Grace finished teaching her class for the day and moved down the hallway. The majority of the students were heading towards the dining room for dinner. Grace had hoped that Charles would be preparing dinner for them that evening because she could not be bothered to go and start preparing food.

As she moved down the corridors, she startled as she saw him stood at the bottom of the stairs. He had his arms folded over his chest and his eyes were set on her as she moved closer to him. Biting down on her tongue, she looked at him with an arched brow. Dropping her hands to her hips, she looked at him and he managed a soft smile in her direction.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I went to see Peter," he said. "He seems like he is doing well."

"He is," she replied. "Hopefully he will be back to normal soon enough."

"I said that I would try to call him when I am settled down," Erik said to her and she leaned against the bannister at the bottom of the staircase. "I need to get away for a while."

"Yet you are still here," she responded.

"I could hardly go without saying goodbye," Erik replied. "Your husband would no doubt tell you I had been here. I saw him earlier with Sophie in the garden."

"And he let you in?"

"Charles and I have buried our differences," Erik responded. "There is nothing to argue about anymore, Grace."

"I am glad to hear it," she said to him. "You have to promise me that you will look after yourself, Erik."

"When have I not?" he wondered back.

"And you don't have to go far," she replied to him and Erik looked at her with wonder as she watched him back, her eyes meeting his as she struggled to look away from him. She always did find something about him entrancing. "Peter is your son."

"And he has done a hell of a lot better in his life without me being here," Erik informed Grace. "Besides, staying here…around you…it isn't easy, Grace. After all these years, it still isn't easy. I only worry that it never will be."

"I know," Grace whispered, peering down for a few moments before looking back up, her eyes widening as she watched Erik cautiously. It was a few more moments before she went to take hold of his shoulders, standing on her toes and kissing him softly on the cheek. Erik's hands took hold of her upper arms as she pulled back. "Promise me you will stay in touch."

"I promise," he responded. "Now go and be with your family."

"I will," she said. "Take care, Erik."

"You too, Grace."

Leaving the Manor, Erik didn't look back. He could feel Grace watching after him, but it was too painful for him to turn around and look back at her. He wondered if that feeling would ever go away. He wanted to know if he would ever be able to truly move on from her. He somehow doubted it. He really did doubt it. Biting down on his tongue, he kept on walking and wondered what could have been.

…

"You never said that Erik was here," Grace informed her husband after dinner as they washed the dishes and Sophie went to sit down in the living room. Grace was drying the plates as Charles washed, his hands covered in soapsuds.

"I assumed I would not have to," Charles said to his wife. "I knew he would find you before he left."

"He just wanted to see how I was," Grace responded with a shrug. "Besides, I told him not to be a stranger. Peter should have his father, shouldn't he?"

"Indeed, he should," Charles responded. "But Erik has always done what Erik wants to do. We both know that. Regardless, I…I buried the hatchet with him. I do not see there being any use in arguing with him. It achieves nothing. It will never achieve anything."

"I am glad to hear it," Grace said to her husband. "I have no desire to see you two fight. We have all moved on."

"And I know that," Charles promised his wife. "However, I have to say that things have changed, Grace…with Raven and Jean gone things have changed and we have to move on…they would want us to move on and not wallow in the past."

"I know," she promised him. "And I know that things have been difficult with Scott and Hank, but they will feel the same eventually. It takes time, that is all. It all takes time."

"I know," Charles responded and handed her the final plate to dry. She took hold of it and placed it in the cupboard above the sink before dropping the towel onto the surface as Charles emptied the water and rinsed his hands. He looked over to his wife and managed to look over her, wondering what he had done to get so lucky. How did he have her in his life? How had she not left him for all of his silly and petty mistakes? He did not know. All he knew was that he had no intention of letting her go.

Moving to take hold of her waist, her dress crumpled underneath his fingertips as he bent down to kiss her, feeling her arms move to wrap around his neck, holding onto him tightly as she moaned slightly into his mouth, unable to stop herself. It had been a long time since they had been alone and not arguing. The atmosphere finally seemed relaxed. She pulled back after a moment and chuckled before placing one more quick peck to his lips.

"Come on," she urged from her husband. "We should go and see what Sophie is up to."

"In a bit," Grace responded. "Besides, she is probably watching some bad TV show. I thought that we could maybe go for a walk outside before it gets too dark? I have something that I want to show you."

Charles nodded his head and Grace took hold of his hand, leading him through the back door to the garden. Charles strolled by her side, raising her arm up to let him wrap his own arm around her shoulders so he could keep her hand inside of his. She looked up to him and smiled softly as he bent down and kissed her once more.

"Did you ever think all those years ago that we would be here?" she asked from her husband. "Did you ever think that we would be here with our own daughter?"

"Hard to imagine," Charles said to her. "After spending the best part of a decade alone here, I just imagined that was what my life would be like…miserable without you."

"I know," Grace replied. "Does it ever upset you? All that lost time?"

"No," Charles responded honestly. "I don't like to dwell on it because we got through it. I would rather go through those years of being separated and knowing that we had a chance than not go through them at all."

"I don't know if that is sweet or depressing," Grace admitted to her husband as they came to the front of the house. "But I feel the same. Believe me, from now on I have no intention of letting anything happen. We are going to keep the school going and help as many people as we can…but the kids will come first. They will come first and we will protect them, including our own daughter…especially our own daughter."

"I agree," Charles responded to her. "And I promise never to keep anything from you, regardless of how trivial it is."

"Likewise," Grace replied and they came to the front door. "But, that might have to start now because I…well…Scott and I were thinking."

"What about?" Charles asked her and she nodded her head to the sign on the door.

Charles was about to ask what was different, but he saw it after a moment. No longer did it have his name on the sign. It was Jean's name. His lips quirked for a moment and he nodded his head at that, a silent tear rolling down his cheek as Grace watched him. She moved a finger to wipe it away before cupping his cheekbones.

"Scott didn't want her to be forgotten and I thought that this was the perfect way to keep her memory alive," Grace said to him. "Of course, if you want your name back-"

"-No," Charles said to her. "I agree…completely…this will do, Grace. This will do nicely."

"Good," Grace said to her husband and kissed him once more. "Come on, Professor, we still have time to keep walking before Sophie starts moaning about being bored."

….

Standing on the pavement outside of the dorm building, Grace had to admit that she was apprehensive. Sophie had deferred her studies for a year, spending time at home and helping to teach the young mutants. She had finally decided that she wanted to go back to college, no longer caring if people whispered about her. She was determined that she would make friends. Not everyone could see her as a freak. She had to try, anyway. She had no intention of quitting. She got that from her mother.

"You know that you can come home whenever you like, okay?" Grace checked with her and Sophie adjusted the satchel on her shoulder. "And we are on the other end of a phone should you need us."

"I know," Sophie said to her parents, "but I think this time is going to be different."

"I am certain it will be," Charles said to her and moved to wrap his daughter into his arms. Sophie hugged him tightly back as Charles dropped his chin to the top of her head for a moment, closing his eyes and relishing the feeling. He moved after a second, lifting himself to kiss the top of her head before pulling back, hands going to her cheeks as he looked at her again. "And be careful."

"Yes, dad," Sophie said and Grace took her turn to embrace her daughter, trying not to become overly emotional. They had already driven her to college once before and now they were doing it again. She had thought that she would be fine, but it was proving to be difficult. Sophie hugged her mother tightly and when she pulled back, Grace bent down to kiss her on the cheek.

"Call us when you get chance," she urged her daughter. "And look after yourself…but…have fun. College is all about having fun, not that I would know."

"It is fun," Charles promised his daughter, remembering his time at Oxford. His time there had been wonderful. Raven had been by his side. She had always been there to support him. "Now go and have fun."

Sophie nodded and moved back up the steps to the front door of the apartment blocks. Grace felt Charles move a hand to the small of her back as Sophie turned her head over her shoulder before she went in the door and waved back to her parents. Charles and Grace did the same before she disappeared from sight and Charles wrapped his wife into his arms.

"Come on," he said, giving her a quick squeeze. "Let's go home."

"She'll be okay, won't she, Charles?" Grace checked as Charles picked her hand up and he tugged down his grey suit jacket with his other hand as he looked down to Grace, who was tucking her hair behind her ear.

"She will be just fine," Charles assured his wife.

Grace nodded then and smiled to Charles as he bent down to kiss her softly, knowing that for once he had peace in his life.

….

A/N: And that is the end! Do let me know what you think!