would seem.

[west]

West hadn’t really been that long waiting at the door before Claire had opened it. Even since the memorial service he hadn’t even been completely sure about how she felt about him, sometimes he was even sure that she had been trying to avoid him, but the whole time he had done all that he could do, and keep the faith that it was just a phase, from their child’s death, and that she would recover – and he would be there no matter how long that happened to take.

She opened the door, even as she did, he could tell that she was beginning to start to smile, which hopefully meant that everything was at the very least going to be on the road to recovery. She more or less dragged him into her room, without a word though maybe for now she didn’t need to talk. He knew a lot must have been running through her head for the last couple of days, after everything that had happened, and that was OK, as long as she was going to be honest with him, West understood if she needed a lot of time to think everything through.

"I'm really sorry West, about, you know, the other day." “It’s OK, you where upset, we both where, you just needed time to think, time to get everything straight in your head.” He noticed that she was beginning to cry again, and instinctively he moved forwards to comfort her, hugging her. It was all he could do in the given situation, or all he could think of that he could do.

[clairebear]

After Claire had more or less dragged West to the bed in her bedroom, she couldn't help but think that maybe now, maybe they could get back to the way they were. Maybe they could finally forget everything in the past and finally move on with their future. When she thought she felt 'that something' snap back into place, once West was beside her on the bed, she was certain that it had snapped back into place. At least it had for her anyway, but looking at West, she was pretty certain he still felt the same way about her. After all, he had been visiting her almost every day since he had come back.

After she had apologised to him, she wondered what his reaction would be, and thankfully he accepted it, saying she had just been upset, which naturally she was. He was right, they had both been upset, and it was probably not a good day for either of them to have tried to work out their feelings. "Thanks for understanding West." Claire said softly, but of course she had begun to cry again.

She felt him hugging her and she immediately began to feel better in his arms, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder. She had done a lot of crying since the memorial service and she was certain she couldn't have cried any more tears. Thankfully she didn't have many tears left to cry, she sighed softly, and then cleared her throat. "You know West, I'd have loved nothing better than to have your child, but I guess we were young, we've plenty of time to have a family, right?" She asked, as she leaned up from his shoulder and looked into his eyes, holding the gaze with her own.

Basically what she had just said was Claire's subtle way of telling West, everything was alright between them as far as she was concerned and she could only hope that he would feel the same way too.

[west]

[Sorry it's rubbish]

Claire hadn’t cried for long before she had finished, and seemed to be recovering again. She spoke again, seeming to be a little better, and West continued to hold her close. She was right, they where both young, there would be other times, though they probably wouldn’t take away from this time, and the pain they had both experienced.

“You’re right.” He replied, “There’s plenty of time for both of us, we’ll get to have a family eventually.” He smiled, as well as he could, Claire had looked up toward him. Really he didn’t actually know what he could say anymore, that was it really. It felt bad just to leave it at that, but that was all he could.

[clairebear]

{It's fine, still better than some posts I've had from some people }

Claire smiled at West when he agreed that they had plenty of time to have a family. She might still be emotional over losing their baby, but Claire actually felt like she was finally beginning to recover from everything. She now hoped that her life would be able to go carry on without any more problems. She had to laugh into herself at that thought however, being a Petrelli was never that easy, but in truth, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hearing you say that West, does that mean that you've forgiven me for being so..." She tried to think of the best way to describe herself, bitchy? Well no, she had a bad time and lost a baby, she wasn't bitchy. Depressed? No, she really wasn't depressed either, she hadn't been suicidal. Lost? Yeah, that's what she had been. "...for being so lost?" She finally continued, still looking into his eyes.

"Can, we move on from this?" She asked, as she drew herself closer to him, so that her face was quite close to his, as her eyes searched his face trying to find an answer in it. She was certain she was ready to move on herself, she just wanted to get their life back to normal. Back to the way they had been before he had left her for the second time. He said he had his reasons for that which he said were too painful to speak of, she respected that, when he had promised her that he would never do it to her again.

She wanted to kiss him and yet at the same time, she didn't want to be too forward in case he wasn't ready to go that far yet. Then she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She stood up and opened it, Nathan was standing there, his eyes twinkling, he gave her a warm smile.

[nathan]

Nathan had been having a meeting with his cabinet members and it was now finished. Ever since the tragic event of Claire being kidnapped and having her baby killed, his grandchild, his grandson, he had been checking up on Claire on a daily basis. He knew that she was a very mixed up young woman just now, and each time he saw her in tears it broke his heart. Claire was his world now, he had made so many mistakes in the past, but he had a whole new life with her, and he was glad of that chance to make things right.

He knew West had been coming to visit more or less every day, which Nathan was grateful for, because he knew what had happened on the day of the Memorial Service between Claire and West. But Nathan knew she hadn't meant anything she had said, because she was a torn young woman who had lost her baby. Before West came back into her life for a third time, from what Claire had told him, he would have ripped him to shreds for hurting his daughter so often, but he could tell, looking at her, she loved West despite everything and if West being in her life again was going to make her happy, then he wanted to help make it happen.

He made his way to her suite and knocked on the door, Claire opened it almost immediately and he stood there with his eyes twinkling and gave her a warm smile. He immediately wrapped her into his arms, with one on the back of her head and the other around her waist. Resting his chin on her head, "I'd like to talk to the both of you, can I come in honey?" He asked and then gently broke from the embrace and looked over at West and smiled at him.

"Hi West." He said and then waited for Claire to say he could indeed come into her room, he didn't think she would say no, but Nathan liked to give her the independence she deserved, even if she was living with him here.

[west]

“Of course I’ve forgiven you Claire.” West replied, he had never even really felt any sort of rage, or been mad at her in the first place, He had understood, or at the very least he had felt like he probably understood just about what she had been going through, even if at the end of it all, he had found that he was maybe a little bit off. But a little bit wouldn’t matter, as long as he felt like he could more or less understand how Claire had felt, and it meant that he wasn’t mad at her, because he felt like he understood.

“Of course we can.” He said after Claire had spoken again, and after he looked over his shoulder, seeing Nathan come in. He wanted to talk to the two of them about something. “Hi Mr Petrelli.” He replied after as well, after Nathan had said hello to him. He was just being polite, that was all.

[clairebear]

Claire was glad when West said he had forgiven her, it really meant a lot to her to know that. All she wanted was for them to move on with their life together. Nathaniel Peter was in the past, and Claire felt she had done enough grieving, it was time to look to the future. "I'm glad you've forgiven me." She said in a soft voice.

Then she had asked if they could move on from it, and West had agreed that they could. "Fantastic, and if we're doing this, we do it right, from this moment on, no more secrets from each other, and no more running away when something goes wrong, we work it out together." Claire said with a firm voice, after all, West had done a disappearing act from her twice now when things had gotten tough, she didn't want it happening again.

It was then that her father Nathan had come to her door. When she'd opened it, he had immediately took her in his arms and hugged her. She loved Nathan's hugs, they were always so, fatherly. "Of course you can come in dad." Claire said as she smiled at him and rolled her eyes a little, it was so sweet the way he asked to come into her room. Really, being her father, he shouldn't have to ask. She sat down on the bed next to West and then looked at him, "So, what do you want to talk to us about?" She asked giving Nathan a warm smile.

[nathan]

Nathan smiled at West when he spoke back to him calling him Mr Petrelli, but Nathan shook his head, and his lips pouted slightly before he began to talk. "Really West, there's no need to call me Mr Petrelli, aren't you and Claire married after all?" He said and looked from West to Claire and winked. "Of course if you don't feel comfortable calling me 'dad', you can always call me Nathan." Nathan said, and used his fingers for quotation marks when he said the word dad to West.

As Claire sat down on the bed next to West, Nathan sat down on the chair next to her bed, and leaned forward, with his hands together at the fingertips when Claire then asked what he wanted to talk to them about.

"Well, as I just pointed out, you are both married, so instead of West constantly coming to visit you here, why doesn't he just move in? You know I'm often quite busy and I like the idea of knowing there's someone other than staff who can look out for your safety Claire." Nathan said, and of course he knew that she could quite easily go back to Costa Verde to live with the Bennets again, but he knew deep down Claire didn't want to do that.

Claire wanted to stay with him here in Washington, and he didn't want it any other way himself. He then looked at West, "So, what do you say, son?" He asked West, calling him son, hoping that it might make West feel more comfortable about calling him dad or Nathan at least.

[west]

West nodded when Claire said no more secrets, and no more running away. He did know he had ran away before. When things had seemed to be slipping away from him he had hidden away, or simply left Claire, and returned days, or weeks later. He was guilty of this, but he wouldn’t be anymore. He just nodded again, that was all he was going to do, he didn’t think he would need to speak to let Claire know he agreed with her.

“Sorry Nathan.” West said, after Nathan had said it was OK, it had been an automatic tendency to just say ‘Mr Petrelli’ and he had grown into the habit mostly. Nathan sat down again began to talk, about wanting West to move in with Claire. “Yeah.” He said, after he had been asked what he thought of it. “I’d love to.” He would, it would mean that he didn’t need to fly in every day, and would just be there instead. He looked across at Claire, “That OK?” He said, grinning.

[clairebear]

Claire just smiled at West as he nodded his head in agreement to what she was saying. No spoken words were really needed, the nod of his head was enough for Claire. This was going to be a brand new start for them, a brand new start to their life together. They might have married young, but that was just it, they were young, and they had the rest of their lives together to have a family. Now all they had to do was enjoy their present and future and forget their past.

Claire couldn't believe what Nathan was asking West and herself, having West with her would be brilliant, but she wouldn't have asked Nathan if it could happen, and she never thought in a million years he would have suggested it. It was fantastic. Her smile just got bigger and better from the ones she had previously been giving West.

"I can't believe you've asked him that dad." Claire said softly with a bright smile, "It's amazing of you." With that she got up from the bed and wrapped her arms around Nathan's neck and hugged him. Of course West then said he would love to move in and looked at her asking if it was okay. "What do you mean is it okay? I think it's an amazing idea, I'd love it, we're still married after all, might as well act it." She said and then as she sat back down on the bed next to West, she felt herself blush slightly, hoping that her dad wouldn't pick up on what she had said about acting married, because she knew her dad had a way of embarrassing her.

[nathan]

Nathan just winked at his daughter when Claire said she couldn't believe he just asked West to move in with them. He wanted to do his bit at getting his daughter back on the straight and narrow and he began to feel that maybe this was one way he could do that. He was about to say something, but the next thing he knew he was enveloped in a hug from Claire.

He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist. "You're welcome honey. So long as it's alright with West of course." He said, and soon realised he didn't have to say that, as West said he would love to, asking Claire if it was okay with her. Somehow he thought Claire was more than happy with the idea from her reaction.

Her words hadn't gone unnoticed by him, and he wondered if he should say something, but he figured that it wasn't the right moment to tease his beautiful daughter. Or was it. He soon realised he couldn't help himself. "Well, just remember honey, there's plenty of time to make me a grandfather yet." He said winking at her and then winking at West.

"I'm glad you're agreeing to move in West." Nathan said as he stood up and held his hand out to West, "Good to have you in the family son." He said, he knew Claire was taking the Petrelli name, but technically she was a Rosen, but to Nathan, no matter what her surname was, Bennet, Rosen, she'd always be a Petrelli to him no matter what. He was just sorry he hadn't done something about a father/daughter relationship a long time ago. He should never have allowed for her to be adopted out.

[west]

West smiled at Claire again, as she said, as he had expected her to, that it was OK, better than OK really. It had been a little daft anyway, with him having to fly in every single day, as he had been, to see her. Now he wouldn’t need to, all he would need to do was collect what he owned, and come back, and they would really be able to be together.

“Thanks Nathan.” He said after Nathan and Claire had spoken, and Nathan had winked at him. He seemed to have probably heard what West and Claire had been talking about earlier, or at least he seemed to have a rather good idea anyway and West really wanted to show how thankful he was, and how happy he knew it was going to make him and Claire. He really wanted to. He looked back to Claire, hugging her tightly, and smiling.

[clairebear]

Claire really was very happy right now. She felt as if her life was finally changing for the better, as if her life was finally on the up. In Claire's eyes and opinion she had gone to hell and back, so surely life couldn't get much worse for her now? She couldn't stop smiling as she continued to look from West to Nathan.

When Nathan teased her about his becoming a grandfather, she rolled her eyes but still smiled at him. "Daad." She said drawing the word out, "You really have to stop embarrassing me." But she knew it was pointless saying it, Nathan would do it regardless, but in a way Claire didn't mind. She loved her dad. There was a time when she thought she would never have a relationship with him, but that had all changed.

West then thanked Nathan for allowing him to stay, but really it did make sense. Now they could get on with being a married couple and get on with their lives as best they could. When West hugged Claire, she hugged him back and kept grinning. She then couldn't help but say, "You know, with the both of you in my life, I think I could pull through anything." She meant every word of that, she just hoped that West would never leave her again.