A hospital

A/N Sorry this took a while, I couldn't post whilst on holiday :-(

Moira holds Charles' hand as the trolley he is lying is rushed through the hospital corridors. She has to run to keep up, and it hurts to hear him moaning.

"It's okay Charles." She whispers, over and over again. "We're almost there."

It feels wrong to be the one comforting him. Moira feels a pang of guilt, then shakes her head. Lena should be here, but she can't be. Lena is dead. Moira looks at Charles, at the pain and sorrow on his face. She knows the pain isn't just from the bullet in his spine, but also from the death of Lena. Another problem Moira is unable to fix.

This wounds her over and over again. Moira's downfall has always been wanting to fix things she cannot. Ever since her uncle blamed her for the death of her mother, problems she can't fix have become her nightmare.

Memories flash before her tired eyes. She's five, sitting outside the burned down ruin of her house, watching silently as the ambulance takes away her mothers body, blocking out the angry shouts of her uncle, telling her she should have called the fire brigade, or the police, or the man next door. She just didn't think of that.

Now, she's eleven, watching her older sister's heart being broken. Moira finds the boy at school, thinking she can make him change his mind. But he just sneers at her, and so instead she just holds her sister whilst she cried.

That's why she joined the CIA. So that she might get faced with problem she could fix.

Then Moira is back in the bright, sterile hospital corridor, standing still, watching as a nurse tries to lead her away, as Charles is taken away. The door closes, and she's alone, apart from the persistent nurse. But she's not much company.

*back at the mansion*

When he sets the limp body of his friend down, Alex feels the grief rush towards him like a tsunami. Fresh waves, ever stinging, ever drowning him.

He looks over at Aiysha, and knows she feels the same. Why? He asks. Why her? No one answers.

Hank sits in a metal chair, staring into space. So much loss. When he'd agreed to help Charles, he'd never imagined himself getting this caught up, caring this much, and then losing so much. Darwin. Lena. And, in a way, Raven.

Sean locks himself in his room, screaming. The walls shake and windows smash, but he keeps on screaming. When Darwin died, he vowed he would never just watch one of his friends die. He broke the most important vow, and he let her down.

Aiysha cannot compute this amount of guilt. She didn't warn anyone. Her power transferral didn't work. She didn't watch out for Lena. All these things whir round and round as she looks at her friend's face, and as she squeezes the cold, limp hand.

A doorbell rings, stirring them. Charles.

Hank is at the door first, yanking it open, wrenching off the iron handle. Too late, he realises it is a nurse.

The nurse's mouth opens as she sees Hank, blue fur on end and teeth bared.

He smiles.

"Hello!" He says, grinning insanely.

The nurse's eyes roll back into her head as she falls to the ground. Hank frowns, then is shoved out of the way by Alex as a medic leaps out the van, opening the doors to the ambulance. Alex mimics the smile tried by Hank, leaning up against the wall.

The medic comes over, holding a clip board and looking worried. Alex remembered a time when, as a kid, he had wondered whether a worried face is something constantly plastered onto the faces of medics, and if you made them smile their face would crack and split.

"Hello sir." She says. "You are most likely aware that the owner of this house is currently in hospital."

Alex nods. "Well, would you like to identify yourself; I have here a list of people designated to remain here by the owner, Charles Xavier." The medic hands Alex a piece of paper from her clipboard.

He points to a name.

"Alexander Summers. That's me."

"Of course sir, but I'm going to need ID."

Alex opens his mouth, then closes it again. His only form of ID is the CIA one, telling whoever reads it he was formerly in solitary confinement for destroying everything he could. He feels the medic would either insist he be removed from the premises, or doubt Charles' judgement, or both.

Aiysha steps forwards beside Alex. He looks down at the small book in her hand in surprise. The medic looks at Aiysha expectantly.

Aiysha smiles sweetly after checking the list in Alex's hand. A name makes her head spin, but she sees Aiysha James and ignores the others.

"I'm Aiysha James. Nice to meet you." Aiysha holds her hand out for the medic to shake, then holds out her passport.

The medic checks it, then smiles slightly( Alex jumps).

"It all seems to be in order. I'm afraid Mr Xavier is still in Intensive Care, but we have someone for you."

Alex and Aiysha follow the medic over the van, which contains Moira, who is sitting cross legged on the floor.

Moira's eyes light up when she sees the pair, and stands up. She doesn't say anything, just follows Alex inside. Aiysha stays to question the medic.

"What happened?"

"She blacked out in a corridor. She's in shock. Anyone would be. Is there anything else I can help you with. You look upset. Mr Xavier will be fine; he's expected to make a full recovery. I'm afraid I can't tell you anything, patient confidentiality."

Aiysha nods.

"Yes, of course. I'm fine, just the shock of course. I'll look after Moira."

The medic smiles.

"Good girl. We will let you know when he is expected to return."

And with that, she gets into her van, joined by the slightly frightened nurse, who was roused by Alex. She shoots a few worried glances over her shoulder, which makes Alex smile slightly. Hank sits in the hall, in the shadows, just out of sight until the van is gone, leaving behind it dust and a slight sense of unease.

Aiysha thinks at the name she saw near the bottom of the list.

Eleanor Laufeyson

She doesn't know any Laufeysons. Lena was shortened from Eleanor, she knew that, but she was a Richards. So who was this Laufeyson?