a/n: okay there is a wee bit of sex in this chapter. so i'm warning you guys now. This is personally one of my favorite chapters so enjoy.

Chapter 21: Christmas

Charles and Emily decided to keep the discovery of feeling in Charles's upper legs quiet. The two had managed to wrap all the presents before Christmas Eve had arrived.

The pile was mountainous under the tree. Every morning Iris would try and sneak into the living room to get a peek, however Erik was always standing guard.

Erik and Iris had grown close extremely quick. A whole different side of Erik came out when he was around the little girl. He softened up for her.

That evening Iris sat in Erik's lap by the fire with "The Night Before Christmas" opened up. Charles smiled as George and Christopher attempted to play chess with each other. Scott, Alex, Sean, and Hudson had formed a circle where they passed comic books around to each other.

Raven chatted happily with Emily on the couch as the two munched on the cookies the group had made earlier. Hank sat in an armchair reading his new book.

"You know what's missing?" Raven said brushing the crumbs off her pants. "Music. Who has heard of Christmas without out any carols?"

"I can help there!" George called out excitedly. The little boy hopped up and scurried over to the piano that sat in the corner.

He pulled up the cover on the keys and closed his eyes. Suddenly a beautiful sound floated through out the room. Charles had to admit that it was a pretty funny sight seeing little George sitting at the large piano; it dwarfed him.

The calm mood of the room turned lively as George continued to play. Iris had gotten up off of Erik's lap and pulled him up along with her. He flushed slightly as she grabbed both of his hands.

"Dance with me Uncle Erik!" she giggled as she twirled around in a circle. Charles laughed as Erik swayed awkwardly.

Raven got up and pulled Hank out of his chair. "Lighten up and have fun!" she laughed swinging their arms back and forth. Hank laughed as well and followed her actions.

Emily strode over to Charles and sat down in his lap; she wiggled her bottom slightly causing him to sharply breathe in.

"Stop torturing me," he groaned only loud enough for her to hear.

Emily chuckled in response, "But it is so much fun."

"I thought we were taking this slow?" he asked wrapping his arms around her waist.

"So I changed my mind," she replied smiling slyly.

Charles laughed and looked up at the clock on the mantel.

"I believe it's bed time for quiet a few of you," Charles called out.

George stopped playing, "Aw, Five more minutes?" he whined turning to face the group.

"Five minutes will turn into thirty, it always does. Come on, off to bed." Charles explained, gently pushing Emily off his lap.

The kids sighed and started flowing out of the room and up the stairs.

"Presents in the morning!" Iris yelled happily as she skipped off.

Erik laughed, "She's enthusiastic."

Iris poked her head back in the door way, "Come on, Uncle Erik!" she said.

"You better go," Raven said pushing Erik towards the doorway. He took Iris's hand and followed her up the stairs.

"All of us need to go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a big day." Alex sighed as he piled up his comic books. The three boys mumbled their good nights and trudged towards their room.

"See you two in the morning then," Raven said hugging Emily, then she bent down and kissed Charles on the cheek. She took her leave and left the two alone.

"It is going to be a long day tomorrow." Emily said as she started pushing Charles towards what Charles now called "their" bedroom.

"But it will be a fun day," Charles added as they rolled into the room. Charles took control of the chair and rolled over to his side of the bed.

Everyone had changed into their pyjamas much earlier so that was not an obstacle. Charles crawled up into bed and sank down into the covers. Emily crawled from the foot of the bed up along Charles's body.

"Why can't the fun start tonight?" she whispered in his ear, her hair forming a curtain around their heads.

Charles sighed as she practically lay down on top of him. He ran his hands through her hair and kissed her slowly, but gently on the lips.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" he murmured.

"I think you know what," she replied in between kissing his jaw.

"George really got to you tonight," Charles said rolling his head to the side.

"So is that a yes or no?" she breathed against his neck.

"Yes," Charles replied quietly. "However, I want to do this the proper way."

Emily looked up at him confused, "But…your back…"

Charles, with surprising speed, flipped the two of them over to where he was on top now.

"I believe I have gained some incredible arm strength recently so this should be no problem at all." He explained.

Emily just smiled back up at him. In return Charles captured her lips in a passionate kiss. He could feel the sheets were wrapped around their lower halves already due to him flipping her over. Emily ran her hands up under his shirt, feeling the muscles he had gained from the wheelchair.

"I'm beginning to like that wheelchair more," she mumbled.

Charles chuckled and pulled the shirt off entirely. She sat up slightly and pulled her own off, throwing it to join his.

She blushed as Charles looked at her.

"You're beautiful," he murmured against the warm skin of her neck. He trailed light kisses down her neck and on her chest. She closed her eyes and ran her hands through his hair, still unsure of what to do with her hands in the first place.

She could feel him smile against her skin as he went lower, opting to leave her bra on for the time being. Charles hooked his thumbs under the elastic of her sleep pants and glanced up at her. Emily nodded, signaling her permission.

He pulled her pants down past her ankles and threw them off the side of the bed to join the rest of the clothes. He then traveled back up her body and captured her lips once again. She sighed happily against his lips and pushed him away gently.

He raised his eyebrow questioningly. Emily smiled and slipped down under him. She placed her small hands on his hips, grabbing the waistband of his pants. She disposed of them quickly and then rejoined him.

Charles noticed that she was trembling slightly.

"We can stop," he said in a comforting voice. There was a little voice reminding him in the back of his head that this would be her first time. He had been with other women, but this time it felt different.

He wasn't just here for sex. He would wait forever for her if he had too.

"No, no, I don't want to stop," she said quickly.

He laughed and looked down at her happily. She sat up and pecked him on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

Charles threaded his arms under her and pulled her into a deep kiss. Their tongues battled for dominance over the other, Charles winning out in the end.

Emily broke away gasping for air; collapsing back against he pillows. The light in the room had dimmed significantly as the fire began to dwindle.

Emily felt a wave of courage brush over her for the moment. She reached around behind her and unhooked her bra, shrugging off the straps in the process. She dropped it off the side of the bed and then quickly covered herself back up, the courage leaving her.

Charles sighed and pulled her arms away gently.

"You don't need to be so self conscious about your body. You're amazing," he whispered kissing her sweetly.

He kissed the top of each breast and ran his hands along her sides. He marveled at the how soft her skin was. He finally reached the top of her underwear and paused.

Charles looked up at her and she smiled back. She saw him glance down at her scar causing her to suck in slightly.

He bent down and kissed every inch of the scar, washing away her doubt. He gently discarded her underwear then made his way back up her body, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake. Once he lay flush with her body he found he hands at his hips again.

She hesitated as she felt him pressed against her. Out of curiosity, she rolled her hips against his earning a groan from him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply trying to regain his composure.

Emily smiled wickedly, realizing she had the upper hand. She innocently brushed her hand across the bulge in his underwear.

"Emily," he moaned, his head lolling forward.

She cautiously removed his underwear and gasped quietly.

Charles looked at her, his blue eyes locking with her green.

"I love you, Charles," she whispered holding his head in her hands.

"I love you too, Emily," he murmured as he kissed her.

"Go slow," she whispered against his lips as she closed her eyes.

Charles kissed her deeply and slowly entered her. Emily gasped at the feeling of being stretched to accommodate his size. It was a strange feeling.

She whimpered as he hit her barrier. She nodded slightly telling him to continue.

He pushed in quickly causing her to cry out. Charles quickly covered her mouth with his.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he whispered brushing away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks.

"Just wait, okay?" she whimpered.

He held her continuing to mumble an apology in her ear. After a few minutes, Emily nodded against his chest, "Go on."

Charles moved slowly at first, still acknowledging her discomfort. The discomfort, however, morphed into pleasure for Emily. The two found their rhythm quickly.

Gasps were replaced with moans as they raced to finish. Emily clawed at his back trying to get closer to him.

It wasn't long before she saw white stars before her eyes as she clenched around Charles. She threw he head back in pleasure, her mouth open in a silent scream.

Charles buried his head in her shoulder as he followed her over the cliff. He kept his arms wrapped around her, pulling her on top of him as he collapsed on the bed.

Emily lay against his chest listening to his heart race. She didn't care about the thin sheen of sweat that covered her and Charles's bodies. She felt at home; she felt safe wrapped in his arms.

Charles glanced over at the clock and smiled. The clock read 12:00am. He brushed a few stray hairs out of Emily's eyes then rubbed soothing circles on her back. He noticed that her breathing had calmed significantly and her eyes were now closed.

"Merry Christmas, Emily," Charles said kissing the top of her head.

"Merry Christmas, Charles," Emily mumbled back, before nuzzling against his chest and letting sleep wash over her.

"Presents!" Iris's voice rang out through the house the next morning.

Charles smiled to himself and rolled over to see Emily sleeping peacefully. Both had pulled on underwear sometime in the middle of the night. He had opted to pulled his pants back and she had put her shirt back on.

Carefully he rolled to the other side of the bed and reached for his shirt. He sat up and finished dressing.

"Come on, guys! Get up!" Iris yelled. Charles chuckled and slid out of bed to go find the little girl. He found her sitting by the tree shifting through the boxes excitedly. She already had a good pile going.

"Go on, you can open them," Charles said beaming from the doorway.

Iris looked up her eyes widening. Her face broke out into an even bigger smile.

"Charles?" came a whisper from behind him. He turned to find Emily standing back her hands covering her mouth. He smiled at her tangled hair and disheveled look.

"What? She has plenty to open; there will be some left by the time the boys get up." He chuckled.

"No, it's not that." Emily said her voice cracking. "Charles, you're standing," she choked.

His face paled and he looked down. He hadn't even noticed that he was. Charles poked his leg and laughed as he felt the jab. He looked back up at Emily, who was openly crying now.

She crossed the distance between them and kissed him deeply. He felt his own tears fall onto his cheeks as he kissed her back. He felt her facial expression change as she pulled back.

Emily held him at arms length. "Do you feel stable? Any pain?" she asked her face serious.

"No, no pain. I feel…normal," he laughed kissing her again. Charles noticed that he was only about four inches taller than her. "You're tall," he murmured.

"You're short," she replied giggling.

"Merry Christmas," he said laughing. Emily returned the laugh and let go of him. His eyes lit up as an idea came to his mind. He walked back into to the living room and looked down at Iris.

She grinned up at him and pushed her presents away as she stood up. She wrapped her small arms around his legs and squeezed.

"I didn't get the best gift." She said letting go. "You did, Daddy."

Charles laughed and picked her up for the first time. She wrapped her legs around his waist and clung to him.

He inhaled the sweet smell of her watermelon shampoo and held her body close to his. He didn't care that the others had started filtering into the room; each stopping and staring.

All he cared about was that he could stand and hold the little girl that he considered his daughter. He felt human again; he felt like a leader.

Charles shifted Iris onto his hip and looked back at Emily, who stood in the doorway. Iris laid her head down on Charles's shoulder as he walked over to Emily.

He saw fresh tears begin to collect in her eyes as he took her hand and pulled her close.

As he stood there with Iris on his hip and Emily leaning against his chest, he finally felt healed.