The smoke had barely disappeared after their transportation before Kevin was eagerly tugging on Charles's sleeve. His son had been there before, and clearly knew both where they were, and where they had to go.
Next to him, Kurt slumped against the wall. Kevin seemed to notice and stopped tugging on his sleeve.
"Kurt, are you alright?" he asked.
"Oh, ja, ja," Kurt said, rubbing his head "I am just…you know. I am just…"
He stumbled and Kevin let go of Charles's sleeve. He hurried to his cousin's side, trying to give him some sense of balance. Kurt accepted his hand gratefully, allowing him to be led over to a nearby bench. He sat down, but Charles could see his red eyes looking from side to side with something that spoke of nervousness.
"What's wrong?" asked Charles.
"Oh, I haf just not teleported in a long time," said Kurt, "But I should sit down for a while. If I sit down for a while, zen I vill be fine."
His voice carried a tinge of watchfulness though, something that made Charles uncomfortable. Although his entire body was singing with the urge to get to his wife, it was difficult to ignore that something was amiss with his nephew.
The feeling was only compounded by the way Kevin was looking around thoughtfully.
"Kurt, did something happen, last time you were here maybe?" asked Charles.
Kurt's face flushed, and Kevin snapped his fingers.
"Right, we didn't tell you because you were in Cerebro," he said, "This is where we were waiting when Scott and Emma went off to get…soda I think? I never found out. And I thought you needed to know, but then everything happened that night-"
"Kevin, nein," Kurt said.
Kevin shut his mouth. Charles looked at the two of them, and took a deep breath.
"What happened?" he asked.
Again, the two looked at each other, sharing looks with the floor and the ceiling too. Charles pinched the bridge of his nose, his lack of sleep once again catching up with him. His head nodded, and he pushed himself back up. It was one of the most important days of his life. He needed to stay awake for it.
So he made a decision.
"Kurt, Kevin, we need to get to Moira. But rest assured, we are going to talk about this," he said, "And I'm not leaving you a place where you clearly feel uncomfortable. We'll wait for a minute or two until you get your breath back, do you understand?"
Kurt got up so fast he nearly fell forward. Kevin moved forward and grabbed his hand.
"Nein, you vill be vith her," Kurt said, "I can valk. It is not far. And, I, I mean zat I am, vell…you know. It's okay. I am okay."
"Kurt-" Charles tried.
Kurt began hurrying down the hallway, his head held high with an exaggerated poise. Kevin gave a helpless kind of shrug, and hurried after him. Charles could only shrug as well, but he made a note to ask about this as soon as he could.
He turned a corner to find Hank talking with a young woman with dark glasses and long brown hair. Hank stopped when he spotted Kevin and Kurt, a look of relief washing over his features as Kurt made a beeline for the nearest bench. Hank's expression became even more excited when he spotted Charles.
"Thank God," he said, "They started pushing having it within the hour because their best surgeon has something in two hours, some sort of scheduling conflict."
"We're going to all have words about that later," the young woman said, her voice tired, "He's talented, but he's also something of a prima donna. But don't worry. Now that you're here, everything should be fine."
Charles managed a kind smile, and quickly noted the cane she had clutched in one hand. He decided not to put his hand out to shake until he was closer or, better yet, until she did. Hank clearly seemed to have a high regard for her, and he didn't want to offend her.
He drew a little closer and, to his relief, she put out her hand.
"Carly Crocker," she said.
"Charles Xavier," he said, taking her hand in his.
She shook it once, and Kevin moved a little closer.
"Miss Crocker, can we go see my mom now?" he asked, "I don't mean to be rude, and I think you're super nice, but-"
"No, of course you can go in," she said, "They won't start surgery prep for another few minutes."
Kevin nodded and hurried to the room, pulling the door open. He held it there, and Charles smiled, realizing the kindness his son was performing for him. He'd barely made it into the room before Kevin skated around him though, hurrying to his mother's side.
Moira looked up, and all Charles could do was smile. It seemed like forever had passed since he'd seen his wife, although it really hadn't even been a month. He'd felt her absence every time he woke up and her body wasn't pressed into his, her hair tickling his face.
Being in the hospital hadn't seemed to change her, no stress marring her face, no sallowness or dark circles from a lack of sleep. If not for the IVs and pale hospital gown, he'd have sworn she was at home, taking a nap after a long day.
Her face broke into a smile as Kevin rushed to the bedside. Moira reached out and pulled him into a one armed hug. For the millionth time since she had become pregnant Charles yearned for legs. Legs would have carried him into the room as fast as his son, would've had her in his arms by now.
But when she looked up, tears gathering in her eyes as he approached, all thoughts of anything but her face vanished. He reached out, cupping her cheek with his hand and drawing her closer. Her soft lips brushed against his temple as he nuzzled her tenderly, content in the smell of her hair, her skin.
"I missed you," he whispered.
"I missed you too," she said.
Her lips brushed his temple again as she moved away, mindful of Kevin's presence. If his son hadn't been there he wasn't sure if he'd ever been able to let her go but, yet again, reality was clamoring to be heard. They didn't have much time before she had to go into surgery.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Fine, but a little frustrated," she said, "The surgeon is really insistent, and I've been assured it's not terribly urgent."
"Miss Crocker said he's a prima donna, which doesn't really make much sense, because I don't think he's going to the ballet after this," Kevin said.
The laughter that spilled from their lips seemed as unstoppable as it was inappropriate. Kevin grinned, looking between the two of them.
"I knew what she meant," he said, "I just liked this better."
"I'll be taking that image with me when delivery starts," laughed Moira, "I just…you haven't seen this guy, but imagining him in a tutu is just…he's so tall and...it's way…way too much."
Kevin's grin widened, but it faltered for a minute.
"It's gonna be easy though, right?" he said, "The birth, I mean. Nothing is going to go wrong or-"
"They tell me it's one of the most textbook cases they've seen of pre-eclampsia," she said, "The whole thing was manageable as long as I stayed in the hospital and they took care of everything. It's going to be fine Kevin."
She smiled at him, and Kevin's grin growing back to its original brilliance.
"Besides," Moira said, "Your brother wants to meet you."
She placed her hand on her stomach. Kevin reached out, touching his mother's stomach right underneath her hand. Charles placed his hand over both of them, his fingers curling over theirs. Even though his brain still felt a little like oatmeal, he had enough strength for this.
Joy bubbled up in their minds, as well as a wave of strong love. Their unborn child's love seemed to grow stronger every time he came in contact with them.
Soon, Charles said, From all of us, soon.
Excitement pierced through the bond, twirling through the love and joy already present. Charles smiled. It seemed like the baby only had three emotions, but their purity were some of the most amazing things he'd ever felt.
Soon, he repeated.
Charles opened his eyes, and was met with the happy expressions of his wife and son.
"He is ready to see us," he said, "Just as ready as we are."
Kevin withdrew his hand, his expression bursting with excitement. Charles felt bad for what he was about to do next, but there were things he needed to discuss with Moira, things Kevin shouldn't be present for. He didn't know what Erik and Levine had decided to do next with Stryker, but it did need to be discussed.
"Kevin, do you mind if I talked to your mother in private for a moment?" he asked.
His son looked disappointed, but nodded. Perhaps he understood, or maybe he just thought it was an adult thing. Either way, Charles was glad, yet again, for Kevin's trust.
"I love you mom," he said.
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. In turn, Moira pulled him into a hug.
"I love you too," she said, "I'll see you soon, okay?"
Kevin smiled and hopped off his chair. Charles followed him with his eyes out of the room, giving him a thumbs-up as he slipped out.
When he turned back to his wife, he found she was holding his card.
"You loved me first," Moira whispered, "but afterwards my love, outsoaring yours, sang such a loftier song. As drowned the friendly cooings of my dove. Which owes the other most?"
He reached out, gently caressing her face with his hand. Charles leaned forward, his lips hovering less than an inch above hers.
"Mine," he said, "Mine owes yours more, because you accepted it despite everything that had happened. No matter the years, you still wanted it."
She smiled, raising her head up slightly so her lips could touch his. He closed his eyes, his fingers threading into hers. His lips, moved down, taking her bottom lip between them, parting his softly as they each drew breath.
Charles pulled back slightly, his forehead still touching hers.
"I'm so sorry I was gone," he said.
"You did what you needed to do," murmured Moira, "And now…Hank told me Essex is gone."
"Yes," Charles said, "I would've preferred a trial but…in the end, he didn't leave us with much of a choice. I suspect that's the way he wanted it."
"Perhaps," Moira said, "But we're still the big winners. Levine told me they're going to court martial Stryker."
"I hadn't heard that," said Charles, "When did you-?"
"He called me about twenty minutes ago on a secure line. To be fair, he hadn't heard I'll become a mother twice over in the next hour," she said, "From the way he reacted on the phone, I had the bigger news."
He chuckled, and there was a knock on the door. Both turned, and he saw Carly there, her face nervous.
"They'll need to start doing prep work in the next ten minutes," she said, "I'm sorry about this, but Dr. Strange is insisting we do it now, not that there's any reason to panic, and I want you to get the best of care-"
"No, I understand," Moira said, "I'll be two more minutes."
Carly nodded and left the room. Moira looked back at him, her eyes shining.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"I should be asking you that," Charles said.
"Charles, last time I did this it took thirteen hours with minimal pain killers," she said, "Now I'm going to sleep through it. I'm more than ready."
"As am I," Charles said, "Although the reasons are, admittedly, rather different."
She laughed, taking his hands in his.
"Then that's good. But stop thinking you owe me. For one is both and both are one in love," she said, "Rich love knows nought of thine that is not mine; both have the strength and both the length thereof."
He gave her hand one last squeeze.
"Both of us, of the love which makes us one," he said.