Author's Note: So, the fluff parade continues. We get more Erik/Miranda development. Things are going to change between the two of them, fast, but whether it's for the better or worse has yet to be seen. It's not going to be all rainbows and puppies. They're going to work for what they get. XD On the other side, though... this is by far the longest chapter so far of Turning Tables. It's nearly 5000 words, so that's why it took so long to figure out.

But yeah. I don't own X-Men. :( It depresses me to say that each chapter, but I have to. I do, however, own my OC characters. That makes me slightly happy, because it does seem like so far you guys like my OC characters.

The poll is still up, and will be up for a few more days. I hope to get a new poll up sooner or later, so keep checking my profile to see what happens.

But first, I need to say how grateful I am to you guys for reviewing this so much. I'm amazed at the support I've gotten, and I appreciate it so much. It's you guys that are keeping this story going on, and I'm grateful to you guys for that. Please continue to leave reviews, because hearing from you guys is one of the best parts of this story. But thank you all for making this a joy to write.

Turning Tables
Erik glared at her. "You haven't even heard my plan yet." "I don't need to. It involves boats and a sociopathic doctor. It won't end well." With a partner in his vendetta against Shaw, Erik Lensherr thought things would change. He was right. Erik/OC

Chapter 13

CIA Research Base, Virginia
1962

Moira was cranky that morning. She had been up all night trying to find more information about David, with only limited data to go on in the first place. She had been feeling guilty about letting Miranda know, over phone, about her husband's secret life. But Moira had put herself in Miranda's shoes for a moment. She would have wanted to know right away, and while she knew that she had done the right thing, she had still worried about the brunette mutant most of the night.

Her crankiness had only grown when she had been awakened to a phone call at 5 in the morning. Moira stumbled out of bed quickly, silently vowing to murder whoever was calling her so early in the morning. She grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" she grumbled out.

"Moira, it's Erik."

Moira was awake instantly. Her brown eyes widened when she heard the now familiar, gruff voice of Miranda's partner. "Erik, is everything alright?" she asked instantly. "Are Charles and Miranda alright? The two mutants… Sean and Katie?"

"They're fine," Erik replied. His voice sounded more gruff than usual. "Sean and Katie are asleep in the car, Miranda is getting a few snacks for the road, and Charles is packing the last of the bags."

"Why are you calling then?"

"Miranda."

Guilt instantly exploded in Moira's gut. "I wish I could have told her when she came here," she admitted quietly. "But… from what I've figured out about her, I think she would have wanted to find out right away, like she did."

"She appreciates you doing that," Erik assured her. He sighed. "She can't come back yet."

"What?" Moira asked, confused. She frowned as she ran a hand through her brown hair.

"Moira, she needs a little time to process everything she found out last night."

"We don't have time!" Moira burst out, brown eyes wide as she ran her hand through her hair anxiously. We're getting intelligence about where Shaw might be now, and as soon as we get confirmation, I'll be money they'll send us out." She sighed. "The meeting is tonight, Erik. We'll find out tonight."

"If she gets down there now, she's going to completely flip out on the Agent." Erik's voice took a harder edge. "And I can promise you, if she fights Shaw now, she won't make it. She's distracted, and she is not going to go into a battle the way she is now."

Moira thought for a moment before realizing that Miranda actually would flip out on the Agent if she was given the chance. From what she had gathered, the Agent must have known about Miranda, let alone have recognized her when he had seen her. She also didn't want to be responsible for that death, not when Shaw's death meant so much to Erik and Miranda. "I thought you talked to her."

"I did." Moira had a feeling that Erik was rolling his eyes, not at her, but at Miranda, wherever she may be. "I didn't say that she listened."

"What do you suggest we do then?" Moira asked. She glanced at the phone as silence came over.

"We all meet up in DC. We'll call it a team bonding experience. Moira, I know Miranda. She doesn't know them well, but she cares about these kids. She cares about helping them. She'll want to do this. We just have to pretend that it was your idea and I didn't have anything to do with it."

"That's not a bad idea, actually," Moira admitted, thinking the plan over in her head.

"You'll find that I can think one up every now and again." Erik sounded slightly smug. "So, you're in?"

"We'll have them up there by noon," Moira replied. She glanced at the table across the room, where an outfit already laid waiting. If she got them up soon, all the others would be able to get ready in time for them to get to DC. "Think you can make it there by then?"

"Absolutely." Erik's voice was firm. "Remember. She never finds out I suggested this."

"If you're sure, Erik," Moira replied. She sighed. "She'd appreciate you doing this, you know."

"Trust me, I am," Erik said, his voice slightly quiet. He was silent for a few moments before adding, "Just be there."

"We will. See you all then."

With that, both hung up. Moira sighed quietly to herself. He might deny it most times, but Erik cared for Miranda a lot more than he ever let on. He was concerned enough about her enough to call Moira and ask if it was possible that they took a slight detour to give Miranda a chance to clear her head. If that wasn't caring, Moira didn't know what was.

Moira sighed. Somehow, the idea of bringing a bunch of mutants, none of them over the age of twenty-five, into the city did not seem to be such a bright one.

Oh, well. At least it would be entertaining.

Washington, DC
1962

"We lost the kids."

"We did not lose the kids."

"Alright, then, Miranda, where are the kids?"

"…Charles and Erik are going to kill us."

"No, Erik is going to kill you. Taking them away from him and Charles was your idea."

Miranda sighed as the truth of Moira's words sunk in. "Unfortunately, I can't deny that," she sighed, glancing at the Washington Monument above them. She sighed again, running her hand through her brown curls as she considered the situation. "They couldn't have gone far…"

Back when she and Moira had decided to take the kids to the Washington Memorial, it had seemed like a good idea. Erik and Charles had decided to play chess on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, for whatever reason, and Moira and Miranda had decided to bring the group along for a walk to encourage bonding between them. It had gone well. Until the whole group of eight mutants had given them the slip.

"DC is a big place," Moira reminded her. She looked around, her brow creased in worry. There were a number of families with small children around, but there was no sign of the group of teenaged that they were looking for. "There's a lot places they could go."

"If we don't find them in an hour, we go get Erik and Charles," Miranda replied, glancing around. She shook her head before running a hand through her brown curls. "I swear I'm going to kill Sean, I know he had the idea for this… him or Alex." Her eyes narrowed. "Or, most likely, both of them, plus Darwin!"

"What makes you so sure?" Moira asked, frowning slightly.

Miranda sighed. "Because I saw the looks they shot each other. Brothers in chaos." At Moira's questioning look, Miranda gave a nostalgic smile. "Whenever they were in the same room, David and Daniel would shoot the same looks to each other. They drove me nuts together."

Moira chuckled slightly, and then seized the opening to ask the question she had been wanting to since they had all met up an hour earlier. "How are you doing?" she asked gently. She frowned as she looked down a pathway. "We can walk and look around." She took another good look at Miranda. "And please… answer honestly."

Miranda nodded slightly, silent as she contemplated Moira's question. They had been walking for a few minutes before she managed to answer. "I think I'm alright," Miranda stated quietly.

The car ride hadn't been completely peaceful. Sean and Katie seemed to be able to argue with each other over every little thing, reminding Miranda too much of herself and Erik for her own comfort. Charles had gotten them lost twice, causing Erik to lose his patience. The Nazi hunter had eventually commandeered the vehicle from Charles, forcing him into the back seat with the teenagers and Miranda up front with him.

For some reason, Sean and Katie had found this hilarious. As they had continued to laugh at Charles, Miranda had thought about what she had learned. She had thought about David, of the meetings that he had told her about. Of the business trips to Richmond that she never heard any details about.

It some ways, it made sense that he had been a CIA agent. Now, she actually understood her husband a bit more. She was still furious for him never telling her. But she could understand the reasons.

Miranda knew that she and Daniel were going to have a very serious talk as soon as they found him. She had realized that Erik was right during the night. Shaw would not have taken Daniel for just his powers. He had to know something further about David's murder. What that was, however, was not something she could figure out. She would have to wait to find her brother-in-law, and then flip out on him for never telling her.

She was going to have a talk with the Agent later on. If he had known who she was, Miranda wanted to find out why he had never mentioned anything to her. But for now, while they were down in DC, Miranda could focus on the kids. Erik was right. Focusing on the kids was the best thing that she could do for right now.

Breaking away from her thoughts, Miranda shot a grateful smile to Moira. "Being able to come down here and clear my head helped a lot. Thanks, Moira."

"Anytime," Moira replied, feeling slightly guilty. Erik should be the one getting the credit for this, not her. But Moira wouldn't go against his wishes, even though she knew that it was stupid he didn't receive the credit he deserved.

"It was great seeing them just meet each other," Miranda continued, glancing around everywhere for any sign of their group of recruits. "I mean… they're finally just getting the fact that they're not alone. It took me awhile to get used to it, when I met Erik… but it felt amazing, knowing I wasn't alone."

Moira nodded softly. She knew that she would never understand how mutants felt. She wasn't a mutant, she was only human. She knew that she was lucky in some respects. Moira had never been forced to hide who she was from the world. She had never felt like she was the only freak in the world. She had never felt the relief of knowing that she wasn't alone.

It was bittersweet, really.

Moira had seen the camaraderie between all of them. While Erik, Miranda, and Charles had been getting the two Boston teenagers, the other mutants had bonded. Angel, Caroline, and Raven had often been seen giggling with each other. Armando and Alex had already developed a good friendship that was usually grown during their pinball tournaments on the machine in the corner of their lounge. Hank and Caroline had developed something of a kinship, and they all seemed to get well enough.

She had even seen that camaraderie when they had all met up about an hour ago. Sean and Katie had immediately been welcomed into the group. Within minutes, Katie had been laughing with the girls, and, if Moira had to guess, Sean had been scheming with Armando and Alex. Hank even seemed to be more comfortable.

At best, Moira knew she would always be an outsider.

"You know, we appreciate you," Miranda said out of the blue.

Moira frowned at her. "What?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

Miranda chuckled. "We appreciate you being here," she explained, shooting a grateful smile towards the CIA agent. "You and the Agent… you're kind of our hope."

"A hope for what?" Moira asked, a frown of confusion on her face.

"That someday we won't have to hide who we are," Miranda explained. She stopped on the path, and then looked around on the grass. She looked at the families looking up at the Monument above them, and Moira saw her gaze focus on a brown-haired couple with a little boy. "That someday, when we have kids, they can grow up in a world where having powers isn't something that needs to be kept secret."

"Someday, that'll happen," Moira murmured. She looked at the little boy, who was giggling as his father tickled him. His mother sat laughing, watching the scene with love in her eyes. She hesitated, and then looked at Miranda. "You're thinking about him, aren't you? Your baby?"

Miranda hesitated before nodding. Charles and Moira were among the only two who knew about her miscarriage years ago. Erik had known. He had been the first person outside of her and David's family to ever know. It was something painful that she didn't like to think about. None of the kids knew that. Not even Raven, who was slowly becoming the baby sister Miranda had never had.

"It was a boy," Miranda said quietly. Her gaze was on the brunette little boy as she spoke. "I was only about two months along when I miscarried… but I knew even then. David and I had a name picked out…" She stopped for a second, and gave a rough swallow before continuing, "We were going to name him Colin Daniel Holloway."

"After Daniel?" Moira asked, watching Miranda carefully with sympathy in her eyes.

Miranda nodded. "Partially. We had a teacher at our high school, Mr. Collins. We both loved him. He was the best teacher either of us had ever had," she explained. She smiled. "He inspired me to become a teacher." She frowned at the surprised look on Moira's face. "I didn't mention that I used to teach third grade?"

"No," Moira replied, blinking in surprise. She smiled slightly. "Though now it makes more sense."

"What?"

"How you're able to deal with the antics of the kids without completely flipping out on them. You have the patience of a teacher."

Miranda and Moira continued down the path, still no sign of the teenaged mutants. "Mr. Collins died a month after David and I married. Heart attack. We wanted to honor him," Miranda mentioned. She smiled quietly. "I was excited. I loved the name… it was honoring two of the most important men in my life."

"That's sweet," Moira replied. She swallowed heavily before squeezing Miranda's shoulder. "Look, I can't say anything that makes it better," she told her. Moira gave her a smile. "But I do appreciate the fact that you feel as though you can tell me that. I won't tell anyone else."

Miranda grinned. "My awesome CIA friend, who won't tell my secrets," the brunette mutant replied, beaming in gratitude at her. "Thank goodness for you." She looked away from the family, and then frowned. "We're not going to find them. Time to go to Erik and Charles."

Moira nodded lightly. "You're telling them that we lost them," she warned Miranda, a teasing smile on her face.

Miranda's face fell. "Fine. But when Erik does kill me, you have to organize my funeral."

Moira laughed. "Deal."

"Okay, we've got the water balloons, right?"

Sean grinned cheerfully as he held up a scarlet balloon completely filled with water. "Yep!" he exclaimed cheerfully, directing his grin down to the balloon. He shot a look over to Armando. "Seriously, Armando, how did you get these so fast?"

"Darwin," the former cab driver corrected, shooting a mock glare towards the red-head. Darwin smirked slightly as he looked down at his own maroon water balloon. "And I have my ways."

From their hiding space not far away from the Lincoln Memorial, Caroline shifted uncomfortably. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked Darwin, glancing towards where they could see Erik and Charles in the distance. "I mean, we're going after Moira and Miranda, too, and isn't Miranda afraid of water?"

"She is?" Darwin asked. He looked down at the water balloons with a frown. "But she's gotten bathed and stuff…"

A few feet away, Raven waved her hand, dismissing their concern. "She's only terrified when there are big bodies of water," she explained. She pointed at the large pool of water nearby. "As long as we don't push her in there, she's going to be absolutely fine." She smirked. "And if she does fall in, then Operation Hanson-Lensherr gets ahead of schedule."

Caroline sighed worriedly. "Sometimes, you worry me," she told Raven in a completely calm voice.

Raven raised an eyebrow at her. "You've known me for a week. Maybe."

"Unfortunately, we've been spending so much time with each other that it's more like ten weeks." Caroline sighed before shooting a look at Raven. "And don't pretend that I don't have a point here."

Raven grinned cheerfully. "Oh, you do, don't worry." She looked over at Darwin. "We get to go after Charles, right?"

"Charles and Moira," corrected Sean. He frowned before looking over at Darwin. "Wait a minute, why can't we attack Erik and Miranda?"

"Because Team 2 is taking care of them," explained Caroline, grabbing a pink water balloon from the metal bucket nearby. She looked it over before glancing back at Darwin. "Where are they, anyway?"

"Nearby," Darwin replied. "Not sure exactly where. But they'll be ready. They're going after Erik and Miranda whenever the girls show up…" He frowned as he looked across the pool of water, spotting two heads of blond hair. "Is it me, or do Katie and Alex get along too well for comfort?"

"What do you mean?" Raven asked, glancing at Sean, who had frowned.

"It looks as though they've taken over leadership of that group… hey, they actually got Hank to get a balloon!" He grinned. "And Angel's got one…" He looked over towards the steps, and his eyes widened when he saw two females approaching the chess-playing mutants, who still had not noticed them. "There they are! Sean, give the signal in a minute!"

"Wait, what's the signal?"

"You weren't paying attention!"

"No!"

"He was too busy staring at Katie."

"Shut it, Caroline!"

"How are we supposed to launch our attack on them now?"

Raven sighed heavily. "We're never going to get anything done in this group," she said, accepting the fact as something that she could not change no matter how hard she might try.

Miranda wasn't surprised in the least to find Charles and Erik playing chess when she and Moira finally reached the memorial. "Who's winning?" she asked as she sat down next to Erik, shooting him a quick smile before looking back at the game. Moira sat a step above them, a bit closer to Charles than Erik.

"Me," both men replied at once. Two pairs of blue eyes glared at each other, and Miranda chuckled as Moira rolled her eyes.

Erik glanced over to Miranda for a second. Green and blue eyes met, and held each other's gaze for a minute before returning back to the chessboard. They hadn't mentioned last night to anyone. Erik knew that Charles held suspicions about last night. Actually, knowing Charles, he probably knew exactly what had happened between the two. Erik didn't want to talk about it right now.

He knew sooner or later, he was going to have to say something. But for right now, he was just going to focus on making sure that Miranda was alright and calm, ready to do what they had to.

He was not going to focus on the fact that she had kissed him.

Charles frowned suddenly before looking at the brunette women. "Wait a minute," he said, looking around, as if hoping to find what he was looking for hiding behind a pillar. "Where are the others?"

Miranda smiled cheerfully. "Now, there lies the problem…" she began, not looking at Erik. She kept her gaze on Charles, who she knew was less likely to kill her for losing their mutants on their first day together as a team. But then again, Miranda hadn't just lost the team, she had also lost Raven. Charles would probably kill her for that.

Erik rolled his eyes as he moved his bishop up. "You lost them?" he asked dryly, not sounding surprised in the least. As Miranda shot him a guilty look, he looked at Charles. "I told you that it would be less than an hour that they'd run off."

Charles sighed. "Well, they've got Hank with them," he said, looking around hoping to see a sign of them. "At least he has something that resembles common sense."

"Darwin and Caroline do, too," Moira mentioned, frowning a bit. "More so than the others, anyway."

"Let's just remember one thing. Alex and Sean are with them," Erik replied, frowning at each of the others in turn.

All four froze for a minute as they thought of the chaos that could potentially be released by the two. The two boys hadn't even known each other for a day yet, and it was already obvious that the two were partners in mischief that were only going to drive the four team leaders crazier than originally thought possible.

"We've got to find them," Miranda decided, standing up. "They're going to something stupid that we'll have to clean up if we don't find them soon." She looked at Charles. "Do you think you can find them telepathically-"

Charles's hand went to his head as his eyes closed. "I can try, but I can't guarantee-"

"NOW!"

What happened next was not what anyone expected. A number of orbs, in different colors, came flying towards them, breaking apart on impact and soaking their clothes in water. Miranda stumbled back in surprise as a balloon hit her, knocking her down and into Erik's lap. His arm went around her waist instinctively as he stood up, pulling her with him.

A moment later, they seemed to realize what had happened. The four just stared at each other for a moment. Each was soaking wet. Charles had a piece of scarlet rubber on his shoulder, and Moira did not look happy in the least. Miranda was soaking wet and still held against Erik.

After a moment, both Erik and Miranda seemed to realize the position they were in. They jumped apart before shooting each other an unreadable glance.

"Sean?" Moira asked, her voice surprisingly calm when one considered the murder in her eyes.

"Sean," confirmed Charles rather calmly, picking the piece of rubber off of his shoulder and slipping it into his pocket.

"Sean," muttered Erik, looking rather annoyed as he looked down at his soaked clothing.

"Sean!" bellowed Miranda, turning towards where she was sure the water balloons had come from.

"Alex did it!" came a voice not far away.

"Sean, I'm going to kill you!" The second voice was definitely Alex's, and seemed to come to the other side of the pool.

"Stop talking!" yelled another voice that was immediately recognizable as Darwin. "Keep firing!"

Darwin's words had not even been out of his mouth before the four made a break for the pillars. Another water balloon hit Miranda on her back, causing her to squeal and trip forward. As Charles and Moira made it behind the pillars, Erik stopped and caught Miranda before she could fall to the ground.

Miranda blinked in surprise as Erik grabbed her hand and pulled her to where Charles and Moira were taking cover. The water balloon barrage seemed to have stopped, though the four could distinctly hear Sean yelling out 'cowards' every few seconds. Moira seemed torn between amusement and exasperation. Charles seemed to be amused and even a bit thrilled. Erik just looked annoyed, and Miranda looked like she wanted to kill something… or rather, one of the mutants who had just attacked them with water balloons.

"Water balloons. Our own team is attacking us with water balloons," Erik muttered quietly. He shook his head as he looked over at Charles. "The loyalty they have for us is amazing, really."

Charles beamed. "But on the plus side, I believe Katie is using her powers to help speed up and increase the power of those water balloons," he replied cheerfully, looking at each of their soaked clothes in turn. "Although I can't figure out whether it's consciously or unconsciously…"

"Leave it for later, Charles!" Moira interrupted. She looked at the other three. "What are we going to do?"

Erik smirked as he waved his hand carefully. A few seconds later, cries of protest rang out from where it seemed Sean's group was camped out. A few seconds later, a metal bucket, still half-filled with water balloons, floated over to them, landing in the middle of the four. Charles and Miranda exchanged a mischievous grin, and Moira raised her eyebrow at Erik, a bit impressed despite herself.

Erik smirked at Moira. "We're going to fight fire with fire," he explained.

"Water with water," corrected Charles, pulling out a balloon and handing it to a now smirking Moira.

Miranda grinned. "This is going to be fun," she murmured, picking up two of her own. She looked at each of them in turn. "Whoever gets hit the most drives Sean and Alex back. In the same car." She made a move to walk out, but Erik stopped her, holding out an arm to keep her from leaving.

Charles grinned over at Moira before gesturing her out. "Let's go," he said cheerfully, taking her hand and pulling her out. A moment later, Erik and Miranda could hear screams and laughter as Charles and Moira joined the water balloon fray, which seemed to have turned into a fight between Sean's team and Alex's team.

Miranda frowned up at Erik. "Something wrong?" she asked, cocking her head up at him.

"Look, last night…" Erik started, unsure of how he was supposed to say something. He had been thinking about it all day now, in the back of his mind, and while he still wasn't sure what he wanted to do with what had happened, he knew he had to try something right now, if only to see her reaction to it. Her reaction would give him a clue to whether or not it was a real possibility or just some strange dream that was never meant to last.

He had to try, at least.

Miranda winced. "I might have overreacted," she admitted, shooting her partner an apologetic look. "I know that wasn't a good idea-" She stopped as Erik chuckled, and waited for him to say something. To her surprise, he didn't say anything.

Instead, Erik leaned down and kissed her.

Today seemed to be the day for the unexpected. Miranda had not expected to go down to DC for what Erik had called a 'team bonding day' that Moira had thought up. She had not expected to lose their group of mutants only to find out that they had decided to attack her, Erik, Charles, and Moira with water balloons.

And now, Erik was kissing her.

This was definitely one of those unexpected days.

It wasn't a deep kiss at all. It had been surprise, not passion, that had caused Miranda to drop both of the water balloons in her hands. It wasn't a kiss from a romance movie. It was the first kiss between two people who had been friends and partners for years, but now were confronting the reality that they could be something more. It was short and quick, and yet, it was everything that Miranda could have hoped that it would be. It only lasted a few moments before Erik pulled out. Miranda's eyes opened, and she stared in amazement at Erik, unable to say anything. She had been shocked speechless for the first time in her life.

Erik chuckled down at her expression. "Well, now the tables have turned, haven't they?" he murmured, shooting a genuine smile down at her. She didn't reply as he turned around and walked to where Charles and Moira had gone moments before, the metal bucket floating into his hand as he left.

Miranda just stared at his retreating back for a second, ignoring the laughter and screams that signaled Erik's arrival onto the battlefield. "I swear, Erik Lensherr, you are going to be the death of me," she stated calmly.

With a slight smile on her face, she rejoined the fray, now with more on her mind than ever before.