Charles' fingers shook slightly as he graded lab reports. He kept trying not to let it show but…seeing that on the projection screen that morning had really shook him up. He felt distracted in his classes all day. Up until then, he'd always maintained that the threats on his life, and by extension Raven's, were merely hypothetical. It was Emma who'd taken action. They were scary, certainly creepy, yes, but ultimately hypothetical. This morning's event had changed his opinion irrevocably. It proved that whoever was behind this knew where he worked and when.
He set the pen down, unable to focus, and ran his hands over his face and through his hair. Taking a deep breath, Charles got up and went to stand in front of the window, looking down at all the students hurrying to and from class. It all seemed so normal and yet…he felt a little distanced from it in a way he hadn't felt before. He wrapped his arms around his middle, trying to think of something, anything, else.
The door opened, but he ignored it. If it was a student, they'd say something. If not, well, he had two agents outside his door and two agents inside his office. None were Erik, however. He'd been off somewhere since lunch. Charles tried hard to ignore the fact that he felt less safe without the grouchy agent around, despite it being less than a day of having them around.
"Everything good in here?" he heard Erik's voice ask quietly.
Angel responded just as quietly, "Yeah. He was working til about a minute ago."
"Thanks. Give us a minute?"
Charles frowned slightly. What could that mean? Then he heard the door close, assumed Jean had left as well, but then heard footsteps approach his position.
Erik told him, "You shouldn't stand in front of the window. Easy target." Charles silently took a step to the right—still able to look outside but less visible through the glass. "I meant…never mind." Erik sighed. "Look, I need to ask you something."
His voice shook only slightly as he asked, "What is it?"
"I've already talked to the police and campus security—" Oh, so that's where he's been all day, Charles thought. Erik continued, "but I need your permission to put surveillance cameras up in your office and classrooms."
Charles turned to face him, surprised. "What for? One of you will be with me at all times, yes?" He hated that it sounded a little like he was pleading. He was stronger than that. He hoped.
Erik nodded, his face carefully clear of expression. "Yes, I will. But this is for when you're not on campus. I want to make sure that this morning does not happen again. In any form. Because if they can get to your classrooms and office…" he trailed off, but the rest of the sentence was clear.
Charles quietly finished it. "Then they can get to my apartment, too. Or Raven's dorm room."
"Exactly."
Charles sighed and turned back to the window, hugging himself tighter. "Day One on the job and already you have a plan." And they're already getting worse. He tried for a light tone but wasn't sure it worked. He paused, then turned back and said, "Do it. But put one in Raven's room too? For my peace of mind, if nothing else."
"I'd planned on it. And Angel and Jean will be going as Raven's personal guards, unless I need to pull one of them."
"But Raven will have someone?" Charles pushed. His sister's safety meant everything to him.
"Yes. Raven will have an agent with her at all times."
It was then that Charles realized that Erik had said that he would be by Charles' side at all times. For some reason, that made him feel warm and he turned away quickly, suddenly needing to put some space between them. "So, I suppose you'll be needing to know all the rooms I use, yes?" He moved to his desk, pulling up his course schedule on the computer.
"Full schedule of classes, meetings, and anything related to your campaign."
Oh, right. Yes, he did still need to call Emma back and inform her that he could make it to that rally now. "Um, okay. The first two I can do. The campaign content will have to come from my campaign manager, Emma Frost. She keeps tabs on everything for me." Charles turned away from printing his schedule to rummage in the desk for his phonebook. Yes, horribly outdated but it worked.
"I'll need to meet her in person, Xavier. Your sister, too." Erik's voice was pointed and Charles frowned. The other agents all used his first name; why couldn't Erik?
Had he told her? He'd told her, right? Charles stood up, abandoning the search for Emma's number as he wondered whether he'd actually informed Raven that they were getting Secret Service agents to protect them.
"What is it?"
Charles started, glancing at him. "Hmm? Oh, no. Sorry, just thinking. I don't think I ever actually let Raven know you were coming."
"Should I let Scott know we'll be picking her up later?" Now Erik sounded a little irritated.
He shook his head. "No, no. I can text her. Tell her to come by after class." He pulled his cell phone out of his bag and quickly sent his sister a text asking her to come over for supper and to meet their new bodyguards.
Erik interrupted him as he started to put it back, asking, "What's your number?"
"What?"
"Cell phone number. I want it."
"Whatever for?"
"In case something happens and you need to reach me. Or I need to reach you."
It made sense, but even so Charles was reluctant to tell him. They swapped numbers so Charles would know who was calling.
"Does your sister have a car?"
"Hmm? Oh no." He shook his head. "Either I drive or she uses public transportation. Her boyfriend, Hank, does, though. Should I ask him to drop her off?"
"Yes. I'll need to meet him, as well. Tonight. See if you can get Emma to come by, too."
"You have a lot of people to meet," Charles tried to joke. Erik just ignored him, studying his teaching schedule. "I'm afraid you won't be able to meet Emma until Wednesday, at the earliest."
Erik's gaze was sharp as he lowered the paper. "Why?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Just a stop at a soup kitchen; nothing to worry about." He sent the text off to his sister, telling her to have Hank drive and come up.
"Verdammt. These are things I need to know, Xavier. Anything else going on this week?"
Charles tilted his head, thinking. He didn't think so…but he didn't know his schedule as well as Emma did so it was possible he was missing something. He said as much to Erik who lifted his eyes to the ceiling and took a deep breath.
"Fine. I want to meet your sister and her boyfriend tonight," Erik informed him as he walked out the door, Jean and Angel slipping back in and shutting the door behind them.
Angel lifted an eyebrow at him and asked, "What happened?"
"What do you mean?"
Jean and Angel exchanged looks then Jean said, "He's kinda pissed."
"Oh. I was beginning to think that was his normal state." He sat down and picked up his correcting pen again. "I think he's just upset that I don't know my schedule as well as he thinks I should. But that's what I have Emma for; she makes the schedule, so I see no reason why she shouldn't keep me on time."
Angel giggled. "Oh, boy. This'll be interesting, won't it, Jean?"
Jean replied, "I'm just glad it won't be us dealing with him."
Angel said, "Yeah, speaking of which…What's your sister like, Charles?"
Charles lowered his pen and looked up at them with a fond smile. "Raven is my younger sister, adopted really, but we're the only family each other has anymore. You'll like her, I think."
"The contents of your kitchen are really very sad, Charles," Scott said as he opened Charles' practically empty fridge.
Charles shrugged. "I eat out a lot." He put his hands on his hips and glanced around the living room. "Has anyone seen my Grey's Anatomy text? I can't remember where I put it."
"Sounds about par for the course," someone—he suspected Erik—muttered from the kitchen.
Maybe it was in his bedroom. He was rummaging through drawers in his bedroom when he heard a knock on the door. Ah, Raven's here! The sound was quickly followed by instant silence and he frowned. What in the world…? Heading down the hall, Charles was astonished to find that they all had their guns drawn from their respective positions in the apartment. "Now, hang on…" he started, but a hand clamped over his mouth immediately. He glared over it at Erik who hissed, "Stop talking."
"Charles! You know full well I'm only knocking as a courtesy; I have a key, you know!"
Charles yanked Erik's hand off his mouth with difficulty and snapped, "That's my sister. Put your guns away, for goodness' sake! Just a sec, Raven!"
They stared at each other for a moment before Erik nodded. "Stand down," he ordered and holstered his weapon.
Charles shoved past him with a huff, opened the door and pulled Raven into a tight hug. "God, I'm glad you're here."
She squeezed him just as tight. "Bad day?" she asked sympathetically as she pulled back.
"Interesting, to say the least," he replied, motioning for her and Hank to come in. "How about you? Good day, I hope?"
Raven stopped so fast Hank ran into her back. "Charles, when you said we were getting bodyguards, I was expecting one each. Maybe two, for you. There are five here."
"Ah, well, yes, it's rather a bit more than I was expecting as well." He felt a little uncomfortable but closed the door and started the necessary introductions. "So…that's Angel by the television, Alex and Jean on the couch, Scott in the kitchen and Erik by the table. Everyone, this is my little sister Raven and her boyfriend Hank."
"Younger. Not little," Raven corrected absently. They did this every time. "So which ones are mine?" she asked brightly but Charles could tell she was not at all thrilled.
Angel stood up and smiled. "I'm all yours!"
Raven turned to face her and they sized each other up. Charles and Hank exchanged nervous looks. This could go bad very quickly. Just as he stepped forward to try to diffuse things, Angel said, "Where'd you get that jacket?"
"Made it." Raven's tone was a bit icy.
"It's amazing! Could you make me one like that? Maybe different colors, though. I don't have your skin tone," Angel replied appreciatively.
"Sure. I went with blue and red, but for you…" The ice had vanished from her voice and Charles sighed in relief. "What do you think of black and purple?"
Angel grinned. "I love it. What do you think, Jean? Think that'd work for me?"
Jean nodded from the couch. "You'd look great."
Raven turned to her and tilted her head. "I could make you one, too, if you want. Possibly…blue and yellow?"
"She'll glow in the dark!" Alex scoffed and Raven's glare was back.
Charles winced and tugged on Hank's arm. "Come on," he said quietly. "Out of the splash zone, as it is."
Hank agreed. "I learned early on in our relationship that I was never going to win a fight with her."
"Probably the best way to live," Charles agreed with a half-laugh, leading him to where Scott had joined Erik while Raven and Alex argued over colors. Christ… "Erik, Scott, this is Hank McCoy."
Scott and Hank shook hands, Erik studying him. Good lord, did the man ever greet someone normally?
"This is what I'm studying! What the hell do you know about color complements?"
"Oh, dear," Charles murmured, running a hand through his hair.
"Blue and yellow does not go together!"
"Does too!"
"Does not!"
"SHUT IT!" Erik bellowed and the room went dead silent. "Alex, quit arguing with her. You have no clue what constitutes female fashion, I would hope. Raven, get your temper in check. You'll make your point better if you're not screaming it."
They both looked suitably chastised and Charles looked at Erik wonderingly. "You have got to teach me how to do that."
Erik's eyes flicked towards his and the corner of his mouth tipped upwards briefly. "All right. Now that we've all met, I would suggest dinner but apparently grocery shopping was not on the to-do list."
"There's a great little Chinese place right around the corner," Charles offered.
Erik sighed. "Chinese okay with everyone?" There was agreement all around and Charles dug out the menu.
Erik watched the siblings closely, trying to figure out what their relationship was like. According to the dossier he had, Xavier's parents had adopted Raven when Xavier was eleven and she was around four or five. The father, Brian Xavier, died shortly afterwards. His wife, Sharon, remarried about a year later, a man named Kurt Marko who brought his son, Cain, around Xavier's age, to the family. Not knowing all that much about how they grew up, he nonetheless knew that they were basically orphaned while Xavier was at college and Raven had just entered middle school. Apparently Xavier was a genius and graduated high school and undergrad early. They seemed close, but that could be an act. No information on what happened to the stepbrother.
Raven giggled loudly from where she sat next to her brother, his arm wrapped loosely around her shoulders as he laughed. She was sitting much closer to Xavier than she was to McCoy, supposedly her boyfriend. A rather whipped boyfriend, he decided.
It also looked as if she and Angel were going to get along splendidly, having spent most of the night discussing clothing. One load off his mind. Xavier suddenly got up and headed for the kitchen. After a moment's thought, Erik followed.
Xavier said, "Are you going to follow me everywhere? Because I'm pretty sure you have the layout of my apartment memorized already."
He did, but that wasn't why he'd followed the man. "Is your sister going to be trouble for my agents?" He put it bluntly, hoping to startle some truth out.
Xavier chuckled as he pulled two cans of pop out of the fridge—apparently Alex's run to the convenience store had proven more fruitful than he'd thought. "Possibly. I won't deny she's spirited, but Angel seems able to keep up with her so I wouldn't worry overmuch." He hesitated, then handed one of the cans out towards Erik.
Erik stared at it long enough for Xavier to shift. Not only was the man talkative, but he was extremely optimistic and generous. Not exactly good traits to have in a president, in his opinion. Xavier started to pull the can back, mumbling apologies and turning slightly red and Erik grabbed it, feeling unaccountably guilty at embarrassing him. Xavier smiled faintly as Erik took a sip. "So…spirited?"
"She was the epitome of a wild-child, growing up. It's only recently that she's decided what she wants to do with her life, having bounced from job to job since high school. I'm so relieved she's settled on something. I raised her more than my parents ever did, so I worry much too much." Xavier smiled wryly. "As she is fond of telling me."
"I see." And he was beginning to.
"Charles, get back here and finish the story!" Raven called.
Xavier said, "My audience awaits. Excuse me," and he brushed past Erik. "Raven, do I have to? You know how embarrassing that was."
"Exactly! That's why you have to finish."
Erik leaned against the counter, drinking his pop, thinking. He tapped the fingers of his free hand against the counter absently; it helped him think. Angel and Raven were becoming fast friends so perhaps he'd do better to send along a more level head. Jean would be a good choice. Or Scott. No, he immediately dismissed the thought. He needed Scott to keep Alex in check. And if he sent Alex…he could just imagine the arguments between him and the sister. No, Jean was the best choice. And it made it a little easier, keeping the genders together.
Peals of laughter interrupted his thoughts and he looked over to find Xavier bright red and everyone laughing. He headed to the spare bedroom he'd claimed as their base of sorts, intending to pull out some things to send along with the girls. Earwigs, schedules, contact numbers—he made a mental note to get Raven's number before she left, McCoy's too—a couple surveillance cameras, laptop, and anything else they might need. He was also banking on the fact that Jean and Scott would almost certainly be in near-constant contact.
It was nearly two hours later when they left. Jean had understood the reasons for his request, said goodbye to everyone and then she and Angel had packed their things and escorted Raven and McCoy out. He gave Jean the keys to the red Tahoe, since Raven didn't have a car. Raven and Xavier had a hug, she kissed his cheek, he told her to listen to Angel and Jean (which Erik appreciated), a quick goodbye to McCoy and then it was just Erik, Xavier and the brothers.
Xavier retired to bed shortly afterwards, Scott taking the first shift, Alex passing out on the couch and Erik took the bedroom. He opened both bedroom doors, just in case, then climbed into bed and flicked off the light.