About three days later, Elisabeth sat curled up on her window seat in the room that Charles assigned her, looking out the window and listening to the radio. The radio was a godsend, her foot tapping against the wall in sync to the music. The window had a magnificent view of the mountains, and Elisabeth felt like going out for a walk. But Charles had given her specific instructions not to go out into the open, only in the garden under the shade. Elisabeth hated that rule, of course, but Alex had told her that it was not wise to go against a direct order from Charles. Stupid telepath, she thought miserably, frowning.

I heard that, his voice said irritably in her mind, and she scowled.

Get the hell outta my head, Charles! She sighed and rested her head against the wall, closing her dark eyes. The door opened with a creak and she sighed. "Charles, if that's you I swear-"

"Last time I checked, I'm not Charles." She grinned at the voice and turned to see Alex poking his head into her room, smiling that cute little smile of his. Ah, Alex. The two of them had become very close over the past couple of days, and Elisabeth would be damned if she said that she wasn't falling for him. "Mind if I come in?" She shook her head and he entered her room, closing the door behind him. He strode across the room and sat down at her feet. She gave him a small smile before looking back out of the window as the song on the radio changed. Alex noticed the longing in her brown eyes as she looked out the window and grimaced. "I would take you for a walk if I could but…"

"Yeah, I know," she murmured, looking down at her hands. "I wish that I didn't have to hide, though. I miss the sunshine." He reached over and took her hand, rubbing circles onto the back.

"Don't worry. Charles will take care of it, and when he does I'll be the first person to take you out into the sunshine again." She grinned and squeezed his hand a little. Alex's ears perked up as he recognized the song and he smiled slyly, pulling Elisabeth to her feet.

"What are you doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dance with me," he said, taking her other hand and holding her almost at arm's length, but not quite. He pulled one arm back, pulling her arm forward, then repeated the process with the other arm. He went a little faster and saw her grin, matching his moves perfectly with her body. Alex released one hand and twirled her so that the skirt she was wearing spread out around her like a ballerina skirt. A child-like laugh escaped the brunette before he pulled her close to him, placing his hands on her waist as her arms reached up and locked behind his neck. She felt rather short compared to Alex, who was incredibly tall. Her eyes went up only to his chest, so she just rested the side of her head on his chest and swayed, even though it wasn't really a swaying song. Her warm breath seeped through his shirt and tickled her chest, and Alex couldn't stop the smile on his face.

"Thank you for this," she said quietly, blushing a little as she pulled back to look at him. "You seem to always know how to make me feel better."

"It's a gift," he responded and she giggled, rolling her eyes. They had stopped swaying, and Elisabeth removed her arms from around his neck. She started to back up, but Alex grabbed her hands and she looked up at him. There was something in his pretty eyes that she couldn't place, even as he began pulling her towards him.

"Alex," she said softly, "what are you doing?" He just smiled and pulled her closer, to the point where she was pressed against him. Before she could repeat the question, he leaned down and gently placed his lips against hers, releasing her hands so that he could cup her face. The kiss was tender and light, not at all what Elisabeth expected from Alex. He pulled back when she didn't respond, nervous that he'd gone too far too fast.

"Elle?" he asked, and a wide grin spread across her face.

"Shut up," she muttered, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him down to her level, crashing her lips against his. This kiss was not tender or light at all, it was rough and passionate and she found herself pushed against the wall, one of Alex's hands braced against the wall and the other cupping the back of her neck. She threaded her fingers through his hair as his tongue explored her mouth. This was the Alex that Elisabeth knew. He reached up and threaded his own fingers through her brown hair as she lifted up onto her tiptoes, throwing her arms around his neck to keep steady. They pulled back, both breathing heavy, and Elisabeth smiled again.

"Wow," he whispered and she nodded.

"Wow."

xxxxOxxxx

Lucy glanced around with her eyes as she stood out on the porch, checking that the coast was clear before kicking off her shoes and running into the grass, digging her toes into the cool blades. She smiled contentedly, relishing the feel of the earth between her toes. Her eyes slipped closed and she tilted her face towards the sky, feeling the warmth of the sun on her skin.

"You're not supposed to be out here." She jumped at the voice directly behind her and whipped around, smiling when she saw it was only Sean.

"Are you going to tell on me?" she asked mockingly, backing up slowly.

"Oh please, I'm not a four-year old," she breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm going to drag you back to Charles' office and then tell on you." A sly smiled crossed her face.

"You'll have to catch me first!" she shouted, shoving him backwards onto his butt before turning on her heel and taking off towards the woods. She heard his footsteps behind her and ran faster, dodging trees and laughing hysterically.

"You're dead Lucy!" Sean shouted behind her and she threw her head back, laughing again. She turned a few times before ducking behind a tree near the edge of the forest where the grass began again, grabbing the lowest branch and hoisting herself up into the tree, perching on it like a squirrel.

She waited until he was directly below her before dropping off the branch, shouting, "GOTCHA!" and locking her legs around his waist. He laughed and ran out of the woods and onto the grass, spinning around violently and making Lucy squeal. Sean spun until he grew dizzy and toppled onto the grass, Lucy on her back next to him laughing up a storm.

"C'mon, let's go to Charles," he said, reaching for her hand. She laughed and rolled away from him, poking out her tongue in his direction. "Hey, you stick your tongue out at me again and I'm gonna cut it off." She grinned and poked her tongue out again, scrambling to her feet as they once again chased each other. He was slightly faster this time and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling them both to the ground.

"You'll never take me alive!" she shouted, laughing as they rolled around on the grass. Rosabelle smiled, watching them from her spot by the door.

"They shouldn't be outside," Charles said, suddenly next to her and reaching for the doorknob. Rosabelle reached out and gripped his wrist.

"Let them have their fun, Charles," she said softly, blowing into her tea and turning around, wandering into the kitchen. He looked from the pair on the grass to the woman in the kitchen, sitting at the counter, before huffing and striding into the kitchen.

"You're the one that suggested they stay inside in the first place!" he exclaimed, placing his hands on the counter.

"That was before I realized that the girls are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. They've also got the other men around, and I'm almost positive that they will protect them," she said calmly, meanwhile Charles was becoming frustrated with her calm attitude.

"How in the world can you be so laid back about this?" he asked as she finished off her tea and stood to put it in the sink. "There are evil men after all of you and you don't seem to be the least bit worried!" She whipped around, her blues eyes blazing.

"Of course I'm worried, Charles!" she yelled. "I'm just good at hiding my emotions, something you need to be able to do when you've been locked up for seven bloody years!"

"You are so frustrating sometimes!" he shouted.

"Funny, I could say the same ABOUT YOU!" she yelled back, stalking out of the kitchen and slamming the door behind her. She drew a shaky breath and leaned back against it, wiping her eyes as they grew wet with tears. Charles sighed and leaned against the refrigerator, letting his head fall into his hands. He wanted her to trust him so badly, but they just kept growing farther apart. He sensed her thoughts outside of the kitchen door, and nodded a little in agreement with them.

I want you to trust me as well.

"STAY OUT OF MY FUCKING HEAD!" she practically screamed at the door, and he could hear her footsteps quickly run off. He winced as a door slammed, and collapsed into one of the chairs. I'm normally so good at this, so why do I keep messing everything up? He ran a hand through his hair, placing his head back in his hands.

The pair never realized that Lucy and Sean had come in from outside, and heard the whole argument, giving each other sad looks before walking towards the workout room together, Sean draping a sympathetic arm around her shoulders. Elisabeth and Alex, sitting in her window seat, heard the fight as well from her bedroom and she rested her head on his shoulder, Alex gently kissing the top of her head. Hank, who had been reading again to Marianne in the lounge, stopped when the yelling started and afterwards looked over to the red-head, whose eyes were shining with tears. He held out his arms and she leaned into his embrace, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Is this our fault?" Lucy asked Sean quietly as they sat on the weight lifting bench. All Sean did was look at her, then pull her into a hug.

After a moment Marianne pulled back from Hank and stood, walking calmly towards the kitchen. She gingerly opened the door and looked at Charles, who had his head in his hands. Marianne walked over to him and dropped to her knees so that they could see eye-to-eye. She placed a finger under his chin and lifted his face up so he could see that she looked as miserable as him. Then she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, surprising Charles that such a small girl could have so much strength.

It's going to be okay. "I hope so," he whispered and a small breath left her, her version of a sigh. Finally, someone that can hear me. He chuckled and she pulled back, cupping his cheek. You have to understand, Charles, Rose has been through so much more than the rest of us. She's much more sensitive. I had better get back before Hank gets worried. She kissed his forehead and stood, walking back into the lounge and cozying up next to Hank again.

"Is he okay?" Hank asked and she nodded, raising a thumb.

"What happened?" Elisabeth asked, walking into the lounge with Alex in tow. They sat down on the floor, Alex wrapping a protective arm around the brunette next to him.

"It's our faults," two voices said in unison, and Lucy and Sean joined the group, Sean sitting in the loveseat with Lucy sitting at his feet, leaning against his legs. "We went outside for a few minutes, and Rose was just trying to defend us," Sean explained, and Lucy looked at her hands.

"Do you think we'll have to leave?" Elisabeth asked, and Marianne sat up a little straighter, her eyebrows creasing with worry.

"I hope not," Alex said, lacing his fingers with Elisabeth's. "I was just starting to like having you guys here." Elisabeth threw him a look while Lucy stuck her tongue out at him.

"I don't want you to leave," Hank said quietly, glancing over at Marianne. She noticed and smiled, leaning over to kiss his cheek. Although nobody could see it under his blue skin, Hank blushed fiercely. Elisabeth smiled a little and Sean shared a knowing look with Lucy.

"So…what are we going to do about it?" Sean asked, leaning over to place his chin on top of Lucy's head. That question seemed to stump the others. How were they going to fix this?

"We're not going to do anything," Elisabeth said firmly. "It's their problem, they need to deal with it." Marianne frowned and coughed a little, rubbing her throat.

"Are you okay?" Hank asked quietly and she nodded violently, rubbing at her throat for a few moments before laying her hand on her lap.

"Elisabeth is right, as always. We need to let Charles and Rose deal with this on their own. We can't be interfering," Lucy agreed, and Marianne blew a red curl out of her face, nodding in agreement.

"So now what?" Alex asked.

"Now," Hank said, "we wait."

xxxxOxxxx

Charles sat on his bed, writing, when a knock caught his attention. "Come in," he said, and the door slowly opened as he looked back to his paper. He heard it close and the bed sank at his feet. His eyes flickered up and he was a bit surprised to see the long dark hair facing him, a pale hand reaching up to brush it behind her ear.

Forgive me…

Charles smiled a little, setting down his writing and standing. He walked over to where the figure was sitting and sat down beside her.

Please. Please forgive me…

"Of course I forgive you," he murmured. "I was never really angry with you in the first place. I shouldn't have exploded like that." Suddenly, she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. He was startled at first, but then wrapped his arms around her, squeezing tight. "I will always forgive you, Rose."

"No you won't," she whispered. "And I understand that. Just forgive me for this. Just this." He tried to argue that he will always forgive her, but she was right. Something might happen, and he might not forgive her for it.

"Okay," he finally said. "I'll forgive you for this." She drew in a shuddering breath, nodding against his chest.

Thank you…

For some reason I got all dry-throated while writing the end. I'm very content with this chapter, but if you don't like it then tell me NICELY. Flames are not accepted, and will be used to burn my Barbie dolls. Oh and REVIEW! Thank you and have a wonderful night.