Episode 10: Six Months Ago

At the Gray & Sons clock shop, as Gabriel Gray repairs a broken watch, he is approached by Chandra Suresh. Gabriel impresses the supposed customer by diagnosing his watch as running two seconds slow, just by looking at it. The man remains in the store and introduces himself, giving Gabriel a copy of his book and his contact information.

Officer Matt Parkman pulls Eden McCain over in what is at first a routine traffic stop. He asks her for her license and registration, but she bluntly replies that the car is stolen. Matt sees an open bottle of alcohol in the car and orders Eden out, but she refuses, suggesting that he leave her and have some donuts. He gets back into his squad car, letting her go. As she prepares to drive off, The Haitian stands in front of her car, blocking her way.

Claire is laying on her bed reading an instruction manual when Jackie comes in spreading rumors about Lori Tremmel. Lori apparently resigned from the cheerleading squad leaving an opening which Jackie offers to Claire. Jackie asks her to try on her new cheerleading outfit, but Claire tells her she'll try it on later. Jackie is surprised that Claire isn't more excited and threatens to offer the opening to someone else. Claire grabs the outfit and they struggle over it briefly before they lose their grip on it and Claire falls backwards and sends her hand through the glass door of a cabinet. Downstairs, her mother helps clean the wound before taking her to the emergency room. Mr. Bennet receives a phone call from Chandra, who introduces himself and tells him he needs to speak with him regarding Claire.

Hiro continues to try to explain to Charlie that he teleported from the future and tells her not to go to work tomorrow. Hiro believes he's teleported to the previous day, but he looks out the window and notices it's raining. He comments that it wasn't raining the previous day and Charlie makes a remark about "April showers". Charlie explains that it's April 24th, her birthday, and Hiro realizes that he teleported back too far. He considers trying to teleport again, but is afraid of when he might end up and decides against it.

At an AA meeting, Niki introduces herself and tells the other attendees that she's been sober for one year. Tina congratulates her on her anniversary. Niki talks about what's going on in her life when she notices her father sitting in the audience. He explains that he doesn't want to be out of her life for another year. Niki tells him that not being there was never her choice. He apologizes to Niki and tells her he wants to get to know his grandson and son-in-law.

Peter is holding a celebration at his apartment. Nathan arrives, offering him a pair of ladies' shoes as a present for becoming a nurse. Heidi and Angela also enter. Angela tells Peter that his dad is very proud of him, but couldn't attend the party because he has a meeting with Mr. Linderman in Atlantic City. Heidi joins Nathan and Peter on the balcony where Peter tells them he's decided to become a hospice nurse. Nathan doesn't seem impressed and asks how much it pays. Heidi leaves and Nathan informs Peter that the District Attorney wants him to prosecute Mr. Linderman. Peter points out that Mr. Linderman is their father's biggest client and that going after Mr. Linderman will get their father in trouble as well. Nathan explains that this is an opportunity to "take the stink off the family." Heidi returns and takes Nathan off to dance.

Gabriel arrives at Chandra's apartment. Chandra explains that he would like to run some noninvasive tests on Gabriel's brain, adding that the brain controls every action. Gabriel explains that as a kid he wished someone would come and tell him that his family wasn't really his. He tells Chandra how he felt they were insignificant and that he wanted to be different and important. Chandra tells him he is important.

Eden is sitting in a chair with her mouth taped shut. Mr. Bennet reads her criminal rap sheet to her, tells her that she needs a purpose, then removes the tape. Eden spits in his face and then attempts to use her power to suggest that Mr. Bennet let her go immediately, but with the Haitian also standing in the room, it has no effect. Mr. Bennet smiles at her and tells her that with her ability she can get anything she wants because there's no one that can say no to her, but that now there is someone who can.

Hiro places a call to Ando at Yamagato Industries, but Ando is out sick that day and the call is answered by the Hiro native to that time. Hiro panics and hangs up the phone, exclaiming "Gureito Skotto!"

Tom McHenry pulls up alongside Matt's police cruiser and asks why he's out eating donuts when his detective's exam—his second attempt—is in an hour. Matt tells him that he's going to be a different man after today.

Hiro works as a busboy at the diner helping Charlie. Hiro tells Charlie that he has a gift for her and gives her a Japanese phrase book. Charlie reads part of the phrase book briefly and thanks Hiro in well-spoken Japanese. When Hiro comments on how quickly she's learning to speak it, she tells him that she's been remembering everything lately. Hiro tells her that she's got a power and that it will become stronger in the future. Charlie still doesn't believe that Hiro has powers. Hiro begins concentrating as Lynette tells Charlie that her order's up. Charlie turns around to find Hiro with a bouquet of flowers. He explains that he got them from the flower store two blocks away. Charlie tells him that she has an order up she needs to take care of, but Hiro tells her it's already finished and points to the table of people with their food already. Charlie laughs and claims he's a magician. He tells her that tomorrow, "The swallow will slay the dragon."

At a graveyard, Niki sits at the grave of Jessica Sanders, 1976–1987. D.L. joins her and Niki talks about missing Jessica. She tells D.L. that her father, Hal, is back and wants to meet him and Micah. She tells him that Hal has money and they can use it to get Micah into private school. D.L. says they can have him over for dinner.

Driving a convertible, Nathan and Heidi talk about Peter's choice to become a hospice nurse. Heidi believes it's a perfect choice for him, but Nathan remains unimpressed. As they're driving, a black SUV speeds up from behind and tries to run them off the road. Nathan struggles to maintain control of the car, but suddenly finds himself flying out of his car seat leaving Heidi in the car alone. Nathan reaches out and calls for Heidi but appears unable to return to the car. The car crashes into barrels at an exit ramp while Nathan floats in the air unable to help. He suddenly falls to the ground.

Peter wakes up from a dream reaching upward. The phone rings. Peter meets Nathan at the hospital where Nathan explains that Heidi has been in surgery for 10 hours. Peter examines his minor injuries and then asks him about the "other car" that was involved. When Nathan asks how Peter knew about the other car, he explains that he saw it in a dream he was having. Nathan explains that the guys in the other car were Mr. Linderman's guys and that he must have found out about the DA's plan to prosecute him. Nathan asks Peter to do the deposition if he agrees to take the case. Peter agrees. A doctor pulls Nathan aside to explain his wife's condition, but Nathan is displeased with the doctor's news.

The next day, Hiro brings a newspaper to the diner and shows Charlie the results of a Japanese baseball game where the Swallows beat the Dragons. Charlie takes the newspaper and reads the Japanese article easily. Hiro comments on how flawlessly she reads Japanese after only one day. Hiro tries to convince her again that they both have powers. Charlie still doesn't believe him. Hiro explains to her the Japanese tradition of origami and Charlie says she read about it. She comments that if someone folds a thousand cranes that they'll be granted one wish. Hiro concentrates and then suddenly Charlie looks around to find herself surrounded by paper cranes hanging from the ceiling. Hiro also offers her a plane ticket to Japan and tells her he doesn't care if she doesn't believe him as long as she'll take the ticket and go. She comments about there only being one ticket and Hiro shows her another ticket for himself.

At Chandra's apartment, Chandra talks to Gabriel as he's performing some tests. He asks why if Gabriel wanted to be different that he didn't just change instead of fixing clocks like his father. Gabriel references a phrase from Chandra's book about "evolutionary imperative" claiming that evolution compels creatures towards certain behaviors. Completing his tests, Chandra appears disappointed and tells Gabriel that he appears to be "healthy." Gabriel is disappointed and asks whether they're going to perform additional tests. Chandra tells him that he may have been wrong and that Gabriel may not have any special powers, despite being on his list. Gabriel asks Chandra not to give up on him, but Chandra tells him there are others he needs to focus his attention on. Gabriel browses through folders of other suspected evolved humans and asks whether he thinks Brian Davis, who Chandra suspects of being telekinetic, is important or whether he's just going to give up on him, too. Chandra asks Gabriel to leave. On the street Gabriel glances again at a Post-It he took off the folder with Brian Davis's name and address written on it. As Gabriel leaves, Mr. Bennet gets out of a cab and approaches the building.

Micah opens up a gift, a laptop from Hal. Niki thanks Hal for the gift. Micah thanks him as well and Hal tells him to go play with it. Niki explains that they want to put Micah into a private school and Hal realizes they're asking for money. He tells them he'll give them the money and Niki and D.L. thank him. Hal tells them he's surprised they even let him through the door after all the things he did. Niki tells him he didn't do anything. Hal goes to check on Micah and finds that Micah has disassembled the laptop. He yells at Micah, then Niki and D.L. yell at him. Hal goes to leave and offers Niki a check. He tells her he owes her more than an apology can ever do. Niki asks him what he did that was so bad, and Hal is genuinely surprised that Niki doesn't remember. After he leaves Niki looks in the mirror and Jessica appears to take over.

In Chandra's apartment, Mr. Bennet asks Chandra how Claire's genetic abnormality is going to affect her, but Chandra doesn't know. Mr. Bennet asks if Chandra has a daughter. Chandra says "yes" but then admits that she "was" 5. Chandra tells Mr. Bennet how Shanti's genetic anomaly began his research. Chandra tells Mr. Bennet that he'd like to meet Claire, but Mr. Bennet tells him that will be a problem for his family. He tells Chandra that he'll think about it and let him know.

At Hal's room, there's a knock at the door. He opens the door and Jessica enters. When Hal asks if she remembers, she tells him she could never forget. She grabs Hal by the throat. Hal calls her Niki and she tells him that she's Jessica. She reveals that Hal used to beat Jessica and ended up killing her, though Hal claims it was accidental. Hal apologizes to Niki, but Jessica tells him that he needs to apologize to her. Hal tells her that she's not Jessica and tells her that she needs help. She throws Hal down on the bed, stuffs his check into his mouth, and tells him not to return.

Claire is practicing some cheerleading routines when her father returns and brings her a teddy bear. Claire asks her father whether she's a bad person for wanting to be a cheerleader when Jackie is a "bitch". He tells her it's her actions that make her good or bad. He asks her to show him her hand which appears to have healed completely. He remarks on how nicely it's healed.

At home, Matt reveals to Janice that he failed his exam again. She remarks on how much he studied, but Matt tells her he knows all the answers but can't tell them about his dyslexia or it could hurt his career. Matt asks how she can want to kiss him, and manages to hear Janice's thoughts as she thinks that he's her hero. She tells him that he's everything she wants. Matt complains that he's still directing traffic after eleven years.

Peter is getting dressed in preparation for the deposition when there's a knock at the door. Nathan informs him that there's not going to be a deposition because their father is dead. Nathan claims that he died of a heart attack. He tells Peter to take comfort in the fact that their father didn't know what they were about to do to him.

Hiro tells Charlie about a 24-hour samurai film festival in Austin, Texas. Charlie appears reluctant and Hiro asks if she still wants to go. Charlie tells Hiro that ever since she met him he's made her so happy, but that she doesn't normally let people get too close to her. She reveals that she has a blood clot in her brain and is dying. When Hiro laments that he was supposed to save her, Charlie tells him that before she met him she was about to just give up, but that Hiro has made her feel more alive than she imagined. In Japanese, she tells him she loves him. Before they kiss, Hiro accidentally teleports himself back to to the present on a rooftop in Japan where his coworkers are exercising. Hiro tries to teleport back to Charlie but is unable to do so.

At the clock shop Gabriel is working on repairing another pocket watch. A man enters the shop and introduces himself as Brian Davis and said someone called him. Gabriel tells him that he called him. He glances down at the watch on the table and sees the name "Sylar" on the face. He introduces himself to Brian Davis as "Gabriel Sylar." Brian stares at a mug on Gabriel's desk and manages to slide it across the desk telekinetically. Brian asks if Gabriel can make it go away. Gabriel is surprised, but Brian tells him he doesn't know what this is, but he doesn't want it. Gabriel looks at him momentarily and then tells him that he's broken and that he understands now how it works with pieces in the brain all fitting together. He grabs a quartz paperweight off his desk and tells Brian he can fix it. Calling it an "evolutionary imperative", he hits Brian on the head with the paperweight, killing him.

Mr. Bennet explains to Eden that she has an opportunity to start over, but if she's not interested they can put her back in her old life. She asks what they want her to do, and Mr. Bennet explains that her that Chandra has a list with Claire's name on it and that he wants her to get Claire's name off the list.

Gabriel meets with Chandra again and demonstrates telekinetic power by moving a glass across the table. Gabriel apologizes for his behavior the other day and Chandra understands that he was angry. Gabriel tells him that he feels different now and that he feels he's been given a chance to start over with a new life and new purpose. Gabriel tells Chandra that all the others are waiting to be told of their importance and their true potential. He tells Chandra that they'll find them together.

In the present day, Hiro returns to the diner where Ando greets him. Hiro tells Ando that despite traveling through time he wasn't able to save Charlie. Ando suggests he try again, but Hiro tells him that his power is bigger than he is and that he can't change the past. He tells Ando he has failed and places an origami crane at the makeshift memorial for Charlie.