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It was that time of the month again but this time, nothing. Not even red spots on her panty liner. Claire's menstrual periods had been pretty regular in the past but lately, it seemed, whenever she expected them to come, they wouldn't.
She took pregnancy tests and each one of them came back negative. She read cases of women who didn't have periods but what she read wasn't even close to her problem.
Claire put away the box of liners under the bathroom sink, washed her hands and exited the bathroom. As she did so, she nearly collided into Peter.
“Sorry, I didn't know you were here,” he apologized.
“I stopped by since I was in the neighborhood,” she mused, stepping aside. “It's all yours,”
Peter smiled at her before going into the bathroom. Claire started down the hall to her room and falling onto her bed, hugging her pillow as tears slid down her cheeks.
As she reached for a tissue, she heard someone knock. Claire grabbed the tissue, wiped her face quickly and then hid it in a cabinet before answering.
It was Peter.
“I was wondering if you want to have lunch with me later?” he asked.
“Sounds good,” she said.
Peter smiled and then frowned slightly, noting the tissue in the trash. “Are you all right?”
“I'm fine,” she lied.
Peter studied her carefully before stepping inside and closing the door. “I don't believe you,” he mused.
Claire sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed, hands folded in her lap. She knew Peter wasn't going to leave until he knew what was going on. “There's something wrong with me,” she admitted, “I know that I'm not normal but still...usually around this time of the month, a girl expects to be running back and forth to the bathroom,”
Peter frowned, not quite understanding what she was talking about. “This has something to do with...?” he started.
“I guess I should consider myself to be one of the lucky ones who don't have to go through this every month,”
Peter didn't know what to say. If Heidi were still around, she could have comforted her but since he was the only one available at the moment, Peter responded the only way he could.
He went to Claire and hugged her, whispering, “I'm sorry,”
“I thought I understood everything about my ability and then something like this happens, and I just wish that I was normal again,” she cried.
“Maybe you could talk to Mohinder,” he suggested.
Claire pulled away from him suddenly. “I am not talking to Mohinder about this!” she cried.
“It was only a suggestion,”
“It's okay,” Claire mused, “I know what this is,”
“Okay,” Peter said flatly.
Claire smiled at him thoughtfully, expecting him to leave. Instead, he just sat there. “You can go Peter,” she said.
“I'm not leaving Claire until I know for sure that you're okay,” he stated, brushing the remnants of tears from her cheek. “I don't like to see you in pain,”
“That's very sweet of you but seriously, I'm okay now. You can go,”
Peter hesitated and then stood up, heading towards the door and then stopped, turning back to her. “Claire, you know if you need my help for anything at all, I'm just down the hall,” he said.
Claire didn't know what to say, so she stood up, came over and hugged him. As she hugged him, she noted how warm his body felt pressed against hers and empathic or not, Peter was still her hero. Claire smiled and Peter pulled away, leaned down and kissed Claire's forehead causing her to giggle.
“What?” he teased.
“I just wanted to thank you Peter for being you,”
Peter smiled again. “Just doing my duty as an uncle,” he said.
“Would you come with me to Mohinder's lab? I really don't feel like going there by myself,” she asked.
“Sure,” he said.
Claire smiled, hugging him tight and closing her eyes, once again feeling the warmth of his arms around her.
~~
When Claire opened her eyes, she and Peter were standing in front of Mohinder's lab. She sighed, looking at him, feeling again the warmth of his arms and she could have sworn as they stood there, she saw something change in Peter's eyes.
She was curious about that look but before she could ask him, the front door opened suddenly, and she literally jumped away from him as Mohinder greeted them.
“Peter, Claire...I wasn't expecting to see you two today,” he noted.
“Something is wrong with me,” Claire blurted out. “Could you run some tests or something?”
Mohinder smiled. “Of course,” he said, letting them inside the lab. “What seems to be the problem?”
“My menstrual cycle hasn't been normal since I discovered my ability,” she said.
“Your menstrual cycle? You mean you're ---” Mohinder started.
“I'm not pregnant!” she retorted as Peter let out a sigh of relief. “But I'm worried something is wrong with me,”
“I suppose I could draw some blood and see what I can find,” he started before looking for his blood kit.
Claire worried what this new change meant for her. She never really appreciated having her period before until now, the same way she took feeling pain for granted when she was hurt. But now both were gone, she felt different. There was always something for her to rely on to help her remember she was human and now, she didn't even have that.
Peter felt her turmoil and slipped a hand on her shoulder, smiling his trademark grin.
“I don't know how much help it will be to say this, but everything is going to be okay Claire,” he said. “You're still you, whether you're bleeding from down there or from an injury,”
“Thanks Peter,” she smiled.
“I also know you're scared of what this might mean for you but it doesn't change anything about you. Obviously, there's going to be more things about your ability you're going to discover, things that can either change or define who you are,” Peter reasoned, brushing a hair from her face. “But I do hope, whatever comes next, you'll continue to be you because you're perfect and beautiful the way you are,”
Claire didn't know what to say. No one else understood her the way Peter did. It even surprised her that he didn't think less of her. And she realized, if her body wasn't willing to let her have her period every month, she supposed she could go on without it. Her body would heal itself from any internal bleeding, and probably with time, she would get used to not expecting it.
“You're still you, Claire,” he said.
“Being around you, Peter, you're the only one who reminds me how human I am. You haven't really changed since the first day I met you. You're still off saving strangers, hoping that even though you can't save everyone, you can make a difference. And you still take time out to go with your worried niece to a geneticist because she's worried she's not human anymore,”
Peter smiled and blushed, surprised by the comment.
“Can you take me home?” Claire asked.
“What about Mohinder's testing?”
“If he can't fix it, then why bother right? I'll still live,” she reasoned.
“You sure?”
“I am.” Claire mused.
Peter kissed her forehead and as Claire closed her eyes, feeling his warmth around hers again and she realized, he was proof that she was still human.
The End