2007-10-05: Support Structure

Starring:

Heidi_icon.gif Nathan_icon.gif Peter_icon.gif

Summary: After a multi-death experience, the Petrelli brothers make their way back to the Mansion, where one of them desperately needs the kind of support only those who love him despite all his flaws can give him.

Date It Happened: October 5th, 2007

Support Structure


Petrelli Mansion

All is quiet at the Petrelli Mansion. That is, until there's an almighty CRASH as the weight of two male bodies suddenly tumble down onto the balcony just outside of the master bedroom's window, which is luckily curtained closed or else that would— be a rather scary or embarrassing thing to witness. But at least the glass didn't break as Nathan and Peter sort of land against it and into the balcony, Nathan swearing at the less than graceful touch down. "You okay?" he asks, steadying Peter with one hand, shotgun wielded in the other. Now, hopefully Heidi slept through that or is out and they can just sneak in all inconspicuous like.

—-

Heidi was not asleep to start with, so the fact that there's a crash outside the bedroom window gets her out of bed fairly quickly. The magazine she was paging through is thrown aside as she heads for the window so she can hold it shut until she figures out who's out there. The voices are familiar - Nathan is the first one she notes - and so it's only a moment later that she's pulling open the door.

The cool air against her face causes her to squint a bit. She's dressed in a t-shirt and old sweats - comfortable, and for the most part, fairly warm, though she wasn't quite ready for the blast of autumn breeze in her face. "Are you all right?" she asks, blue eyes going //right to the shotgun. Dear god. "What the hell were you doing out there?!" Alas for the Petrelli brothers. Inconspicuous is not happening tonight.

—-

That— was a much smoother ride than landing. Peter held on tight, as promised, but when they land so roughly, he can't help but want to laugh a little. "Landing… like me… aren't you…" he says in rather difficult breaths, but there's a hint teasing smile on the corner of his mouth. His blood covered mouth. It's only a hint, and for good reason.

Though his brother has the shotgun, the most clothes he's wearing is the coat around his shoulder. Not his own. One of his feet is bare, his pants have huge gaping holes in them around his legs, and waist. His shirt is completely gone. And he's covered in dried blood. Head to toe pretty much at this point. It makes him a little difficult to recognize. Especially with his hair burned short— it's going to need to get fixed with a cut. There's a few gasps of air as the balcony opens to reveal Heidi. Wince. "…sorry," he says softly, voice shaking, as if this is his fault. Now that they're back on the solid ground again, he's shaking, hands holding onto his brother. For support. That's all.

—-

Nathan can't help but start when Heidi suddenly appears, awarding her with a surprised look that shifts into one of resignation. Hi honey. Nathan keeps an arm wrapped around Peter's shoulders, keeping him upright, and his other hand instinctively makes sure that the shotgun is pointed away from his wife. The only blood on him is really what he's collected from Peter. "Sorry," he echoes his brother, looking towards Heidi - but already moving both he and Peter inside, seeing as she's so obligingly opened the door and all. "I think Peter needs to rest, but he should be fine," he assures her - and himself - in a voice that carries at a whisper, not wanting to alert the whole house to his presence.

—-

Her eyes move from the shotgun to Peter. Or… The voice sounds like Peter's but… he's covered in blood. Somewhere in her mind, she knows that he's okay, that he can heal, but the sight causes Heidi to pale as she looks at him. Obviously, something happened, and obviously, it was bad. Struck somewhat speechless by the sight of her brother-in-law, she doesn't ask anymore questions, instead going to offer a little more support, helping him inside and to the nearest chair. The boys shouldn't see their uncle like this, of course, but closing the door is about the last thing on Heidi's mind at the moment.

She's checking him over for obvious injury, and finding none (of course, he heals!) she moves off to get a towel from the bathroom. The least she can do is clean him off a little. When she returns, she's carrying a damp washrag, which she presses against his face. "What happened?" she asks quietly to them both.

—-

The blood situation can be taken care of by a shower and a change of clothes. The shaking hands and wobbly legs? That might actually take a lot longer. Peter's died, he's witnessed terrible things, but something about this experience has really shaken him. "Tried to… be a hero… didn't work out… too well…" he whispers in the pained tone. All of a sudden there's a cough, and he bends over to do it into his hand. The acid may still be working it's way out of his body— or maybe he's just that bad off. When he straightens, he inhales slowly. "Can I— use— a shower? Need to… call Elena… she's probably waiting… for me…" Girlfriends need to be called at times like this, right? And it'll take her longer to get over here than it will take for him to get cleaned up. So she won't have to see him like this.

—-

"Can you just sit still a sec?" Nathan says, a hand moving to Peter's shoulder as if to prevent the younger man from attempting to get up. Maybe it's all the blood, despite the lack of injury, but he's just not convinced Peter is okay. It's the shaking— the fact he died— hell, Nathan even killed him at one point. He looks towards Heidi, who no doubt wants a better explanation than that. "There are some people— like us out there who're proving to be a threat. Peter went to go stop one." There's a certain clipped way about his words that speak of disapproval, frustration, but he's holding back the lecture he so wants to give.

—-

"Oh, Piglet," she mutters under her breath, cleaning the blood off his face, narrowing her eyes as she continues to look for damage. It's just intinct - as bloodied as he is, he should be hurt somewhere, but she doesn't see anything. She'll baby him anyway, gently mopping the grime away from his eyes. She can feel him shaking, and that alone tells her that he went through some sort of tough ordeal.

Even if Nathan's going to lecture, at least Heidi's here to balance that out. She'll play good cop if Nathan wants to play bad cop. Peter could probably use a talking-to, just… Not right now. Heidi just quietly continues checking him over for hurts. He looks awful, but she can't find anything wrong. "Just relax for a little while," she echos her husband in gentler tones, stepping back while the reddened cloth hangs from one hand. "What happened?" she asks again, because the explanation that Peter went out to stop someone tells only the surface story. She already knows he was hurt.

—-

"I'm fine," Peter insists, still trying to get up from the couch, but he's far too weak in the legs to really fight against the shoulder touching. Token struggling is what it comes down to. He settles back into his seat— the blood that gets wiped off reveals completely unblemished skin. Hair's not growing back on it's own, though, and he's holding the coat against him for the moment. "All I need… is a shower— I'll be okay." It's what he'll probably insist on the whole night, even if he can barely stand upright.

There's suddenly another cough, one that he shields from the two of them with his hand. A shudder, almost as if he's cold. Well, he is half naked and covered in drying blood— and they'd just flown here— he probably really is cold. "I just… need some… time, it'll… be okay. Someone… had to go… after her…" But why was that someone him, and why did he have to do it alone?

—-

All excellent questions. Ones Nathan will be asking him at some stage. Finally, he lets up with that touch to the shoulder, moving away to place the gun down and out of sight somewhere. "I guess they fought," Nathan says, answering Heidi. He doesn't know the whole story, but he can say what he knows. "I got there just as— " He pauses, not really wishing to describe what he had seen upon arrival. So he skips ahead as if he hadn't stopped. "She got away. I guess two against one was too much for her." As if tired, he moves to sit down as well, content in letting Heidi take care of Peter for the meantime, as if suddenly exhausted, a hand up to rub the bridge of his nose with his fingers, like one might when plagued with a headache.

—-

So Peter got beat up by a girl. Funny, but not right at the moment, not while he still looks like he handled World War Three on his own. "Sure, physically you will be," Heidi says, hand moving down to his wrist. He's shaking; what happened to terrify him so much? Or is this just a side-effect of whatever healing he may have done? It still amazes her that she can be so used to what Peter and Nathan can do by now. "It's okay," she says quietly. "Just take a deep breath and relax."

She looks over at Nathan. He had a shotgun with him, so he must have known something was happening when he left. He doesn't make a habit of carrying weapons around, as far as Heidi knows. Looking back at Peter, she says, "You can call Elena tomorrow, okay? Tonight, you need to rest. I mean it, Peter. If you want me to, I'll call her and let her know everything's okay. But whatever happened to you…" She pauses, giving his hand a squeeze. "You're shaking. Promise me you'll get some rest after you get cleaned up."

—-

To be honest, she's known about as long as they had when she found out. Or at least as long as Peter knew. It's been just barely over a year since his first attempt to jump off of a roof. And it was almost half a year ago that she found out about their special abilities. It only took a couple weeks for him to get used to the idea— and now he embraces it a little too much. "She— she was trying— to knock down the… the building." And she succeeded, actually. And he saved her. Only to get killed by her. He's not really thinking straight when he adds, "She killed me. Twice. Burned me— with acid."

Probably shouldn't be giving details, but there's a distant look in his eyes, as if he's thinking back to what happened, trailing off on the whole thing, and then he looks abck at them both, almost as if he'd forgotten they were there. "No— tonight— have to… I don't want… I don't want to be alone…" he finally admits, eyes lowering, the shaking continuing through his arms, feet restless. Unless they want to sleep with him, probably a good idea to let his girlfriend know.

—-

That hand drops, Nathan looking at Peter in obvious disbelief. It's not usually he wears his emotions plainly, but that earns a reaction. Of course he had seen Peter in a bad way, but— killed? Twice? Then again by him. He's not sure whether he wants to hurt something or cling to his brother and provide that support he quite clearly needs or maybe just be alone for a while… but he can understand Peter's request a little more now. "Let him call her," he says, quietly, flickering a glance to Heidi, reaching out just enough to take her hand, however briefly. "Might be as good as a rest right now."

—-

Heidi is easily swayed, it seems. She doesn't argue with Peter anymore. She knows what it's like to be hurt and scared and alone, and even if there's no physical damage that she can see, it obviously goes deeper than his skin.

Killed.

Twice.

That makes her shiver, suddenly cold as she realises how powerful her brother-in-law really is. He can cheat death, did it twice. It gives her a moment of vertigo as this fact hits her, then she allows it to pass. No time to think about that now. Giving Nathan's hand a squeeze as it's taken, she shakes her head. "Let him rest and get cleaned up a little," she says, reaching forward to rest a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I'll call Elena and ask her to come over. Is that okay, Pete?"

—-

The emotion plain on his brother's face makes Peter look up toward him and take in a shaky breath, "Nathan… it's okay. You… you stopped her. And it's okay…" Part of him knows that his brother feels bad about what he had to do— shooting him a third time, but that death, in retrospect, and been the easiest of all to take. He'd told him to do it. He just hopes she's wounded enough that the Company will find her and lock her away again. Let him call her. His hand is shaking, as he moves to reach for his phone. It's in the coat that Nathan put around him, but as soon as he has it in hand, it falls out of his grip.

Probably a good thing that Heidi's offering. "Yeah— yeah that's… that's fine. You can… call her. I'll need to— need to get into the… the shower— or a bath tub maybe…" At this point the shower would be cleaner, but the bath would be less likely to have him slip, fall and bust his head open and die for the fourth time tonight.

—-

The look Nathan gives Peter is one of 'don't'. It's not really okay. He didn't want to do it. But he'll get over it in his own time, in the silent way he usually does. When Heidi insists on calling Elena, Nathan just nods, happy to put her in charge of the situation. "Alright." For now, he stands up, and moves towards Peter to offer him a hand up, and maybe a shoulder to lean on in case Peter can't quite make it across the room to the adjoining bathroom. Nathan might be more inclined to let Peter use a larger one, somewhere else in the mansion, but then again, he doesn't want to escort Peter like this through the house occupied by more people than just those three.

—-

Thankfully, Simon and Monty have school tomorrow. Thankfully, they're asleep and will hopefully stay that way. "Pete," she says, reaching out to touch his face gently. Obviously, she's been living with this family for TOO LONG. Pressing her lips together, offering another worried, look, she heads off to call Elena, then she'll wait outside 'til the younger woman arrives.

—-

Don't 'don't' him! Peter gives his brother a hurt look as his assurances are brushed aside, but he does look away after a moment. Fine… he looks at Heidi, accepting her hand against his cheek, even leaning into it a bit. "Thank you…" he adds, so she knows that he is grateful. And while she leaves, his brother helps him up to his feet, and toward the nearest bathroom. "You're… you're not going to forgive me… for making you do that… are you?" It would be just like him to shove all the blame on his own shoulders, wouldn't it? He's the one who put himself in that situation. He called his brother to leave the message. He sent the picture. And then he told him to shoot them both.

—-

Even at this close range, Nathan is still able to shoot Peter an agitated glance, even if Peter is sort of right in that regard. But only sort of. "Don't be ridiculous, Pete," he mutters, dismissing the issue… and finding himself unable to do so, entirely, because he speaks again. "What I'm not going to forgive you for is putting yourself in that kind of danger alone," he says, in quiet tones. "I'm just glad I got there…" He's about to say 'in time', but— Peter died twice. That's about as not 'in time' as one man can get. His hand squeezes Peter's shoulder.

—-

"I'm glad… you got there too," Peter says, leaning into his grasp even more than he really needs to just for physical support. He needs his brother for much more than that. Always has… Always will. He couldn't think of anything that he needs more— not even the girlfriend. He just needs her for a different kind of support all together… "I love you, Nathan," he adds, hand shifting to squeeze his shoulder, before he starts trying to break away, stand on his own two feet. Run water in a bath for himself, that sort of thing. But— before that can happen, he has to nod. "I was wrong… to try and go off alone… I should've called you sooner… should've called more people… should've sent the sketch to the Company and let them handle it…" And maybe next time he will. Maybe.

—-

Well. At least he learned something from this ordeal. Wonderful. Nathan resignedly releases Peter as the other man starts to head for the bathroom. "I love you too," he says, a little wearily, but not out of obligation. His thumbs hook into the pockets of his pants as he backs up and out of Peter's way. "Should've," he agrees, repeating the word. "Will, next time." Because… there will always be a next time. Regrettably. He gestures awkwardly at Peter as he moves, with a quirk of a half-smile. "Hey, Peter? You can keep the jacket."

—-

"Next time… things'll be different," he agrees, because this… genuinely terrified him. In ways he can't even quite explain right now. Somehow, she scared him more than Sylar, because even Sylar didn't toy with him quite like that. Right— I'll add it to my collection…" Of blood stained clothes that can never get dry cleaned. Peter does start to move it off, though, letting his brother leave the room so that he can disrobe completely and get the blood washed off. Hopefully he'll be out before his girlfriend arrives, but he probably won't be insulted if she does walk in and see him still in the water.

—-

And Peter is left to it, Nathan in fact surrendering the entire bedroom for Peter's use, only after laying out some clothes for Peter to collect when he's done. Because there are moments where Nathan has attacks of being considerate, don't be alarmed, it will pass. After that, he'll go find Heidi and wait with her, and he can Not Tell Her that he wound up shooting his brother to hurt the villain, which is basically the quickest route for forgiveness.

Moments Later...

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License