Charles had barely laid his head down on the pillow when the phone started ringing. His entire body was heavy, calling him to a place where phone calls didn't matter. He wanted to go to sleep, but that wasn't an option. He longed for the days when a phone call was something that, if he wanted to, he could just sit back and ignore. There weren't any days like that anymore.
So he forced himself to sit up, rubbing a face that already seemed like it was melting from his bones. Charles picked up his cell phone, sighing as he rested it next to his head. His eyelids were already drooping down, and Charles found a small part of himself regretting not postponing telling Emma and Laura about the team's successful mission to catch an hour of sleep. It had seemed too cruel though.
"Charles Xavier," he yawned.
"You need to get to the hospital like an hour ago," said Hank, "Come on. You have to get here now!"
"What's wrong?" Charles asked, fully awake for the first time in hours, "Hank, is Moira-?"
"She's fine, but the doctors decided she's reached the point where it's safe to do a caesarean, that's what you do for pre-eclampsia," said Hank, "They wanna do it soon, but she's asking for you, and she started talking about Kevin when she realized how serious they were about doing it sooner rather than later. I think she thought she might have a full twenty-four hours, but when they talk like this, you know, they're going to push the earlier option. It's standard-"
Charles put the phone down on his dresser and hauled himself into his wheelchair. His arms felt weak, his body crying that it hadn't gotten the rest it had been promised. However, he wasn't allowed to start taking the easy way out right now.
As he grabbed a bathrobe, shrugging the sleeves onto his shoulder, he reached out down the hall.
Kevin? he called.
His son's mind sleepily stirred.
Dad? he asked, Can I have ten more minutes?
I wish, Charles chuckled, his throat dry, But your mother's having the baby right now.
Kevin's mind sparked into life.
And I can come? he asked, I wanna be there.
Of course you can, Charles said, At least, you can be in the hallway when it happens. She'll want to see you, and I know that your little brother will too.
Awesome! Kevin cried, Meet you downstairs in ten minutes!
Twenty, chided Charles, And we'll get moving right after that.
Sure thing! See you downstairs!
Charles smiled, grabbing the phone and hurrying to dress. Once he'd pulled on a sweater, he put the phone back up to his ear.
"-not that I'm a gynecologist, but I know hospital routine-"
"Hank," he said, "Kevin and I are on our way. I want you to let Moira know that. We'll be there before the caesarean, I can promise you that."
"Good," said Hank, "Good. You know the fastest way, right?"
"Yes, of course," said Charles, "I can call a taxi…no, that's not fast enough. I'm not-"
"And Peter won't be there for an hour, will he?"
"Unfortunately no," Charles said.
He picked up a comb before realizing, no, he didn't need that anymore. He tossed it away and brushed his teeth, trying to scrub away any lingering traces of bad breath. However, as he put the toothbrush back, he realized Peter wasn't the only one who could get people somewhere fast.
"I'll be there soon," Charles said, "I'll call you when I get there. Bye Hank.
He hung up before Hank could answer, his fingers already going to his temples."
Kurt? he asked.
Oh, hallo! Kurt said, surprised, Ist somezing wrong?
No, nothing's wrong, Charles said, But my wife is having the baby.
Oh!
The emotion that thrummed through the connection seemed much more surprised than Kevin's had. His primary emotion had been excitement and joy, although that was also threaded through Kurt's reaction.
Vell, congratulations!
Yes, thank you, Charles said, But Kevin and I need to get to the hospital as soon as possible-
Oh ja! Of course, said Kurt, Now or-
If you could meet Kevin and I down in the lobby in the next fifteen minutes, I would greatly appreciate it, he said.
Ja, of course, Kurt said, Calculus can vait.
Charles withdrew, suddenly wondering if Kurt was supposed to be going to class soon. He guiltily pushed it away. He was going to need to focus on his wife, what she was going through, and he'd see if he could work things out with Kurt's teachers if there was an issue later.
He finished getting dressed and hurried toward the elevator. His hands were shaking so badly that he nearly missed the buttons. Did every man whose wife was about to have a child go through this? He rather suspected that the answer was yes, but, honestly, all he wanted to do was get there as safely and quickly as possible.
He also wanted to get there awake, something that night not happen. His eyes were blurring every time he rested, his body trying to finally get some rest. Charles picked at his fingernails, burying them in the flesh of his fingers, in a desperate attempt to stay awake.
Kevin was already waiting there, hopping from one foot to another. His face broke into a grin when he saw Charles, but he could see that the boy was still very nervous. It wasn't every day you became a brother, especially not to a little soul who had been telling you they loved you for weeks.
"Are we driving?" asked Kevin, "If we drive, how fast can we get there? It won't be over by the time we get there if we drive, will it? Not that it really matters I guess, because, you know, there's still a baby but-"
"Kevin, we're not going to take a car," Charles said, amazed he wasn't babbling as well, "Your cousin is going to take us. I thought it was the fastest way."
Kevin nodded, his face earnest. Black smoke flared up next to him, and Kevin immediately launched himself at Kurt, who stumbled. Kurt flashed his fangs into a grin.
"So, you are eager, ja?"
"Ja!" Kevin said.
Charles smiled and nodded. The two disappeared, and he slumped back. Sleep was on his periphery, but it was a side thought. This was happening. All those months of worrying, of trying to do right by her and the child growing inside her, of trying to protect them. Now, on the day they defeated their enemy, they were going to welcome their baby into the world.
There was a bang, and Kurt grabbed onto the sides of Charles's wheelchair.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yes," Charles replied, "More than I ever thought possible."
It had been difficult to get Peter to go to bed. Kayla had told him that Erik and Raven were taking care of Stryker, that everything was going to be fine. They were in Levine's house in Virginia a place that, while it lacked nutritious food, was certainly safe. He wasn't needed. He could get some rest, some proper rest, and try to recover some of his blood.
Peter had been stubborn, but when he'd seen that, yes, she was right, he'd reluctantly accepted the sleeping aides. She'd stayed nearby to ensure that Peter would take them, that he would actually go to bed. She'd done the same thing with the bottles of water he'd consumed on the plane.
She sank down into a nearby chair when she realized that, yes, he was asleep. For her part, she'd rested on the plane ride over. Logan, she'd remembered, had never liked flying, but he'd seemed fine as long as their armrest was up, their seatbelts looped together so she could rest her head on his shoulder.
There were, of course, a few things that she'd need to take care of soon. Once Peter had gotten a solid three or four hours, maybe eaten a sandwich or two, they could head to New York. She could see her sister, meet her daughter. Kayla would have to be ready for that.
The door opened and Erik walked in. He seemed surprised to see her, but merely inclined his head. She nodded, to him, rolling her shoulder.
"He's been asleep for maybe fifteen minutes," she said, "The sleep aides'll wear off eventually. He's hard to calm down."
"It's not surprising," Erik said, "Other than that though…no extra injuries? No after effects of blood loss?"
"No immediate ones," said Kayla, "I think his healing factor's finally catching up."
Erik sat down opposite her, and she looked at him. His eyes were still on Peter when he spoke.
"Stryker will be going before a military tribunal in a few days," he said, "He'll be tried for war crimes."
"War crimes?"
He nodded.
"Levine's discovered that Stryker's brothers in arms have been onto him for longer than his friends on the hill. They're also more willing to do something about him, and they're angrier," he said, "They never had any evidence of what he was doing, but now, well. With Raven's download they have proof he had mutant soldiers illegally pulled off the battlefield in Vietnam to be experimented on and, eventually, killed. There's also a matter of another officer who wanted him shut down who disappeared a few years ago."
Erik shrugged.
"They'll push for treason," he said, "At minimum, he'll have life, but I think they want him dead."
Kayla breathed out.
"Does Logan know?" she asked.
"As of bumping into him in the hall, yes," said Erik, "He had some choice words for that, but nothing surprising."
Kayla nodded, knowing the words weren't for himself. While Logan hated Stryker, it had less to do with the experimentation that had been done to him and more about what had been taken. It had to do with her, with the part he'd played in Laura's experimentation. Logan was vengeful, but never more than when it came to those he cared about.
"Alright," she said.
"Alright?" asked Erik, "The military tribunal will only cover his war crimes. If they'd gone into his crimes against civilians, such as yourself, they'd have to risk interference by a greater number of his allies. He won't be punished for what he did to you."
"He'll be locked up for good," she said, "I'll never see him again. Laura and Logan won't either. It's enough."
Erik shook his head.
"It's hard to believe you're Emma's daughter sometimes," he said.
Kayla narrowed her eyes.
"No matter what you think of my mother, no matter what she did, she put her family first," said Kayla, "She moved forward, got on with her life. That's what I'm trying to do."
For the first time since coming into the room, his eyes left Peter's sleeping form.
"She never mentioned children," he said.
The tone was less hostile, and Kayla found herself relaxing but remaining wary.
"She didn't know until I was older," she said, "Her parents…my father wasn't the man they wanted for her. She got pregnant, they shipped her out of town to give birth. During the birth, they drugged her, said there was a miscarriage. She wanted to keep me, you see? They gave me to my father, who thought she'd given me up. The years go by, she has my sister. Finds out, finds us."
"It sounds like you didn't have much contact with her growing up," he said, "You wouldn't have been very old when she died."
She made a dismissive gesture with her hand.
"Contact's important, but I had her love, unconditional and endless," Kayla said.
A lump grew in her throat as she thought of her beautiful, flawed mother. She could still feel her hugs, the way she had told Kayla she would have never given her up if she'd had the choice.
"Every child should have that from their parents, but that's not always the case," she said, "We learn to adapt to many things, but we never adapt to not being loved."
She got up, brushing off her pants. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Erik was looking at Peter again. Kayla paused, wondering.
"Kayla?"
She turned. Logan was in the doorway, glancing from her to Erik.
"Raven says ya can go out now," he said.
"Where are you going?" asked Erik.
Kayla laughed.
"I'm not meeting my daughter in tactical gear," she said, tugging at her black, filthy clothes.
"Is that really that important?"
The question should have rankled, but his eyes were still on Peter. They were familiar eyes, but she'd often seen them laughing and trying to hide injuries.
"The first time she saw me, I was blood-splattered in the woods," she said, "But she knows who that's not who I am, that I was being controlled. I have the chance to show her something different."
"And a change of clothes will do that?'
"It'll be a start," she said, "Laura and I can figure out the rest later."
He didn't reply and Kayla turned. Logan slipped his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his touch. Tactical gear or not, she was safe. More importantly, he was there. She was a third of the way home. The other two thirds were in New York, waiting for her.