Eileen Gray
Eileen
Status Registered Evolved
Ability Avian Telepathy
Age 30
Date of Birth February 16th, 1989
Role Nurse
Parents Sophia Ruskin and Gregory York
Siblings Nicholas Ruskin
Children Zhang Bai-Chan (adopted)
Marital Status Married to Gabriel Gray
Introduced His Face
Death Shot by Teodoro Laudani in When Soft Voices Die
Portrayed By Darla Baker

Overview

Nothing worth having is gained without sacrifice.

In 2019, Eileen Ruskin goes by the name Eileen Gray, has been married to a man she loves for close to seven years, and possesses a rewarding career as a nurse working in Pediatrics at St. Luke's Hospital in New York. The only unfortunate aspects of her life are the memories concerning what she had to do in order to obtain it.

In exchange for amnesty for the crimes she committed while belonging to the Vanguard, Eileen left her job at the Filatov Clinic on Staten Island and turned herself in to the American government shortly after Sylar's arrest and subsequent internment late in 2009. At Richard Carmichael's bequest, she was assigned to FRONTLINE where she would spend the next year in service as a field consultant, using her knowledge to assist in the systematic elimination of remaining Vanguard operatives in the United States and Mexico. Over time, Eileen's superiors grew bolder, and in 2011 she found herself partnered with an old friend, sent abroad and charged with the task of tracking down individuals who were still loyal to Kazimir's vision and had gone into hiding in remote locations throughout South America and Eastern Russia.

Initially, Eileen and Sylar fell back into old habits and spent most of their time needling each other while on the hunt, but after a few months of working in such intimate quarters their unorthodox relationship evolved into something more serious, and while sleeping together should have been against the rules, they engaged in it regularly, bringing them closer still. When their mission reached its conclusion and the pair returned to America, she and Sylar — now Gabriel Gray — received their official presidential pardons and were reintegrated back into society, Eileen with naturalized citizenship and a paycheck she put toward nursing school.

Eileen Ruskin became Eileen Gray in 2012, making her a legal guardian of Zhang Wu-Long's youngest son, who Gabriel had decided to formally adopt with Brian Fulk's blessing. In the years between the present day and her marriage to the man once known as Sylar, Eileen began an internship at St. Luke's Hospital, then graduated to a full-time employee upon her schooling's completion.

Prior to the "Lost Eight" arriving in April of 2019, she balanced the roles of healer, mother, wife and lover, looking toward the future while simultaneously keeping her back turned on her past. Upon discovering that their very existence was being put in jeopardy, she and Gabriel decided that the most appropriate course of action was to eliminate the displaced time travelers, thereby preventing them from returning to 2009 and changing the course of history.

Things did not go according to plan. During an attempt on Alexander Knight's life, Eileen was ambushed and killed by Teodoro Laudani — ultimately, her death served as a catalyst, leading Gabriel to help the time travelers return home in the hope it might be averted.


Ability

Eileen's ability hasn't changed a lot between 2009 and 2019 — her control has improved vastly, allowing her to travel greater distance while in possession of birds, but her physical limitations remain the same. For details, please refer to Eileen's present-day incarnation.1


Timeline

Pre-April 2019
Date Title Other Participants Summary
January 16th, 2011 His Face Gabriel and "Aviators" NATO flies Sylar out to the Andes where he meets up with someone from his past.
March 2nd, 2011 Discipline Gabriel and "Aviators" Eileen and Gabriel encounter difficulties with their superior.
March 3rd, 2011 Ambush, Part I Gabriel Vanguard strikes back.
Ambush, Part II Gabriel Eileen and Gabriel regroup after a devastating guerrilla attack on their platoon's campsite.
April - May 2019
Date Title Other Participants Summary
April 5th Time Off Abby Abigail catches up with Eileen outside the nursery in the maternity ward.
Grounding Gabriel On a late night walk through Unity National Park, Gabriel and Eileen face unpleasant truths.
April 9th Niceties Gabriel Gabriel and Eileen get ready for a night out at the fundraiser gala. An olive branch is extended but not quite accepted.
High Society's Ballroom Notoriety, Part I Abby, Bebe, Brian, Cat, Deckard, Elias, Eliot, Felix, Gabriel, Gillian, Magnes, Monica, Sonny, Victor, Ygraine, Zoe The Police Fundraiser's Gala goes smoothly. For most of the evening.
High Society's Ballroom Notoriety, Part III Abby, Baxter, Bebe, Brian, Cat, Deckard, Gabriel, Sonny Continued.
In the Way Gabriel After the Policemen's Gala, Gabriel and Eileen don't quite address some marital concerns. It's hard to get through to someone when no one is listening.
April 20th Moral Support Abby Eileen and Abigail have a heart-to-heart on the bathroom floor. Desperate people do desperate things — who knew?
Admissions Gabriel Eileen comes clean.
April 21st No Colors Anymore Abby, Deckard and Gabriel Gabriel sees a red door and wants it painted black. His wife and houseguests have to pry the brush from his fingers.
Nothing Works Perfectly Forever Gabriel Eileen and Gabriel reach a tentative understanding.
May 5th And Back Again Gabriel, Gillian and Peter The Petrellis and the Grays have very different ideas about how to handle the time travelers from the year 2009.
May 10th Precipice None Eileen reflects on an important life lesson learned. Others include that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And, just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
May 11th When Soft Voices Die Gabriel and Teo

Trivia

  • With Bai-Chan approaching his eighteenth birthday, Eileen has become increasingly aware of the ticking of her own biological clock. While it isn't a subject she's attempted to broach with her husband, she would very much like to have children of her own, preferably before she hits thirty-five. She even has a name picked out.
  • Real estate in New York City is notoriously expensive, and while both Eileen and Gabriel hold very respectable jobs with St. Luke's and the NYPD, their combined salaries don't go a very long way after their monthly mortgage payments and other household bills are accounted for — they own one half of a duplex in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens and are living a comfortable existence as members of the lower middle-class.
  • Eileen raises zebra finches as a hobby. For one thing, they don't require a lot of space — for another, it doesn't cost much money to keep them happy. The income she makes by breeding and selling colour mutations for exhibition in bird shows goes toward feed and veterinary care while zebras that aren't of show quality are sold at bird fairs and to nursing homes.
  • When working at St. Luke's, Eileen wears her wedding band on a chain around her neck under her scrubs so it doesn't get in her way.

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