"Kevin?"
Kevin looked up from his homework. He quickly covered it with his arms so Professor Singer wouldn't see there wasn't any actual work on it. It was filled with smudges and idle doodles. He'd tried to concentrate on it, he honestly had, but every time he tried his mind would wander to his mother and Charles.
Were they alright? He hadn't heard from them, and it had been three days now. A lot of the older students he'd come to think of as friends were gone too. He would lie awake at night, thinking about it. He'd watch as papers flew lazily around the room, as a few items rattled. Sometimes he'd gotten the urge to intensify the shaking, just to hear Charles ask him to be calm.
Not that he would. He was too far away.
"Something wrong?" he murmured.
"You have a phone call from Professor Xavier. The call's coming through in my office-"
He shoved himself out of his chair, knocking his pencils to the ground. Papers flew down onto the floor, and he knew the other children were staring at him, probably wondering what was up now.
Who cared? It wasn't as though they actually understood what was happening. Sam and Xi'an had been nice to him, and a few others had said they were sorry when his mom went missing. They'd been told to give him his space though. He was glad. He didn't want to talk to kids who were, more or less, strangers.
He ran past them all as he headed to the office. His feet were flying, but it was useless, slow. The phone was resting on Professor Singer's desk. He reached out with his hand and it flew into his fingertips.
Kevin cradled it to his head, breathing hard.
"Charles?" he asked.
"Kevin? Good," said Charles, "I was worried I'd miscalculated the time difference."
"Why?" asked Kevin, "Where are you? Did you find my mom?"
"I was worried because otherwise you would be sleeping, we're in England, and yes. Yes I did."
Tears started running down his face. He slumped to the ground, the chord of the phone tipping downward. Kevin curled around the receiver, rocking back and forth. He'd found her. He'd found her.
"She okay?" Kevin managed.
"Your mother is fine," said Charles, "Tired, and not without a few scrapes and bruises, but fine. We were able to locate her last night. I wasn't in a position to call then, but I would have if I could. And my...well, my gift wasn't quite in peak condition-"
"I know," sobbed Kevin, "I know you would've."
Charles would have, he knew, spared him any unnecessary pain. It was a soothing assurance, but his mind felt thick. His throat clogged up, and he shoved his tears away. She was alright. That meant things were going to be okay.
And England, how far away was England? He imagined a map, his mind focusing on the tiny island nation where Jane Austen had written her books. He could roughly figure out the miles. How many hours? Would they come by boat or by plane?
Kevin swallowed, forcing himself to slow down.
"Can I talk to her?" he asked.
"Yes, of course," said Charles, "She's just finishing a check-up with Dr. McCoy right now, just a precaution."
The last words were added in hurriedly. Kevin wanted to let him know he didn't need to bother. Charles had already told Kevin that his mother was alright, and that she wasn't hurt. That was enough. He wouldn't lie to him.
"She should be able to talk in a minute or two," said Charles, "And I know she wants to see you again."
Kevin curled up tighter, trying to keep his breathing down to a reasonable level. It still felt strange to know that the nightmare he'd been experiencing was really and truly ending. Soon, he would be able to talk to his mother. Soon after that, he would be able to see her.
After that, things would be amazing. They would all be at the school, and he was going to have the life that he'd been promised when she said they could stay. He could learn about his gifts, and maybe he could really make friends with Sam and Xi'an.
His mother would be there, and so would Charles. Charles would make her happy, and he would never lay a finger on her. He would never hurt her, not like his father had. He wouldn't hurt either of them.
"You're okay too, right?" Kevin asked.
He heard a soft chuckle on the other end.
"Kevin, I'm perfectly fine," he said, "No one was severely injured. We should be back in about sixteen hours. You'll be asleep when that happens-"
"I won't be asleep," Kevin said.
Another chuckle, but it wasn't mocking or dismissive.
"Of course you will," he said, "How's this: if you're asleep, I'll wake you up."
"Deal," said Kevin, "But you have to wake me up the minute you get here. No putting it off or anything like that. I'll even go to bed early, okay?"
"Okay," said Charles, "Okay. I promise."
There was a shuffling, and Kevin realized Charles was handing the phone to someone. His heart started to beat faster, and his palms began to sweat.
"Kevin?"
He bowed his head, his fingers clutching the phone so tightly he thought he'd snap it in half.
"I'm here mom," he wept.
Charles moved away from the phone as Moira spoke to her son. This conversation was private, and he knew Kevin needed to reassure himself that everything really was okay. Beyond that, Moira also needed to talk to her son for the sake of talking to him.
That was all this particular call was going to be for though. They'd discussed her pregnancy and Kevin briefly once Charles told her there was a phone on his plane. It had been his plan to let her call when they got to the house he owned, but Hank had made the decision to go straight to the tarmac instead. Moira had decided she wanted to tell him in person.
Now, as they waited for clearance, Hank was doing a few last minute checks on his patients before take-off. He'd finished with Moira, and asked Emma how she was feeling. Emma was answering him calmly, her hands clasped in her lap.
Laura was seated next to her, looking out the window in awe. She'd squealed when she saw the plane, either out of excitement or curiosity. She certainly was an inquisitive child, but it worried him just how little she seemed to know about things most children knew about at a very young age.
Then, in the back of the plane, he could see Kurt chatting amicably with Amanda. The young woman looked slightly nervous, her eyes darting around the plane. He wondered if she'd ever flown before.
Next to her, Megan looked rather excited, although he could also detect a whisper of nerves. The child had gone through a rough couple of days, and Raven had informed him that morning that the illusionists who'd held Moira and Emma were Megan's sisters. He supposed there was no point in telling her that at least one of them was confirmed as dead. Not until after he'd talked to her guardian in private.
However, they would need to talk. He rolled up next to Emma and Laura, clearing his throat. Emma turned slowly to him, her posture poised but also searching. There was something very tightly coiled about her, although, considering everything she'd been though, it was more than understandable.
"I wondered if I could talk to you about what you wanted to do after we landed in New York," he said.
Emma inclined her head. Laura turned away from the window, inching closer.
"I also wanted to know if I could have a moment of Miss Amanda and Miss Megan's time," he said, raising his voice.
Amanda jumped at the mention of her name, but quickly got up. He could see Kurt's face fall as she did so, but his expression became cheerful again when she turned around and smiled at him. Well well.
With Megan's hand in hers, Amanda walked up to Charles and Emma, taking a seat near them. Megan smiled shyly at Laura, who just shrank back a little further. To his surprise, Megan didn't seem too deterred by this: just curious.
Before speaking, Charles took a moment to look at the two groups in front of him. Despite their rather obvious differences, they were, more or less, in the same positions. Both were young women who were taking charge of a much younger child.
It would mean they were most likely smart to have made it this far. It was also likely they would be resourceful, independent and inclined to doubt any offer that seemed too good to be true. He knew that, when you were watching young children, any small mistake could cost everything.
"I wanted to ask what you planned to do when we reached New York," he said.
Amanda straightened, splaying her hands in her lap.
"I had a rather circuitous route planned out with the YMCA, a youth hostel, and a string of what would likely be low-paying jobs," she said, "But, um, Kurt says you have a school? For mutants?"
"I do," said Charles.
"What grades?" Emma asked shrewdly.
He looked at her in surprise. Her eyes were business-like, hard.
"So far, it's second grade through high school," he said, "The lower grades are mostly consolidated into one classroom."
"Laura will need tutoring," said Emma, "She's quite smart, but very behind. I may need tutoring as well: I was taken from school shortly before my fourteenth birthday. I want to become a teacher, and I will need to shore up my college application."
Again, he was surprised. Emma was speaking in the tones of someone who had been thinking about this for hours. Had she somehow known he'd had a school? Perhaps she had seen it in Moira's mind, he still remembered that the first time he'd met her had been during an interrogation session.
Still, if he closed his eyes and listened to her speak, she wouldn't have sounded like someone who had been locked up. She sounded like a young woman putting the finishing touches on a thesis paper.
"I might need a lot of tu-tor-ing?" Laura said, "I've never been in a school."
"You've never been in a school?" gasped Megan, "That's...I can't believe it!"
Emma tensed, and Charles coughed, getting ready to intervene. Megan was a kind girl, but he wasn't sure what would set the niece and aunt off.
"I'm so glad we didn't stay in Scotland!" Megan exclaimed, turning to Amanda, "That place sounds worse than Latveria!"
He saw Emma visibly relax. Laura just blinked.
"But, you'll go to a school in America," said Megan, "There's lots of lights and movie stars there. Maybe we'll even go to school together!"
Amanda smiled, but she licked her lips before turning to Charles.
"We don't have any money," she said, "Not really. I think there's $200 tops. And I know the school is for mutants, but -"
"Don't worry about it," said Charles, "On either account."
She looked surprised, but, when it came down to it, he really should have started integrating the school sooner than this. Things had always been in the way, but this was the perfect opportunity. In the end, the school wasn't meant as a hiding place for mutant for the rest of the world: just as a sanctuary.
"The same, of course, applies to you," said Charles, inclining his head to Emma.
"We accept," said Emma, "After all-"
She gave Megan an amused look.
"-we're going to be in America," she said, "Not Scotland."