I kept everything inside, and even though I tried, it all fell apart

[ Yep, another one of these. - shakes fist at Nathan for being such a douchebag - Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I'd like to believe that Nathan isn't crazy about some of the methods being used against his kind. But he's not exactly Mr. Personality, so we'll probably never get to see any of those internal struggles - if there really are any. So I decided to write a few mini scenes that would humanize him a little bit. ;x ]

A deep furrow remained creased across Nathan's brow as he observed Tracy's punishment from the other side of the glass. She'd tried to escape, and in doing so, she had injured two men and killed another. Of course Danko was furious. This once again supported his theory that all their captives were nothing but animals that needed to be put down before they could do anyone else any harm. Unfortunately Nathan was able to see both sides of this on-going debate between the hunters and the hunted. Whether he was truly 'one of them' or not was debatable. Yes, he could fly, but he wouldn't have been able to had his mother and father not given him his ability. Did that distinguish him from the others? He thought so. It wasn't something he was born with: it wasn't who he was. It was something that had been done to him.

However, he knew what they were going through, and in that regard, he could sympathize with them and their current predicament which was far from ideal. They were confused, and rightly so. But he wholeheartedly believed that what he was doing was for their own safety, as well as the rest of the world's. Although he was completely willing to try and justify his actions to 'his kind,' they weren't interested in anything he had to say. They were out for blood. Peter, his own brother, had held a gun to his head. There was the possibility that Pete wouldn't have been able to go through with it: that he was just bluffing because he was desperate and hadn't seen any other way out. Nevertheless, it had been a close call. And if Nathan's own flesh and blood had already come that close to taking his life, the others wouldn't think twice. It had turned into a game where there was only one rule: kill or be killed.

That was never how it was supposed to be. The entire operation was falling apart all around him.

Nathan was struggling to restore as much order as he could to stabilize the situation, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to pretend not to notice the frequent abuse of power going on around him. That combined with the fact that anyone he'd ever cared about despised him and had written him off as their mortal enemy was taking its toll. Obviously he was under a lot of pressure right now from his superiors, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. He was getting it from all sides. Luckily he didn't take a lot to heart. Sensitivity was something he didn't possess an excessive amount of, but regardless of what others might think, there were some lines he wasn't willing to cross. Granted those lines were very fine ones, and sometimes it was hard to determine exactly where those rested in the grand scheme of things, but they did exist.

Even though he'd heard someone approaching from behind, he didn't turn to look at them. He waited to see if the other person would initiate the conversation, and when it became clear that they wouldn't, Nathan got directly to the point without shifting his gaze. "What is it?" When he was told he should take a look at something, he redirected his attention to the folder being extended towards him. His hands were removed from his pockets as he took the item and began flipping through. After examining its contents, he made eye contact with the person that had hand-delivered this information. "Are you sure?" Verification wasn't really necessary. If they weren't positive, they wouldn't have told him. But it was proper procedure. He wanted to make sure they were absolutely certain before he chose how he was going to deal with this unexpected dilemma.

"I'll take care of it."
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The guard outside Daphne's door had been dismissed, because let's face it, there was nothing she could do that would require physical restraint. She was a runner, not a fighter. The sad truth about her involvement in all this was that she didn't have to be a part of it at all. Had she not come to rescue Parkman and the others, she probably never would've been caught, and she certainly wouldn't have been injured. She was either very brave or very foolish.

Nathan lowered himself into the vacant chair on the far side of the room. Even though he wasn't afraid of her, he kept a respectable distance. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Daphne crossed her arms stiffly across her chest as she glared down at the one doing the interrogating. "About what?"

He resituated himself so that he was sitting straighter. "You know what." If this was going to turn into a battle of the wills, so be it. They both had plenty of time to run this conversation around in circles a few more times.

"I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but even if I did know what you were talking about, I don't have to tell you anything." And she really didn't have a clue, so he was just wasting his time. This was probably some kind of stupid test or something. Well, she wasn't trying to impress anyone, and she wasn't jumping through hoops or saying pretty please to try and get him to let her out of here. Fat chance of that happening.

"If you'd cooperate, this would be a lot easier," Nathan remarked flatly. None of them seemed to get that.

When her wounded shoulder started to hurt because of the tense position it was in, Daphne begrudgingly dropped her arms back down to her sides. So much for trying to look tough. "Your men shot me." Somehow that didn't give a girl much incentive to cooperate. Seriously, did he hear how crazy he sounded?

"I can assure you that I never intended for any of you to get hurt." In fact, he had given explicit instructions for his men to stand down. Perhaps he should've been more clear, but he had expected his people to act responsibly. His mistake was the same one he always made: he'd put his faith in the wrong individual - or in this case individuals.

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" 'Cause whether he'd intended to gun her down or not, that's what'd happened. Then they'd stuck her in this place. She'd go stir crazy in no time in this cramped up space. Even worse, she had no idea whether Matt was okay. He had to be worried sick about her - if he even knew she was alive. The thought of him out there mourning for her when she wasn't dead infuriated her, and the possibility that he'd suffer a similar fate left her on edge. "Why are you doing this? These are good people! They never did anything to you."

Nathan momentarily bowed his head. There was no disagreeing that these were good people that he was imprisoning, but good people often did bad things. He'd seen it happen over and over again, and he couldn't continue to stand by and do nothing while history repeated itself. Still, it wasn't easy to explain. "You have no idea what kind of sacrifices I've made."

"What sacrifices?" Daphne quipped. From where she was sitting, Nathan Petrelli was nothing but a fraud. He was free though: free to do whatever he pleased as long as he handed the government everyone else.

"Don't preach to me about right and wrong. I've seen your file. I know what you did for a living. You're a thief." Taking the moral high road wasn't a very wise tactic for either of them. Both of their records were far too shady to play high and mighty, but that wasn't what he wanted to discuss. "Look, I didn't come in here to pick a fight." Although he should've expected this type of reaction. He got it from all of them: this constant attitude, and it was understandable, but he didn't have to sit here and let her vent her frustration. All he had to do was walk out that door.

She was really getting impatient with this whole back and forth routine. "What did you come in here for?"

"I'm letting you go."

"What?" Daphne was caught completely off-guard. He couldn't be serious ... but if he was just jerking her around, what was he trying to accomplish? It didn't make any sense. "Why?"

It seemed like the answer should've been fairly obvious. "Because of your condition." After all, he wasn't a monster. Some circumstances merited special accommodations.

"My condition?" Whoa. Back it up. What the heck was this guy talking about?

"I assume Parkman's the father?"

Daphne had to stop and do a double-take, and when she couldn't find any traces of insincerity in the one breaking the news to her, she lifted both hands in the air. "Wait. You're telling me I'm pregnant?" Sure, she and Matt had been intimate, but this couldn't really be happening, could it? Not to her. Not now. Children was just ... it wasn't something they'd discussed.

Nathan nodded. "You really didn't know?"

After Daphne shook her head, he rose to his feet and took a couple of steps forward. "I'm going to take you to him. We've already arranged a drop-off time and location. Once you're there, you both need to get as far away from here as possible. Do you understand?" She was getting a pass. Because he and Matt had been friends once, or in the very least allies, he would grant Parkman this one favor. If he chose not to take it, then it was out of Nathan's hands. If they did as they were told, they could save themselves and start a life elsewhere. What kind of life didn't concern him. The bottom line was they would have an opportunity to raise a family together away from this mess if they played it safe.

Hey, she didn't have to be asked twice. "Yeah." There was a brief pause before she asked one more question. "So you're really letting me take Matt with me?" Cause there was no way she was leaving him behind.

"Don't make me regret it." Nathan was no fool. He knew that Peter was trying to round everyone up so that they could form their own militia and fight back. Parkman was probably an important part of that team. But he would have to choose between his girlfriend and his unborn child or the cause. He couldn't fight for everything at once: not when he had so much more to lose. It was unfair, but considering the close scrutiny that they were all under, one chance was all they could get away with. Because believe it or not, if Nathan was exposed as an enemy of the state and replaced at any point during this round-up, there would be no one to protect them anymore: no one to stand between them and total annihilation. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The reunion was ( as was to be expected ) a heartwarming sight. Upon seeing each other, Daphne literally ran into Matt's open arms. But all things weren't exactly as they seemed. Peter and Claire were hiding nearby in case Nathan tried to double-cross the two he'd said he would let go. It wouldn't be the first time that he'd promised one thing and done another, so just as a precautionary measure, reinforcements were nearby. No deep explanation had been given over the phone: only that there had been a grave error in judgement made and that Nathan now wanted to work on amending any hard feelings that'd surfaced because of what'd happened on the hillside. Though it was only a matter of time before Parkman would want details about what had brought on this sudden change of heart.

"Not that we're not grateful, but why are you letting us go?" Suspicious hues shifted from Nathan to Daphne, then back again. When neither of them responded right away, he resorted to using his ability to read Nathan's mind. He'd promised Daphne he wouldn't invade her privacy like that. Instantly eyes darted over to the woman he'd come to love and sworn to protect. "We're having a baby?"

Daphne's shoulders rose and fell in a light shrug. "That's what I'm told." It might've seemed like she was being totally nonchalant about all this, when really she was scared to death. But this wasn't the time or the place to have a meltdown about what kind of parent she'd make. That could come later. You know, once they were far away from all the government goons with guns.

Matt's eyes cut over to Nathan once more. "So you're letting us walk away? That's it: no strings attached?" It was all still a little hard to believe.

"I regret the way my men have treated you. You've both suffered enough." Shooting a pregnant woman ... there was nothing honorable about that. Nathan also wasn't willing to put a child at risk. Not one that hadn't even had a chance to do anything offensive yet. Truth was he did feel personally responsible for these people, because most of them he knew. Parkman was far from a threat at this particular stage of his life, and if he became a problem in the future - if he became as dangerous as his father had been - well, no one was impossible to find. As long as they parted with that understanding, then there were no strings.

There was a part of Nathan that truly wanted to believe that there was hope for them ... this normal life that Peter and Tracy seemed to aspire to. They claimed it was in their reach. Maybe it was. He honestly didn't know anymore.

"Be careful." The warning was genuine, but he deliberately kept all signs of emotion concealed beneath that gruff exterior.

Since he could read minds, Matt didn't have to wonder about how sincere Nathan was being. He also picked up on how the other was starting to second guess himself, which meant that maybe there was an end to all this in sight. In any case, he needed to get Daphne out of there ( or vice versa ). He wasn't going to let anything happen to her again. So after giving an appreciative nod, he replied with, "Yeah, you too," before Daphne did her thing and whisked them both away.
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"The girl's missing. You were the last one seen with her," an agitated voice boomed from behind.

Nathan turned and came face to face with the last person he wanted to see right now. "So what?"

Danko boldly closed in the remaining distance between them. "I did a little digging, and what I found was very interesting."

"Oh yeah? What did you find?" This ought to be good. First of all, no one had authorized any more searches. Furthermore, even if that was on the agenda, Nathan would never assign Danko with the task.

"I know you're one of them." Narrowed eyes locked with the Senator's. He was searching for Petrelli's tell. Everyone had one.

It was only a matter of time before Danko started to speculate. Tracy had adamantly proclaimed that he was one of them. She was being taken into custody at the time, so naturally anything she had to say couldn't be taken very seriously, but apparently the man standing in front of him - the one who continually over-compensated for his lack of power ( and height ) by being overly aggressive - believed it to be true. More like wanted it to be true. It was no secret that they didn't get along. Danko had been in his face from the second this whole thing started, and frankly Nathan was getting tired of it. Actually, he'd been tired of it for some time now.

"You must really resent my authority to make up such a ridiculous accusation. I thought you were a professional." Professional madman, maybe.

"It's the truth, and I can prove it." If Senator Petrelli thought he hadn't done his homework on this one, he was sorely mistaken. He'd looked into it after receiving an 'anonymous' tip, and he intended to expose Nathan for the phony that he was. Instead of running the show, he was going to become a part of it. Danko's method for proving this might've seemed rather extreme, but he didn't like finding out that he'd been taking orders from one of the freaks he loathed.

The gun that'd been at his side was swiftly lifted, locked, loaded and aimed directly at Nathan's head as he issued his challenge. "Go ahead. Save yourself flyboy, because I will pull the trigger."

Nathan froze. Even though Danko didn't appear to have any hard evidence, a bullet to the head would kill him, and as hostile as his opponent was, it was highly probable that this wasn't a bluff. But he didn't fold just yet, and he didn't admit to anything. "You're way out of line."

"So are you. I knew you were too soft when it came to those animals. Now I know why you were so affectionate towards them. They're your people." Each word he spat was dripping with disdain.

"You don't know anything," Nathan concluded. His defense was spoken slowly so that the other wouldn't have an excuse ( not that he needed one ) to pull the trigger. Fortunately the arrival of another ended their intense confrontation.

"What's going on here?" Bennet demanded.

"He was just leaving." Nathan's hard stare never left Danko until he'd fallen completely out of sight. They would undoubtedly pick up where they'd left off at a later date, but as for right now, he was safe - thanks to the perfectly timed interruption by an unlikely ally. "He knows." Troubled hues locked on Bennet.

"I heard." Bennet was equally uncomfortable with Danko's erratic behavior ( particularly since the man's rage was partially directed at Claire ), but he successfully masked it behind his usual blank expression.

"Thank you." Never would Nathan have expected Bennet to end up being the only one he trusted, but that's basically how it'd turned out. They both understood how everything worked: how carefully this all had to be executed to minimize fatalities. They were also both personally invested in making sure that this didn't get any uglier than it had to. There was just one thing he needed to know ... something he didn't feel he could do himself without it looking suspicious. "I need you to find out where Danko got his information. I want you to start by looking into how my mother knows him." There was a brief pause before he added sternly, "No one is to know about this." And that 'no one' included Ma. Maybe she'd been involved in exposing his true colors somehow, and maybe she hadn't. But it was always a possibility. Regrettably 'family' didn't mean what it used to.

Bennet gave a stiff nod. He knew all about keeping things quiet. As far as he was concerned, as long as Nathan had the final say in how these people were treated, because of their arrangement, Claire was safe. That was the most important thing. And in return, he would do whatever he was asked.
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"Where's Tracy Strauss?" Nathan had been planning to check in on her, hoping that maybe now he would be able to talk some sense into her, but she wasn't in her room. Had she somehow managed to escape while he was gone? And if she had, why hadn't he been informed immediately? The response he received was far more disturbing than anything he'd been expecting to hear. "She was supposed to be taken out of there two hours ago!" Punishment was one thing. Torture was another. He'd left explicit instructions that she was only to be left in there for a specific amount of time, just to teach her that there were consequences for her actions. But this went way beyond that.

Because of the harsh nature of this offense, he knew exactly who had issued the order to 'let her fry.' However, he'd look for Danko later. First he was going to get Tracy.

Upon entering, he ordered the heat lamps turned off as he went to unstrap Tracy. Normally this would've been a dangerous move, but she was incredibly disoriented and massively dehydrated. All in all, she was barely conscious, so she wouldn't be putting up any kind of a fight. Now, since they had taken it upon themselves to determine how severe her punishment should be, they could spend the next several hours making sure they replaced what they'd taken from her. In the condition she was in, drinking water probably wasn't going to be good enough. She'd need an IV to replenish the fluids they'd drained from her.

An objecting hand was lifted when two men went to grab her. "I'll do it." A displeased glare sent their way made it perfectly clear that he was in no mood to hear any backtalk, and he was definitely not going to tolerate any more direct defiance. Fortunately these two surrendered easily and stepped out of his way once he'd carefully scooped Tracy up into his arms. Her grip was loose, her body limp as he carried her out of the room and down the hallway. No one dared stop him until his arms were once again free. Most people knew that crossing him was not a good idea.

When they got to her room, he gently laid her down on the bed.

Because news traveled fast around here, a doctor had arrived almost at the same time he had. Nathan demanded she be given an IV. The last thing she probably wanted was more fluids being pumped into her body against her will, but this time she needed it. Until they could get her started on that, he would try and get her to drink some water. After the beverage was brought to him, he twisted off the cap and lifted the bottle to her lips. A hand rested lightly behind her neck so that he could help her sit up enough to take a sip without spilling it all over her.

A deafening silence filled the room as Tracy struggled to swallow the liquid she so desperately needed.

Certain that they were now completely alone, Nathan momentarily let his guard drop as he quietly muttered, "I'm sorry, Tracy." Their previous relationship could've been described as casual. She had been with the Governor and returned to him once her fling with Nathan was over with. Despite their separation at the time of her capture, she too hadn't had a choice in what she'd been made into, and that connected them on a much deeper level. That's why he had been willing to make her a deal in exchange for Peter. He wanted his brother in his care, because Pete, whether he meant to or not, always found a way to get into trouble. But things hadn't played out according to plan, and now they were all apparently meant to suffer: some of them more than others.

"It's not too late, Nathan." Her mouth was so dry that it was hard for her to speak, but Tracy tried anyway. "You can still end this." If he was sorry, genuinely sorry for what he'd done, he had a chance to make it right. Maybe he didn't feel like he had options, but he did.

A heavy frown had once again settled across his face. While what she was suggesting was beginning to sound more and more tempting by the hour, it wasn't that simple. Too many people were involved for him to just say he'd made a mistake and announce that this whole thing was now over. His pride also got in the way, but contrary to popular belief, that wasn't his biggest hang up.

"You shouldn't talk." She needed to save her energy - and he needed to go.

The doctor had returned, so any affection he might've been considering showing Tracy was conveniently forgotten about. But after he stood, he took a moment to push the hair out of her face before pivoting and briskly exiting. He didn't look back.

Still fuming, Nathan cast a glance over his shoulder when he spotted Danko heading towards him. Since the area was clear, there was no one around to witness what was about to happen. All he needed was for the other to say one smart remark, which didn't take long.

He roughly grabbed the smaller man by the collar and slammed him up against the wall, then released him and lifted a hand to point at him accusingly. "The next time you disobey my orders or wave a gun in my face, you will be replaced. We spent a lot of time gathering information on how to subdue these people's powers without harming them, and that's what we're going to do. If you can't manage that, then I'll find someone who can." This was the last warning Danko was going to get. Second and third chances didn't help this guy. He was more out of control than ever. He'd already ordered an unauthorized air strike, aimed a gun at Claire, stood idly by as his men opened fire when they weren't supposed to, pulled a gun on Nathan, and almost killed Tracy. That wasn't even including his bad attitude or open opposition to any command he disagreed with.

That's really all Nathan had to say, so to prevent any scene from breaking out that could be observed by witnesses, he began to walk away.

"You're going to have to choose a side, Senator."

Those familiar words echoed in his head, although Nathan didn't stop.

You're going to have to choose a side. He'd said the exact same thing to his father and his brother. It could easily be said that sooner or later, one had to pick one or the other. So far he hadn't entirely done that. The question he had to consider was this: when this was all over, when the smoke cleared, was that the type of person he wanted to be affiliated with? Were there more Danko's out there, and if so, how would he be able to say with a clear conscience that he could protect these people with abilities from the over-zealous government?

It was always upsetting to see a personal goal of his go up in flames, but at this particular point, he was having serious doubts about his own credibility.