InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Won't you be my neighbor?"

Heidi Petrelli (crystallus) wrote,
@ 2009-03-09 01:09:00

parabolical

YOU
NAME: Dani
AGE: 23
E-MAIL: sad_shy_angel@yahoo.com
AIM: devotedde
TIMEZONE: US Central
PREVIOUS RP EXPERIENCE: http://dani-muses.insanejournal.com/profile

CHARACTER
NAME: Heidi Petrelli
FANDOM: Heroes
AGE: 38
ALIGNMENT (GOOD, EVIL, NEUTRAL): Good
SKILLS/POWERS/SPECIAL ABILITIES: Heidi has no super powers, but she has always been a very strong, intelligent woman, and an excellent mother.
BRIEF BACKGROUND SUMMARY:
Heidi Danenhower was born the second daughter of three, and from the moment she entered the world, she was a handful. Though her older sister, Carrie, had very much wanted her baby sister to be something of a baby doll, Heidi seemed determined to meet each milestone a little sooner than most. Though she liked to have her parents spoil her from time to time, Heidi was always very independent, preferring to do things for herself than to let anyone really 'baby' her.

It worked out nicely, because two years after Heidi was born the Danenhower family welcomed their last child, and Carrie finally had a living doll to spoil. Truth be told, Heidi looked out for her new little sister, and her other one as well, because looking out for others was just part of her nature. Although she was a visually striking child with long, dark hair and big blue eyes, Heidi was not one to get dressed up. Her mother would have loved to have three daughters well groomed daughters in matching if not identical clothes to take places, but Heidi was always unintentionally ruining the perfect stair step image. She was always exploring something, whether it was the drain pipe behind her father's hardware store or a fresh pile of leaves on her way home. Heidi's inquisitive, independent nature made her look into everything herself, and, though it often left her looking a little haphazard, there was something very lovable that prevented her family and teachers from noticing the leaves clinging to her clothing or the mud on her new shoes.

Heidi's tomboy phase lasted longer than most. Though she stopped exploring drain pipes around the time she moved to middle school, Heidi still thought a million things were more interesting than hair and make up. She was consistently at the top of her classes, involved in extra activities at school, or spending time at her father's hardware store with some of her regular customers. Her sophomore year in high school, Heidi started working at the store to earn money for college and spending money. Her parents were by no means poor, and they would have been more than happy to help Heidi pay for her education, but it was a matter of pride to Heidi that she would be paying for college with scholarships and her own money. She showed up to work each day on time, dark hair pulled back in a somewhat messy bun, and sold hardware with a great deal of expertise. Heidi never skimped on research.

It was at the hardware store that she met Nathan Petrelli. Growing up in Annapolis, Heidi had seen her fair share of navy recruits. She had been asked out on dates when she was at work more times than she could count, and each time she'd calmly turn the attractive men in uniforms down without as much as a second thought. It wasn't until Nathan Petrelli, that cocky pilot in training who made her stomach do flip flops, that Heidi actually considered letting flirting turn in to something more. She thought a lot about him, and saw him around quite a bit, but Heidi knew the entire time that they were both too busy for the fun flirting to turn into anything else.

After her senior year, Heidi went to the University of Maryland, where she studied psychology. She had never wanted to practice as a psychiatrist, but the lecture that one of the psychology professors gave in one of her general education classes piqued her interest. She eagerly devoured her studies, impressing many of her professors with the amount of preparation and thought she put into her assignments. Although she still went home on occasional weekends, and bumped into Nathan from time to time there, it was easier for Heidi to put her studies first with her rigorous course load. She dated from time to time, but most of the 'dates' were just glorified friends or the relationships were short lived. Heidi had priorities, and finishing school well was her first priority.

College seemed to fly by for Heidi. She made many close friends, and with glowing recommendations from her professors, Heidi chose to continue her education in NYU's sociology program. It was in New York that she ran into Nathan Petrelli again. He was the same cocky, handsome man that she remembered, but she had changed. She wasn't the same awkward girl she had been in high school or her first few years of college, she was now a carefully dressed, attractive woman. The one thing that hadn't changed was that Nathan still made her heart skip a beat. After two years of dating, Nathan and Heidi were married. Heidi loved having Peter as a brother, and though she wasn't sure what to think of his parents at first, she adjusted well to life as a Petrelli.

Heidi worked for a non-profit organization to pass the time while Nathan was finishing his last year of school, and when he came home at night she would help him study. Through him, she learned a good deal about law and politics, and though she had no desire to pursue a career in one of those fields for herself, she enjoyed learning about them from her husband.

Simon was born in 1999, and in motherhood Heidi found her true calling. She felt a fierce, instantaneous devotion to her son the moment she saw him, and again when his younger brother followed two years later. Though she still came in to the non profit organization, Heidi loved watching her boys grow up and spending time with her husband. The one thing that Heidi did not like about the family was her father and mother in law. She disliked Arthur's ties to corrupt people like Linderman, the way he didn't appreciate Peter's plans to be a hospice nurse, and she never really trusted Angela.

Heidi was immensely proud of Peter for completeing his studies, and at his party she celebrated. She had a few drinks, cursing Arthur the entire time for not supporting his son. The way home was little different than normal, with her and Nathan exchanging playful banter about Peter and the party, until a car started following them and ramming the car. She was distracted, trying to see who was in the car, and when she turned back Nathan was gone. A split second later the convertible crashed.

Heidi slept a good deal those first few days as her body struggled to recover. When she heard that she would likely never walk again, she was devastated. She didn't blame Nathan, but on her dark days she blamed God, fate...all of it. Visits from her boys helped get Heidi in line, because she refused to let them see her cry. For them she was strong, focusing on the slim chance that with therapy she might someday recover the ability to walk again.

It was her relationship with Nathan that suffered the most, however. Though she knew how the public might take the thought of her in a wheelchair, she had never thought about how it would change the dynamics of their marriage. She was used to being at his side, not cowering inside the house to prevent someone from seeing her and perceiving Nathan Petrelli or his campaign as weak. Finally she had had enough. When Angela invited a member of the press to 'brunch' and Nathan wanted to decline, Heidi stood up to him. She reminded him that she was not made of glass, she reminded him of how much the campaign needed the good publicity. It was her way of trying to regain what she had lost, to try to be the strong woman at Nathan's side, rather than the strong woman held behind the scenes, once more.

During the brunch, the reporter insinuated that Nathan had been unfaithful to her by pointing out that Nathan had been spotted with a blonde in Las Vegas. Although Heidi had a sinking feeling at his words (because she wasn't foolish enough not to notice how much her injury was affecting her marriage) she didn't make a spectacle of it. She rested her hand on his arm and didn't move it, not even when Peter came up with a story that she wanted so much to believe, but had problems accepting. Once the reporter was gone, she confronted Nathan, asking him for the truth. She told him honestly how she felt, that she could work hard enough to teach herself to walk again, if only she had some hope. In that moment, Heidi honestly believed that anything could happen, if she just had some sort of reminder that Nathan would be waiting for her on the other side, that they'd get back what they had lost. When he confirmed Peter's earlier story, giving her the hope she had asked for, somehow it still fell short. Nothing felt right about it, and the moment was unsettling.

More unsettling still was Linderman's contributions to Nathan's campaign. Heidi worried just what strings came attached with that man's money. When she found Linderman in the house talking with Nathan, Heidi was unhappy, not liking the thought of that 'thief' in her house, especially when he could run across the boys. However, it was the discovery that Heidi made shortly after Linderman left that changed everything. By some miracle, she regained use of her legs.

The other miracle of the day was that, while he was trailing in the polls, Nathan won in a landslide. She was very proud of him, but a little shocked when he insisted she still use the wheelchair in public as he made his acceptance speech. Nathan told her that people weren't ready for a miracle, and she knew he was right.

After the election, Heidi and the boys went to Nantucket to take the already agreed upon vacation. She and the boys were having a good time, until the hospital called and told her about Nathan. He was badly burned, with scars that tore at Heidi's heart. She and the boys were both terrified, but she hid it well, determined that they would get through this obstacle just as they had every other one--together. Heidi brought the boys to see their father, after carefully explaining what they would face so that they wouldn't be unnecessarily frightened, and did everything in her ability to be there for Nathan. But he lashed out at the boys, and did everything under his power to push them away. Then, one day, his burns were mysteriously healed. Heidi thought that it was the second 'miracle' to bless their lives, and she assumed that they would move on. She missed Peter desperately sometimes, because he was family, but Nathan didn't seem to recover from his brother's supposed loss. He started drinking and didn't seem to stop. Though Heidi wanted to support Nathan, his drinking and self pity weren't things she could allow their sons to be around, so she left Nathan. There wasn't a day she didn't think about him, worry about him, and hurt with the thought of all that had happened.

She went with the boys to Washington DC, where one of her colleagues had set up an organization to help families in need. She gave Nathan time, hoping that he would realize what a mistake he had made, but when he made no efforts to change, Heidi started divorce proceedings. Being a single mother was harder than she had ever imagined it might be. The hardest day came when the boys saw their father getting shot.

Simon and Monty were arguing over whose turn it was to watch TV, and they were wrestling over the remote. One of them would sieze the remote and switch the channel, and a second later the other would take control and change it back. Heidi, who was suffering the worse cold she had had in years, was in no mood to break up the fight, so she let the boys 'discuss' the TV without intervention. Both of them knew better than to get into an actual fight over the television. Simon had just taken possession of the remote when he flipped the channels to see his father on TV. The boys and Heidi both watched, fascinated, as Nathan spoke. He looked much better than Heidi had remembered him, and for a moment she wondered if he had recovered and gone sober--and if he had, why he had not tried to talk to her--but then the shots were heard and Heidi didn't have time to think about anything.

And then they were gone. It was like Nathan and Peter disappeared into thin air. Heidi packed the boys up the same day, intent on finding them. She searched for weeks until one day, Heidi and the boys mysteriously showed up in LA.

game history TBD

PB: Rena Sofer
JOURNAL USERNAME: crystallus
WAS THIS CHARACTER HELD FOR YOU? Yes

EXAMPLE OF FIRST-PERSON ENTRY:

In celebration of things finally settling down around here a little, cake and lots of other party favorites are downstairs waiting for you. All I ask is that the majority of the sugar is gone from the kitchen before the boys get out of class.

I was thinking maybe we should organize something special for the kids too now that things are settling. In this city, we can't be too careful, but I think the kids get cabin fever sometimes, even in a hotel as big as this one. Maybe something outside, like a picnic on the beach? I could provide the food, ~~and keep Nathan from attempting to provide food~~ if some people would volunteer to make the area as safe as possible.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

EXAMPLE OF THIRD-PERSON ENTRY:

The sound of the DVD's constantly repeating menu musical theme was what woke Heidi. Evidentially, the latest Harry Potter film wasn't as entertaining as its predecessors, because no later than three minutes into the film Heidi felt her eyelids begin to droop and sleep soon followed. Maybe she could have made it through Pride and Prejudice, the film she had threatened the boys with at the video store when they refused to agree on a single movie, but somehow Heidi doubted it. Things had been hectic at the Hyperion lately, with lots of manpower going to try to hunt Alastair and the vampires down, and Heidi had tried her best to make sure that everyone was taken care of, fed, kept hydrated, and given a chance to sleep.

Now that Alastair and the dracu-vamps were gone, Heidi's body seemed to soak in the extra chances to sleep and recover from the heightened state of alert. She took a long moment to stretch before standing. Straightening up the room meant stepping over one of her sons, who had crashed on the floor with a pillow and a blanket in front of the television, covering up all three boys who were sleeping around various corners of the room, turning off the TV, and picking up a small mountain of candy wrappers and chip packages. Normally she liked to keep her sons and Sarah's brother from eating too much sugar (if for no other reason than to protect her own sanity against three overly hyper children) but sometimes a little celebration was in order.

And speaking of celebration...

The thought of being back in her own warm bed, with Nathan at her side, was certainly more tempting than sleeping on the sofa. With one last fond look at the sleeping children, Heidi went out the door.