Author: MoiraShipper

Summary: Moira, her ex-husband and family get in an accident, five years after DOAFP, needing Charles's help.

Unashamedly inspired by 'If I stay', with a lot of Choira and songs that are purely Rafaella.

If I stay

Chapter 1

Today is the greatest

Day I've ever known

Can't live for tomorrow,

Tomorrow's much too long

I'll burn my eyes out

Before I get out

Today-Willamette Stone

Moira Mactaggert returned from the baseball stadium in Langley after her 8-year-old son, Kevin, won the game for his school team. The rain seemed to have waited for the game to finish to fall, which was a relief as she knew how much her son had been excited to play. He loved baseball.

In the backseat, her son and her father, Ken MacTaggert talked animatedly about the game and Moira was glad that he'd came to Langley to watch his grandson play. Her father, although at first hadn't liked her decision to join the CIA, in the end had encouraged her, seeing her doing her best and had approved and said how proud he had been of the woman she had become and she smiled, remembering his words.

"He played well, didn't he?" Joe said quietly beside as he drove.

"It's true..." She nodded, grinning, and to her surprise Joe put his hand over hers on the seat.

The two had been divorced for a year because of Moira's work, which kept her busy during periods of missions and for him often having to travel to business, which had ended up pushing them both away and in the end they had decided to ask for a divorce, Moira staying with Kevih, but they had managed to keep the friendship and they saw each other often, since he worked in a company from there.

Joe's gray eyes met Moira's browns and he gave her a small smile, squeezing her hand tenderly and asking:

"Will you have dinner with me tonight? Just the two of us?"

"Joe..." She whispered, her brow furrowed, staring at him with a pang of sadness. "I don't know if it's a good idea..."

"I miss you Moira... And not just as a friend, or the mother of my son."

Moira parted her lips, but her voice didn't come out. She missed him too, part of her wanted to have dinner with him, but also, for some reason, there was a part of her that seemed to miss someone she had never met.

"I miss you too..." She admitted and seeing him smile, she said: "I'll have dinner with you..."

But then, a motorcycle cut off the front of their car and Joe had to divert, but the wet road made the car hit the wall hard and over and everything went dark for Moira.

Sirens were ringing and Moira, feeling her head heavy, opened her eyes, seeing ambulance lights and police and the rain continued to fall. She glanced sideways and saw Joe's car with the windows broken, and then she realized she was lying on the road, without a scratch, but wet.

"Please!" She asked desperately, getting up and watching the paramedics move around her, while the police kept people away from the accident.

But no one seemed to hear her. She saw an ambulance close the door and leave and she didn't know if it was her father Joe inside and then, saw the other ambulance with Kevin immobilized, a tube of oxygen on his face and Moira screamed, running and entering the ambulance that was preparing to leave.

"Kevin!" She whispered, seeing her son pale and unconscious, his face and arms covered with bruises and scrapes.

She felt as if her heart was breaking and turned to one of the paramedics who checked his blood pressure and asked:

"I'm senior agent Moira Mactaggert, and I need you to inform me of my son's condition."

"We won't know his full state until we reach Memorial Hospital, but the blow to his head was strong."

"The woman in the other ambulance wasn't reacting either, she seemed to be in a worse state, the accident was ugly." The nurse next to him said, and Moira frowned, confused. There was another car in the accident, too?

Charles was in his office after finishing his last class with a group of younger mutants, when he caught thoughts around him that disturbed him deeply, his brow furrowed, his blue eyes shining with anguish and concern as he made his chair lead him out there, toward the subsoil to go to the Cerebro.

"Professor." Hank called and beside him was Alex, both instructors at Charles's School, who had been running for four years and growing.

Even if the two had kept their facial expressions neutral, Charles would still have seen in their minds that it was serious.

"Is it really Moira Mactaggert?" Charles asked, seeing in Hank's mind the news report, showing the serious car accident that had happened, involving a CIA agent and her family in Langley.

"They... They didn't revealed the identity of the agent, but I invaded their database, it's her and it looks like her condition is very serious." Hank said, his voice low and sad, not only because of the news that destabilized his mentor, but because he had met the woman 15 years ago and and he liked her, they had fought side by side and been together for a long time with the others in that mansion, before Cuba.

Charles was invaded by memories of 15 years ago, the first time they met at the bar, the flirtations, their kiss in his room and the romantic moments later, the battle together, the farewell kiss.

Knowing her had been fantastic, just as loving her. Erasing her mind had been devastating but necessary to keep her and his students safe and living with the memories alone had been a daily struggle. Her beautiful mind, her hair that he admired, so much, her fairness and compassion... All this he loved and he missed having her at his side.

"I have to go to the Cerebro." Charles murmured, trying to regain his control and continuing the walking, feeling Alex and Hank following.

At the hospital, Moira went to the reception desk of the hospital, realizing that her hair was already dry and then that she was only in her beige trousers with a white long-sleeved blouse, without her shoes and blazer, and ignored it, asking:

"Please, can anyone tell me what's going on? Why doesn't anyone answer me?" She asked, trying to stay calm.

That morning had been fantastic, her father had come to spend the weekend with her, they had played baseball with Kevin and, they had gone to see the boy playing with his team, winning. She had had a nice day with her ex and they were going to have dinner together that night... Why, why?

"Quick, take him to surgery now, we're about to lose him!"

Moira turned and saw two doctors and a nurse hurrying through a stretcher, and Moira's eyes widened when she saw it was Joe, and one of the doctors pressed his chest to stop a bleeding.

"Joe, don't give up!" She asked sadly, her eyes shining and then wondering where they had taken her father and her son.

"Get out of the way, please!" Some nurses and patient visits pulled away as another stretcher passed and Moira turned to the other side, her hair flying across her face and feeling as if everything had frozen, a shiver running through her.

She was in the last stretcher, wearing an oxygen mask, the left side of her face covered on a bruise, as well as her hands and leg, where her trousers were torn. Her hair was wet from the rain and her face, pale and motionless.

"No, no, no... This can't be happening!" She screamed desperately, turning to the counter, but the nurses ignored her and she hit the table hard, but her hand pssed through it and her chocolate eyes widened as her lips parted, wanting to scream.

In the Cerebro, Charles was concentrating on Moira's mind, but her mind was immobile and incommunicable, watching her be carried on a stretcher to the operating room, and his heart broke at the sight of her condition, her whole body bruised. He then entered the head of one of the doctors and listened to his thoughts:

Multiple bruises on the body, serious internal bleeding in the abdomen, it's a miracle that she had only broken the wrist... The biggest concern is the very strong blow to the head after being thrown out of the car.

"Moira Mactaggert." She said, smiling and standing in front of him, covering the image of the woman in the bar that beckoned him, but he didn't care.

The woman in front of him wasn't only beautiful, but had a beautiful mind and Charles felt his heart racing, in a way he had never felt before.

"Charles Xavier." He said, playing with the huge tube of beer that was still on his hand, giving her a beautiful smile.

"Do you have a minute?" She asked uncertainly and he set the tube aside.

"Ah, for a pretty little bean with a mutated MC-one gene I have five." He responded, noticing the beautiful color of her hair, auburn and he touched a lock carefully, watching her gaze lower to his hand, her face slightly flushed.

Charles turned his mind away from the flashback from their first encounter and removed his helmet. That day had begun so calm and pleasant, attending a basketball game of his students, commanded by Alex and then the classes he had taught... God, he couldn't lose her!