In one of the guest rooms Charles stroked Moira's hair, staring at the ceiling. David had been put in a makeshift cradle next to them. Since the attack two weeks prior Moira hadn't set foot in their old room. Charles didn't blame her. They hadn't even been able to clean up the bloodstains from the floor and walls yet.
"Lorna and Alex are healing up. She's leaning on him a lot for support now," he said, "But she'll recover. We're all worried. In the past month two separate people have perpetrated school grounds and attacked residents."
She took his hand in hers.
"We're increasing the school's security," Moira said, "Hank showed me some good plans. Subtle, but good. "
"But it's never going to be perfect," said Charles, something that had been haunting him lately, "The school's so big we can't keep tabs on everyone. If we electrified the fence too many questions would be asked. There's so much I want to do, but none of it allows us to keep a low profile. That's our best protection; a low profile."
Moira nodded next to him. He kissed the back of her hand and grasped it tighter. The words he was going to say next were difficult. He felt terrified every time he came close to letting them leave his lips. Tonight had to be the night though. If he didn't say them now then he knew he never would.
"We found out some more information about...about the man who attacked you," he said, unable to say the name, "From…from what you told me it appeared that his daughter was Martinique, the woman who tortured Alex and Lorna at the facility."
"I thought that might be the case," she said, "You know what he said."
Charles squeezed his eyes shut.
"He wanted to kill David because he blamed me for Martinique's death," he said, "Otherwise nothing would have happened."
"Don't blame yourself," Moira said.
"I have to," Charles replied, "He was coming for you because of what I had done."
"Don't-"
"You were lucky that the razor was there-" he pressed on.
"Charles, what are you getting at?" interrupted Moira.
Her eyes were wide and staring. It made it all the harder.
"It's not safe here," he said, "David's so young and you…if I say something that gets someone angry, and I will say such things, and when I make enemies-"
"Don't Charles," she said, pulling herself away and shaking her head, "Don't."
"You can't stay here," Charles said, "They'll find you and they'll take you from me."
"I'm not leaving you," said Moira, "David needs his father and I need my husband. So don't you dare. Stop it right now."
"Listen to me," Charles said, pushing himself into a sitting position, "We've seen that people can break in. If they were more careful than Jason…we have to be lucky all the time. They only have to be lucky once."
"No," Moira repeated.
The conversation was going downhill faster than he'd thought it would. He reached for her but she pulled away. Rallying he said;
"Listen, we could open another facility for the more dangerous mutants who can't control their powers. Make arrangements somewhere. Maybe even have a new team of X-men."
"And what would we call ourselves?" she demanded, "The Exiles? Because that's what we'd be Charles. I'm not leaving you."
"Please be reasonable," he begged.
"I am being reasonable," snapped Moira, tears in her eyes, "I want what you promised me on our wedding day, what every wife is promised; 'til death do us part'."
"It will part us much sooner if they think they can hurt me through you!"
"No," she said, "I promised. You promised!"
Charles hadn't wanted to do what he was about to do. Grabbing her head he pulled her into a kiss. He broke down all the walls of his mind and showed her what he was afraid of. He showed her the nightmares he'd had since Jason had nearly taken them from him. He showed her the times he'd railed at himself; convinced that they should leave but hating himself for even thinking about sending them away.
And then he showed her what she and David meant to him. He showed her how his dream of coexistence had changed into a dream where his son could live in a free world, where nothing threatened them. Charles let her see the pride he saw in everything she did, and let her see how much he loved her. How much it would destroy him if he lost either one of them.
He separated, panting. Feeling broken inside he touched his forehead to hers, his hands on each side of her face.
"Sweetheart," he said, "you know I'm right."
She opened her eyes, crying and clasping his wrists. Charles pulled her into a fierce embrace, wishing he didn't have to let her go, but knowing that he did.
There was something wonderful about returning to the school. The routine Lorna had established there left her feeling safe and comforted. She was surrounded by a blanket of a clouding warmth that allowed her to not think about her father. It was odd; five weeks ago she hadn't even known he existed. Now she was struggling to get over not going with him.
The only thing after the assassination attempt that had jarred her was when they'd been informed that Moira, David, Hank, and Rahne would be leaving. Apparently Rose had been desperate to hear news of her wards and had expressed interest in becoming more involved with their cause. She'd been, in the past months, working on turning Muir Island into a hospital for mutants. The woman seemed to never sleep.
Her early attempt was understaffed though. When Moira had tentatively suggested coming down and helping Rose had pounced on the opportunity. Rahne had also asked to go, missing her mother. Lorna thought it was only fair to her. It was deemed safe enough now.
As she learned Rose had been interested in the education of mutants too. Hank had offered his services to helping the school and hospital branch out. He'd always wanted to have a bigger lab, a bigger facility. Now he was twenty and he wanted to leave the sheltered walls of the school. They'd have room there. Muir Island was home to a rather big castle after all.
She felt miserable about them leaving. Pieces of her family were being whittled away and vaguely she wondered if it was a punishment for not leaving with Erik. Were they even going to stay in contact anymore? Would she be able to retain her friendship with Hank, her closeness with Rahne, and even that feeling of comfort with Moira when they were so far away? She didn't know. Still, she kept it inside, hidden even from Alex. He was taking Hank leaving hard too. He didn't need anymore of her problems to contend with.
So with everything she was losing she hadn't been too optimistic when Sean called them into the living room at midnight. Lorna didn't see the Professor when she got there, but her guard was still up. Maybe he wanted to go to Muir Island too. So much was happening that she didn't doubt it.
Sean stood in the middle of the room, his face flushed and twisting his hands.
"What's up?" asked Alex.
Still twisting his hands Sean grinned nervously.
"I…I finally got the nerve," he said, "I told Maeve I'm a mutant today."
Hank, who'd been lounging in his chair, sat up straighter. No one spoke for a moment.
"Judging by the fact that you're not a blubbery mess…it went well?" ventured Alex.
"You'll never…you can't imagine…" Sean stuttered, "She actually saw it and, yeah, she was freaked at first. But only at first. She wanted me to take her flying afterwards. And I did and she said it was neat and…"
His voice was practically choked.
"She laughed when I told her why I hadn't said something sooner," he said, "I mean, she said that if she'd wanted to leave me she would have done it already."
Another silence descended. Then, slowly, Lorna started to clap. Alex joined in, as did Hank. Before she knew it they were whooping and hollering, smacking Sean on the back. Despite the hour they had an impromptu party in the kitchen with sodas and any leftovers they could find. Because the noise was increasing they ended up taking it to the pool.
Lorna nursed a coke in one of the deck chairs, watching and laughing as Sean and Alex started a water war. Hank, despite how he hated getting chlorine in his fur, jumped in as well. The whole pool was churning as water splashed onto the sidelines. Some even flicked up and got her. She found that she didn't mind though.
A warmth filled her that she hadn't had in a long time. It didn't matter if Hank was in Scotland or in Antarctica. They would be fine; the four of them. Somehow she could tell. They would see each other again. You couldn't break bonds like the ones that they'd made. And even when they didn't see each other she'd find them in her thoughts and in her prayers.
Much like her father, wherever he was. She looked up at the sky and wondered if he was seeing the same stars she was. He probably was, but she couldn't tell. Maybe one day she'd know for sure. They were all under the same sky after all; humans and mutants, friends and teammates, fathers and daughters. With a small smile Lorna finished the rest of her soda. Then she cast the bottle down and joined her friends.
Azazel waited in one of the side rooms of the hospital, his arms crossed and his tail swishing impatiently. About one floor up Mystique was giving birth to his child. She'd thought that she was so sneaky, going off in the middle of the night to this out of the way hospital. She thought no one would notice with Erik still angry over the loss of his daughter. She'd thought she'd avoid any complications. She was wrong about that.
The door opened. He looked over at the terrified doctor who walked in. More specifically his eyes narrowed in on the small bundle in his arms.
"You put her under, da?"
"Said we had to…to do a cesarean," stuttered the doctor.
He grinned. Bribes and threats were good for something after all.
"And when she wakes up?" he prompted.
"She miscarried," the doctor fumbled, "The child was ex, ex, exuding something toxic. We had to get rid of it. It had been dead for months."
"Yzumitelno," said Azazel, "Now, to me."
The doctor placed the bundle in his arms and all but fled the room. The door slammed shut behind him. Azazel smiled to himself.
"Humans," he scoffed.
He directed his attention to the child in his arms. It was a boy, his skin blue and rough. He wasn't crying in the manner of newborns. Instead he was looking around with his golden eyes. On closer inspection Azazel made out pointy ears and three fingers on each hand. There were the same amount of toes.
A tail flickered out, not quite under his son's control. Azazel chuckled.
"Not my son indeed," he murmured, "More my son than hers."
Gently he reached out. The boy kept pushing at his own face but one of his hands touched Azazel's finger. His expression softened.
"Well syn," he said, "It is pity your mother didn't want to be with us. Two of us could do it, but just one? She was right; I am not father. Not without help. But I'll be damned if I let you go with her weak starshy brat. What would he teach you? Nothing."
The boy looked at him with big eyes.
"You'll go to different home, one of my choosing," he said, "This couple the Wagners, circus folk, owe me a favor. A big favor. Silly witch; so easy to blackmail. If they hurt you, I kill them. If they abandon you, I kill them. But they will raise you strong. I have instructions, so I am sure of that."
He smiled.
"But, in a few years I will find you," said Azazel, "And I will let you know your real father. And to be fair I tell you all about her. Why it had to be. Why she did not deserve to choose your future. But for now I give you name."
One of his hands stroked the side of the child's face.
"Kurt," he said, "It's good name."
Upstairs he heard something akin to a wail. A cruel smile crossed his lips.
"Ah, your mother is up," he said, "So dasvidanya goluboy syn. Time for us to go."
In a puff of black smoke, father and son left the hospital.
"Christmas," Moira said, "Every Christmas no matter what. And at least a month during the summer. Every summer. Nothing less."
"Agreed," said Charles.
She shifted David in her arms. He was a year old now and was taking more things in. There was a new level of comprehension in his eyes. The few strands of auburn that had made their appearance known months ago were developing into a fine head of hair. They'd even had to start getting him small shoes. It made Charles' heart ache to know that he wasn't going to be able to see his first steps.
Together they walked outside to where the Blackbird was waiting. Everything had been settled. All that was left were a few last minute demands on when visits should be made.
"Birthdays," said Moira, "You don't have to come for all of mine, but all of David's. You know how important they are for kids."
"I know," he said.
She stopped, looking at the Blackbird. He fought back a lump in his throat.
"I'm...I'm going to miss you Charles," said Moira.
Moira leaned down and kissing him. He put a hand on her shoulder, holding her to him for a moment. Charles desperately tried to commit the feel of her hair, the smell of her skin, her warmth, to memory. It would be some time before he saw her again.
"I'll miss you too sweetheart."
Moira got up and shifted David again.
"Say 'bye daddy'," she said, her voice choked.
"Buay daddy," David said.
His eyes filled with tears and he kissed David's forehead. David gripped his hair one last time, pulling it slightly. Charles smiled.
"Goodbye David," he said out loud, "Be good for your mother."
Silently he thought to him.
I'll see you soon.
It made everything inside him ache to hear back;
Oh-kay.
With one last kiss Moira headed towards the plane. Charles sat there, watching her leave. His heart pounded and drowned out most other noises. An unbidden memory of when he'd said goodbye to Erik and Raven after Moira's kidnapping came back. Away they had walked, neither of them looking back.
However, just as she reached the end of the ramp, Moira stopped. She turned and waved. David mimicked her action. Barely holding himself together Charles waved back. No; this wasn't like then. Neither of them were turning away from each other, not even when the ramp to the Blackbird closed and the plane took off. They were just separated for a little. That was all.
A/N: The last story in this series is going to be called 'The X-Force', and it's slated to come out in two weeks. Updates will be daily; but school is starting up so sorry for the large gap between the two stories. The story will jump ahead to a point directly after X-Men United and end sometime after X-Men The Last Stand. It will follow all of the characters from X-Men First Class as well as David, Kurt, and Megan.
A few notes on this story which was so much fun to write. I would have loved to leave a baby Kurt with Charles and Moira. However, in keeping with the movies I couldn't do that. As I said though; you'll be seeing him soon. Like many people I was ticked to see that he wasn't in the third movie. I think I speak for everyone when I say that having five seconds of Angel as appeasement wasn't going to work.
In the comics Lorna Dane/Polaris was somewhat of an underrated character. Maybe it's because she didn't have the mental meltdowns of The Scarlet Witch or Quicksilver's jerkiness that made her the least known of Magneto's children. However; in her first plot arc they suspected Magneto was her father and she said she didn't want to fight him if he was. While her parentage was only confirmed eight years ago, considering she's been around for decades, no one really debunked it either. So she became a member of the X-Men knowing that. Sure, her siblings became Avengers. Yet it's practically in the X-Men's job description to fight Magneto. I admire that she had the strength to do that.
At the same time Magneto as a father was an interesting concept. He could be manipulative at times but he only ever tried to outright do horrible things in the Ultimate Universe, which I really don't count. It made a lot of characters a lot less sympathetic. At the same time the events of House of M and Children's Crusade show that, when he's in a position to do something good for his children or grandchildren, he really stepped up to the plate. More of that in the future.
For those of you who bothered to read this huge author's note I'd like to say thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. Special shout outs to Princess-Amon-Rae, PhoenixFawkes310, QueenoftheSouthernSun, noamg, batfan, and Coyote Blues. See you all in two weeks!