Claude's smile slipped from something tentative to something much more open at her last words. All right. Now, he could certainly see why he'd agreed to help her in the first place. The kid was smart, mature, and definitely well settled for her age, and considering what had likely happened to her given Sylar's history, extremely well adjusted for the circumstances. She was tough, then. Definitely the type that he would have been protective of. People like that had been through enough in their life. They didn't need anymore heaped on top of them.
"You know how people are," Claude said with a chuckle. "Always so careful not to rub anyone the wrong way if they think they're going to be judged for it. Crowd of people watching, anyone that might so much as set off a kid bawling will be getting the stink-eye for next to forever."
A cynical way of looking at things, people avoided because it would be bad for their self-image if they tried to help and did something wrong. But that was the Claude Rains way of the world. Everyone was ultimately out for themselves and would only help others if it didn't make to big of a dent in their own plans.