June 6, 1982
"Sharon, leave it alone," Carly laughed, "You're going to mess up your hair."
Sharon stopped tugging at the bow in her hair. Hank grinned as he adjusted his cuff links. Sharon's hair had grown in quickly, and it was now past her waist. It had proved unmanageable ever since she was a baby. It was fluffy and it had a tendency to go everywhere, even when it was brushed.
Carly, after wrestling with it for a few years, had figured that the best way to deal with it was to pull it back. Currently his daughter's hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a rose colored ribbon that matched her dress. Carly had tied it into a bow to match the bows on her red leather shoes.
Usually she just let Sharon's hair go free and let her dress in shirts, shorts, and overalls, but they were about to go to a press conference about a new measure for mutant affirmative action. Hank had worried, at the beginning, about all of the media exposure Sharon was getting. It was something that many children of politicians had to go through: people liked their representatives with strong family support, and they liked to be reminded. As such Sharon had attended several press conferences since she was a baby.
He wished he could just keep her private, but during his case with the Supreme Court the eyes of the nation had been on them. Luckily Carly's pregnancy hadn't advanced into the stage where it would be noticeable when it all ended. It had gotten him thinking though.
He hadn't thought about factoring a baby into the aftermath of the court case when he had embarked on his suit. Hank had rushed to make room for the arriving new life. With that in mind he had decided to take a slight break from politics until after Sharon had been born.
He didn't regret it. He'd gotten back into the arena when Sharon was three months old, and he'd been surprised at how many people were still waiting for him. He'd been in contact with a few friends during Carly's pregnancy, but it hadn't been anything serious. However, apparently his move back into the political sphere had been anticipated.
Sharon had spent the first two years of her life in Jasper Rhode Island. After his election to the United States Senate they had spent most of their time in Washington. He'd worried about moving her between her two homes in Washington and Rhode Island. There were occasional visits to Westchester, but nothing to complicate their lives too much. Sharon had somehow adapted, and he'd been intrigued by her budding curiosity. When she was four he'd been able to take her around Washington on his shoulders, showing her the different sights. She'd understood less than half of what he'd said.
Still, it was their custom to repeat the tour every year. She was picking things up quickly, but he didn't want to pressure her. She was still very young. She had only just qualified to go to school, and her teachers were giving her positive reports.
He'd worried endlessly about her going to a public school. Sharon was, with her white hair and catlike eyes, an obvious mutant. He had considered sending her to Westchester, but he hadn't wanted her to be parted from them. Carly had seconded his desire, and she'd been kept close.
He could still remember her first public appearance in Carly's arms. He'd watched that news report a few times since its airing. Carly had seemed so proud and Sharon had stared out at the crowd, blinking and watching. As Sharon had grown she'd stayed near Carly, her hand in her mother's. She'd continued to stare at the camera with her slitted eyes, looking absolutely adorable, but also curious.
Behind him Carly turned around to get her earrings. Sharon watched her and climbed onto the couch so she was level with her.
"Mama, I like your necklace," she said.
She reached for Carly's necklace, a teardrop pearl on the end of a silver chain. Carly smiled softly.
"Your father gave it to me," she said.
Sharon leaned back so she was looking at Hank.
"Can I have one too?" she asked.
"When you're older," he said.
Sharon frowned.
"What about now?" she asked.
"That's my final word on the subject," Hank said.
Sharon crossed her arms.
"Promise?" she asked.
"We'll talk when the time comes," he said.
He checked his watch and looked for his folder with his speech in it. As he reached for it he felt a weight land on his back and arms wrap around his neck. He looked back and saw Sharon staring at him.
"Promise?" she asked.
Hank sighed. He supposed that he shouldn't have encouraged Sharon's inclination for climbing on things. He supposed he made a daunting target, given the fact that he was taller than Carly and less likely to fall when she tackled him. While it pleased him that she was active, the fur she pulled out was getting to him.
The phone rang. He looked at it and then back to his daughter.
"I promise," Hank said, "Now get down. Now is not the time to wrestle, alright?"
Sharon slid down, folding her arms again. Carly shook her head as he walked over to the phone.
"You're too old to be doing that Sharon," she said, "And you've got wrinkles all over your dress now."
She smoothed out her daughter's skirt. Hank picked up the phone.
"Senator McCoy," he said.
He listened for a minute. He rubbed his temples.
"Yes, I see," he said, "It shouldn't make that much difference: we should have expected this one day anyway."
He sighed again.
"Yes, I'll see you there."
He set the phone down and gazed back at his wife and daughter. Carly had almost banished the last of the wrinkles out of Sharon's dress.
"It's not that wrinkled," Sharon said.
"It's wrinkled enough," Carly said, "You need to be more careful in the future."
Sharon looked down a her shoes and dug them into the wood flooring.
"I don't like dresses," she said, "They get wrinkled too easy. They're in the way."
Carly knelt down in front of her.
"It's only for a little bit," she said, "And then we're going to come home and have ice cream, just like we always do."
Sharon grinned.
"I like the ice cream," she said.
"I know," Carly said.
She got up.
"Ready Hank?" she asked.
He hesitated a moment.
"The FOH are sending a representative to the press conference," he said.
His wife paused and put her hands on Sharon's shoulders protectively. They hadn't heard much from the FOH since the night they had kidnapped Carly. Later, several reporters had done the math and realized that Carly had been pregnant with Sharon during the case and her subsequent kidnapping. It had done much to tarnish the Friends of Humanity, and he'd taken some satisfaction from that.
He still couldn't believe that some branches of the FOH survived, citing that Graydon Creed was an extremist and that not all of them prescribed to his beliefs. It was such a blatant lie that Hank wanted to be ill. However, he knew that he had to pick his battles with care. Thus far the FOH had steered clear of him, unwilling to open the can of worms that would result if they were seen together.
It hadn't stayed that way.
"Mama, what's that?" Sharon asked.
"Bad people," Carly said.
She looked down at Sharon and kissed her on her forehead.
"Don't worry though," she said.
Carly got to her feet, slowly letting go of Sharon's shoulders. She walked over to Hank and grasped his hands.
"Well, you'll just have to show the world how ignorant those bigots are," she said, "Again."
"Some people don't seem to find ignorance as much of a hindrance as I'd like," Hank said.
Carly tilted her head.
"Ignorance is the curse of God: knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven," she said.
Hank smiled.
"Henry VI, part two," he said.
"Right," she said.
She squeezed his hand and walked over to Sharon. She took their daughter's hand and nodded triumphantly at him. Hank couldn't believe her strength, her courage.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
He picked up his folder and tucked it under his arm.
"I'm ready," he said.
Carly grinned and tucked her arm into his. Together they walked out of the house towards the waiting car. There were a few aides milling around. One of them was shuffling papers. He waved at Hank and Carly before frowning.
"Senator McCoy, where's your speech?" he asked.
Hank rubbed his forehead. Next to Carly Sharon started rubbing her face. Carly let go of Hank's hand so she could stop her.
"It's in the house," he said.
"A little forgetful this morning are we?" Carly asked.
"You two get settled. I'll be back in a minute," Hank said.
Carly kissed him on the cheek and headed towards the car. Hank nodded to the aide and walked back towards the house. As he did he felt his hackles rise. He frowned at the sensation, frowned at the way his ears flattened themselves against his head.
He sniffed the air and stopped. His hackles were still raised and his entire body seemed on edge. Something was wrong. There was a strange, smoky and yet metallic smell in the air. It was faint, but with another whiff he knew exactly what it was.
Hank whipped around as Carly walked towards the car, swinging hands with Sharon.
"No!" he shouted.
Carly turned around to look at him and time slowed down. He saw her eyes widen and her lips part, her hair swirling around her. He saw Sharon's eyes fill with surprise, her spare hand still rubbing her face. Then the car exploded.
Kurt woke up to a ringing noise. For a moment he worried that it was his alarm clock and it was time to get up. Then he saw that it was dark outside. He heard footsteps down the hall and the ringing stopped.
Feeling curious he got out of bed and crept to his door. He cracked it open and saw Alex at the phone.
"Hank, slow down," he said.
Kurt cocked his head. He watched as Alex gripped the edge of the table that the phone rested it on.
"Oh God, Hank...I..."
There was a pause.
"I'm coming down there," he said, "I'm coming down there right now, understand? I'll be there in half an hour, tops."
There was another pause and Alex ran a hand through his hair.
"It's going to be alright Hank, I swear it's going to be alright," he said.
He hung up the phone and ran to the end of the hall where Kurt's parents slept. Kurt bit his lip and looked around the hallway. He didn't know what was going on, but he couldn't help but feel worried. Alex's tone was scary, and he didn't know why Hank was calling.
Kurt crept out of his room and walked across the hall to David's room. His brother was asleep, even though he was muttering to himself. Kurt knew that after his brother had started reading people's thoughts he'd started having more nightmares. He didn't want to talk about it though.
He shook him tentatively. David shot up, looking blearily at Kurt.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I don't know," Kurt said, "Bad stuff I think."
David furrowed his brow. He slid out of bed and walked towards the door. Kurt felt relieved that he had woken up his brother. He seemed to have a better idea of what to do. He followed him as David opened the door a crack. They could just barely hear voices down the hall.
His brother frowned for a minute before walking down the hall. Kurt followed him as they moved towards their parents' room.
"-blew up in front of their house," Alex said.
Kurt heard his mother stifle a gasp.
"Are they alright?" she asked.
David took in a sharp breath next to him.
"I...Hank's fine," Alex said.
His voice sounded choked.
"But Carly and Sharon are in the intensive care unit right now," he said, "Sharon's got some bad burns and they're operating right now, but...Carly..."
David reached out and grabbed Kurt's hand. They exchanged looks. David had no idea what was going on. He was just as scared as Kurt was.
"They're not sure if she's going to make it," Alex said.
