Annalise was in a foul mood that evening as she sat in the hotel bedroom, her hands holding her stomach as she looked at the clothes strewn around her on the bed. Erik had left the bathroom, a towel around his neck that he was holding with his hands. He had another towel around his waist, his hair wet and stuck up in different angles.

"What is it?" Erik asked, sensing there was something wrong with his fiancée.

"Nothing fits!" she complained to him. "I packed everything into a suitcase and nothing fits me that I brought."

"Is that really it?" Erik asked, his brow arched as Annalise shook her head and stood to her feet. Erik suspected she would have been quicker if it weren't for the bump from her stomach.

"No," she responded. "No, that is not it. What is wrong is what is happening…I mean…I have to sit here tonight while you go out and find Sean and I'm worried. I'm worried for him…for you…for Charles and Hank and Raven."

Erik moved over to her, stopping her from pacing as he took hold of her by the upper arms, his touch gentle yet firm as he held her in place. She was looking at him with that usual stare of worry. Erik didn't know what he should say to her. He had never been very good with reasoning with people. Erik was more of a man who did things his way and did not care what anyone else thought.

"Don't," Erik whispered, his voice low and soft as he moved a hand to her chin and he looked her in the eye, his forehead pressing against hers as he held her. "Annalise, don't worry."

"That's easy for you to say," Annalise whispered, trying not to sound too hysterical as she spoke to him and he waited with patience for her to finish talking. "You're not the one who has to sit here and wait…acting useless…"

"You are anything but useless," Erik promised her. "You're just too precious to bring along."

Annalise rolled her eyes, hitting Erik on the chest gently. "Don't try to flatter me, Erik Lensherr. It doesn't work."

"No?" Erik asked, a hand moving to her stomach. "I think it must do something, I mean, I did help to get you pregnant."

"That wasn't through flattery, that was because I love you," Annalise said as if it was the simplest sentence she had spoken. She managed a small smile over to him and he nodded at her, kissing her with haste for a few moments.

"And I love you," Erik told her. "Just hold onto that."

…

Charles didn't know how much longer he could go on for. He had set up the school, but everything he did seemed to be in vain. As he looked around the facility they had broken into, he wondered if Erik had been right. Would they ever be accepted? Charles had done talks and seminars on mutants. He had said how they were not a threat, but nothing seemed to happen to make everyone believe that.

Whoever this Trask man was, Charles never wanted to meet him. They had broken into the facility with ease, Charles sending the guards to sleep while Erik had broken into the room with ease, the metal door flying from its hinges. They were in the depths of the base, locked away in the basement where security was slightly heavier.

There had been two more guards by the door, but Charles had dealt with them without a second thought. Raven had been the first one to enter the room once the door had been removed and Erik deposited it to the side. Her reaction had been enough to tell Charles that whatever was in that room was bad.

"Dear God," she had whispered.

Erik had stepped in after her, standing still as a look of horror took over his face. He was back in that room. He was a child and he was back in that room. He was being tortured and tested on. Shaw was stood over him, holding him in place as he did everything possible to bring out his powers. Erik had been a child. He had been a child all those years ago, but he looked around and saw history repeating itself.

"What the…" Hank trailed off as he wandered into the room and walked around.

The concrete room had a row of five silver tables, instruments on either side of them including sharp blades and other clinical looking items. Syringes were locked away in a glass cabinet on the other side of the room while there were five metal doors opposite the tables.

"He's experimenting on them," Charles spoke, his voice low and harsh as he felt the anger inside of him. "He's torturing them."

"Bastard," Raven said, voice harsh and low as she walked through the room, her feet stomping on the ground as she moved towards the metal doors, but they were locked. "Erik, a hand."

Erik snapped out of his daze, his hand moving in front of him as he pulled the doors off in one swift movement, his rage too strong to be contained as the metal crashed to the ground and three faces moved from the rooms, each one full of fear. There was a grown man, a teenage girl and a young man in his twenties. They each looked scared beyond their wits.

Charles stepped forwards then, a calming hand in front of him.

"My name is Charles Xavier," he spoke. "We are not here to hurt you. We are here to help you…"

"Where is he?" the girl whispered, holding onto the concrete where the door had been, her long red hair curling into her face and her face covered in dirt as she let her eyes dart around and Charles arched a brow as the grown man moved towards her and held her to him.

"He's not coming back, sweetie," he spoke and Erik felt something pull inside of him at the sight of them.

He was her father. Father and daughter. Both mutants. Both had been locked away. Closing his eyes for a moment, Erik turned away. Was this the world he was bringing his child into? He thought about it for a moment. He had an image of him swapping places with that father and his daughter or son being locked away with him. Erik didn't know if he wanted to roar in anger or weep in sorrow.

"Who did this?" Raven asked and the young man with cropped black hair stepped forwards.

"Some guy called Stryker," he said. "He works for Trask and is in charge down here. He…well…"

"I know," Charles said, and he did know. He saw it in their minds.

"They drugged us with something and kept us drugged up so we couldn't use our powers," the man holding his daughter spoke. "He…the things he did…"

"How can the government not know about this?" Hank was the one to ask as he examined some of the tools that were being used, his face pale and horror on his features. "How can they have no idea?"

"Trask keeps it well hidden," the man spoke. "He never has more than five mutants at a time."

"I see," Charles said. "I know what you have been through is terrible…but…we came here for a friend of ours…Sean."

The three of them seemed to exchange glances then and everyone knew what they were about to be told. They were no fools. It was written all over their faces what had happened. Erik moved his hands to pull at his hair as he spun around, his mind a blur as an illness took hold of his stomach and he felt the need to be ill.

"Sean was strong," the young man said. "He…they took him away last night…"

"Do you know where to?" Charles enquired.

"No," he replied. "But once they take you away…well…you've served your purpose."

"Oh my God," Raven's hands went to her mouth as Erik moved to rest his forehead against the wall, his hands either side of his head as he closed his eyes and Charles felt a tear in his eye at everything that had just happened.

"He was nice," the girl said, hoping her words would make some difference. "He…he tried to defend me from Stryker…he was kind."

"That he was," Charles nodded, hands on hips as he looked to the ground and Erik turned to look back to him, both of them having a mutual understanding.

"We need to get them away from here," Erik said.

"Agreed," Charles said. "Hank, Raven, there is only enough room in the car for five…take them away from here…wherever they need to go."

"We're all from Texas," the man spoke. "Trask likes to take us from different states."

"Then you can stay at our hotel for the evening," Charles said. "Tomorrow I will have you flown back home. No doubt you have families worried for you."

They all murmured their thanks of gratitude as Erik watched Hank take the lead, Raven moving behind the young man, her hand on his back as she walked with him at the back. Looking to Charles once the room was empty, Erik felt his voice turn gruff and low as he spoke.

"Trask needs to be stopped," Erik declared.

"I agree," Charles assured him. "But you need to think about this, Erik. I know how you would stop him."

"It would be no less than he deserves," Erik said, his voice full of rage.

"Perhaps, but think about this!" Charles demanded from him. "If we go to the government then they will stop this. They will stop what he is doing and it will be fine…everything will be fine."

"How is this fine?" Erik asked of Charles, not bothering to hide the emotion in his voice. "This is what they did to me, Charles…what Shaw did…and I should have stopped him sooner…I did stop him."

"And think about this, Erik," Charles hissed. "What happens if you get caught? You have a fiancée and a baby on the way."

"I would not get caught," Erik declared, shaking his head back and forth. "I would make sure of it."

"No," Charles shook his head. "Annalise needs to come first. We do this the right way and stop him. We do this the way that it should be done. Do you not see? Or are you still the same man who would drive Annalise away with his beliefs?"

Saying nothing further, Erik could only look away after what he had heard from Charles. He knew Charles was right. Annalise came first now. She had to. But that did not stop the feeling of revenge that he needed.

…

Annalise was perched on the bed, waiting nervously for Erik to return. Relief flooded through her when she saw him walk into the bedroom. But that relief turned to worry at the sight of him. She had seen Erik angry. She had seen him upset when he spoke about his mother. But she had never seen him look quite as tormented as he did at that moment.

Moving to him, Annalise barely caught him before he collapsed against her, his body shaking as sobs left him and her eyes widened as she moved to the ground with him, cradling his head between her neck and shoulder as his arms wrapped tentatively around her waist.

"Erik," she whispered his name. "What happened?"

"He's like Shaw," was all that Erik had to say for Annalise to understand him.

Closing her eyes, she could only imagine what he had just seen. She knew everything about what happened between Erik and Shaw. She had heard all of it and felt sick with disgust at what that man had done to Erik. How could someone repeat history?

"He killed Sean," Erik whispered. "Annalise…being there…everything…"

"It came back to you," Annalise finished and Erik nodded against her as her grip on his head increased and she let her fingers wrap into his hair as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. "It's okay, Erik. I have you…I'll always have you…"

Erik said nothing more as Annalise felt his body begin to calm down, her legs moving out from underneath her to rest by her side, curled there. Erik moved slowly away from her cradle, choosing to move and run his hand down her cheek.

"There was a father and daughter locked up…being experimented on…" Erik whispered and Annalise pressed a hand to her mouth, horror coming over her as Erik moved a hand to her bump. "The thought of bringing our child into a world where that happens…Annalise…"

"No," Annalise shook her head. "We will protect our child regardless of anything. We will always protect her…him…"

"That's what that father thought clearly thought," Erik said. "But he couldn't do that because there are always people who want to hurt them."

"So what do we do?"

"Charles intends to go to the government in the morning," he spoke.

"Good," Annalise said. "Good."

Moving her hand to his cheek, she stroked his skin softly before her hand moved to take hold of his neck, curling their gently. She watched him for a moment before she dared to move and kiss him on the cheek, knowing that there was more going through his mind than he cared to admit.

"I need a drink," Erik said, his mouth gaping as it felt dry.

"I think the bar is still open if you want me to go and get you something?"

"No," Erik said, forcing himself to smile before kissing her on the cheek. "You stay here…I'll be back in ten minutes."

Moving from the room, Erik closed the door and headed down to the bar, still wondering what to do. He sat in the bar, knowing that it would be shutting soon. He drained a whiskey before asking for a bottle of water to take to his room. He held the water in his grip before wandering off, bumping into Hank and Raven who were on the way to the bar.

"We checked them in," Hank told Erik. "But we just…well…fancy a drink."

"Can't blame you," Erik mumbled, but Raven gripped his arm to stop him from leaving.

"Can you give us a moment, Hank?" Raven wondered. "I'll be there in a moment…make it a vodka."

Nodding, Hank looked suspicious but went.

"What do you want?" Erik asked, looking around the empty foyer.

"I know you want Trask dead just as much as I do," she said. "What he has done…we both know the government won't stop him because he'll destroy the evidence. He'll never stop."

"So what do you suggest?" Erik cocked his head to the side.

"He's going to Dallas in two months after he gets back from Europe," Raven said. "Something about the President going there to sort out tensions in his party. Trask is away until November so we have time to figure out what to do."

"And in the meantime?" Erik asked. "What if Stryker decides to get some more mutants?"

"We keep an eye on him to make sure that does not happen," Raven said. "Besides, he doesn't do anything without Trask's say so. The man might come home early once he hears about the escape…but he's busy in Europe trying to persuade others that mutants are a threat."

"In two months Annalise will have given birth," Erik said. "I'll be in London with her."

"And what about Trask?" Raven demanded. "Look…the President…I think he might be one of us."

"What?" Erik asked.

"I think Trask might try something to hurt him," Raven said. "I know it sounds mad, but I need you to believe me. Just come back to Dallas and help me kill him. I saw your reaction today, Erik."

Erik said nothing, keeping his cards close to his chest as he walked away from Raven, refusing to listen to anymore. Moving his hand to his forehead, he squeezed the bottle of water in his grip. He knew what he had seen. He could still see it, clear as day. And he could not ignore it.

…

A/N: Thanks for reading and do let me know what you think! Slowly moving into DoFP now!