Hello all of you!

Thank you all so much for being here and reading this story. I hope you are all still enjoying it!

As I'm writing this and having read the responses to my question in the previous chapter. There is not one clear definite winner, so taking the arguments into account... the person who is standing outside Ann's door is,-

Well, you'll see :)

Chapter 11 - Memories of forgotten pasts

"Bitte?"

The minute Ann had heard the knock on the door, she immediately thought it would be Erik standing on the other side. Last night had caused a number of questions to be created as well as leaving the majority of them unanswered. For both of them. And even though she knew they were going to be addressed at some point, she wasn't certain if she was ever going to be ready for that talk. The image of Erik's tattoo was one she would never forget and she could easily recall the numbers from the top of her head. Ann looked up at the man's face. His blue eyes pleading and his brow furrowed. Without pausing too long, she nodded.

"Let me get something warm to wear."

"I've got that covered." Erik replied quickly and he raised his arm to show Ann the red coat she'd left in the sitting room last night.

"Oh,- thank you." She took it from him and put it on as Erik shut the door behind her.

The two of them quietly made their way down the hall and through a pair of double doors until they reached one of the inner courtyards. The air was nippy and dark, but cloudless thus allowing a faint glimpse of stars scattered through the night sky to shine through. As they walked across the stone path, Ann turned her head slightly towards the man beside her.

"I probably should have asked this earlier, but did you and Charles meet any mutants today?"

"A few. But only one agreed to join us." Erik answered.

"One?"

"Yes. Hopefully Charles and I will have more luck tomorrow. The woman whom we met today will join us by the end of the week."

"Did she need time to consider the offer?" Ann asked as she halted in front of a large circular fountain in the center of the courtyard.

"None at all. She accepted almost immediately after I showed her what I can do."

"She wasn't afraid when you did that?"

"Why would she be afraid?" Erik arched an eyebrow.

But then an image of last night entered his mind. How he had used his ability to stop Ann from leaving the sitting room when she was trying to run away from him. Perhaps there was some truth to her words and that he tended to not take other people's feelings into account when displaying his power. However, did that not say more about those people than it did about him?

Erik gave a short bob with his head as he motioned at the bench situated next to the fountain. He hadn't asked Ann to walk with him just to talk about how his day with Charles had been. That was the last thing he wanted to talk or even think about at this moment. He waited for Ann to take a seat on the far right of the bench before sitting down next to her.

"I uh,-" He started, trying to ignore the lump forming itself in his throat. He coughed and continued. "I belief an apology is in order with regards to last night. People hardly ever manage to catch me off guard and I might have responded more emotional than I would have liked when you confronted me in German. For that I am sorry."

Ann listened to him and averted her eyes as he finished his apology. She smiled for a second but then lowered her head. "You were not the only one who reacted far too emotional. I called you something I never should have. That was unforgivable and I promise you I will never do it again."

"You couldn't have known." Erik said despite having felt incredibly hurt the second she'd called him a Nazi.

He couldn't blame Ann for thinking it. He probably would have as well if somebody who he didn't know showed him anything that had to do with the Third Reich. And she did immediately apologize when he showed her the number inked on his skin. It seemed to have shocked her even more than Shaw's coin had done.

Everything that had taken place last night, had led Erik to believe one thing. Ann was like him. Not just a mutant, but a Jew and on top of that someone who seemed to share his past. Someone who knew of the pain, the hurt and suffering from the war. But technically all of his thoughts were mere speculations. He had asked Ann, or tried to ask her, if she was Jewish. But the fear in her eyes had caused him to stop midsentence. And now here he was. Ready to finish what had started last night.

"May I?" He asked as he moved his eyes towards lower part of Ann's arm.

The woman stared at him, understanding very well what he was asking from her. But she feared he was only going to be met with disappointment. There was something different about Erik, something she hadn't seen before. For the few days she'd known him, he usually came across as reserved yet charming and cocky. An unwavering mountain. But none of that was visible now. His features were soft, his gaze hopeful. Ann knew that it wouldn't matter if she told him that there would be nothing to see on her arm, he probably wouldn't believe it unless he'd see it for himself.

Erik felt his throat and chest tighten as Ann removed her coat, for the sleeves were too heavy to pull back properly. She extended her arm towards him and his eyes darted towards the part of the skin where he was hoping to be met with a series of numbers. However her arm was bare. A clean smooth skin with a couple of birthmarks, but nothing more. Not even a faint hint of faded ink. Erik grabbed her wrist and pulled Ann closer.

Was this a trick? Erik didn't understand. He rubbed his thumb slowly across the spot where he had expected to find the woman's tattoo, before retracting his hand and Ann's arm dropped in her lap.

"I don't understand?" He muttered. "I thought you were,-"

Ann rolled her sleeve back down and folded her hands together. The disappointment in Erik's voice was more than apparent. Somehow her not having a number inked on her skin automatically caused Erik to assume she wasn't Jewish. But that wasn't the case.

"I am, Erik." She told him quietly. "I was sent to camp, however I never reached it."

Her words caused an immediate shift in the man before her. That little spark of similarity which had disappeared a second ago, miraculously resurfaced within an instant. But knowing he had been right about Ann's heritage wasn't enough. He needed more. Were there other things they shared?

The fact that he now knew with certainty that Ann was Jewish awoken something within him. She had been part of the war, like him and on top of that there was no denying that was also a mutant. He couldn't put the emotions currently rushing through him into words. This was something he had never experienced before, he had no idea what it was exactly, but it was a weird feeling.

"You never reached the camp?" Erik asked. "What happened? Did you escape? Were you with family?"

"It's a long story, Erik." Ann interrupted him before he could ask a million more. "And probably insignificant compared to what you must have gone through."

Erik shook his head. "Don't talk like that. Different, perhaps. But important nonetheless. Ann, bitte...Erzähl mir alles."

She should have known he wouldn't be satisfied with what she'd shared with him so far. In all honesty, she also wanted to know more about his past. As well as what sort of connection he seemed to have with the man they were currently looking for. But to delve into the past, there was so much to tell and was she really capable of sharing everything? It felt good to be sitting next to someone who had the ability to understand more than most. But sharing wasn't her forte and she had only known Erik for a few days.

Ann reached for her red coat and put it back on as Erik kept his ever watchful gaze on her. "Du musst verängstigt gewesen sein." He said.

"Everybody was afraid and scared in those days. I was no exception. But that's not it,- It's just...I've never shared this part of myself with anyone." Ann paused and locked her eyes with Erik's.

"I hardly know you, Erik. I mean, would you be willing to tell me everything about what happened to you in the camps, if I were to ask that of you?"

Erik understood her reluctance more than she realized, yet he didn't feel inhibited by how well he did or didn't know her. In most situations he would, but not at this moment. Not with her. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out Shaw's coin, as he had also done last night. He held it between his thumb and index finger.

"Last night I showed you this because you told me that in order for you to find someone, you need something that belongs to them." Erik began. Ann gave a faint nod, not entirely sure where he was going with this.

"This coin belongs to Shaw, which is why I wanted you to use it. I took it from him after our first and final encounter. That was until three days ago, when I saw him again for the first time after eighteen years."

"Eighteen years ago?" Ann repeated softly.

"In Auschwitz. When I got separated from my parents, I lost it. I destroyed a gate in front of multiple soldiers. They took me to Shaw, Klaus Schmidt. A Nazi doctor. He wanted proof of what I'd done and tried various ways to unlock my powers. I was only fourteen, I had no idea how I had even managed to twist those iron gates. As a last attempt, he murdered my mother and in return I destroyed everything and everyone in that office. All except for Shaw."

Erik then paused and clenched his fist around the coin tightly.

"This little thing is a reminder to keep that painful part of my memory alive. He murdered my family and made me what I am today. That man deserves to die for all that he's caused. I'll never forget and I'll never rest until I get to Shaw and destroy him."

The anger was evident and Ann felt incredibly sorry for what had happened to him. She now finally understood where Erik's hatred for Shaw originated from and she couldn't blame him one bit. It all made sense now why he had behaved the way he did last night and even the night before. Why he'd been so adamant on figuring out how her powers worked and trying to persuade her into locating Shaw for him.

His patience was at a low point and undoubtedly had been for years already. She'd seen a small glimpse of how far Erik was willing to go in order to get his hands on the man that murdered his family. But she could also see how Erik's emotions caused him to be reckless. A trait she actually came aware of within herself a few years ago.

"I'm incredibly sorry, Erik." Ann said to him. "The hurt you must have gone through all those years. I don't know what to say."

Silently, Erik placed the coin back into his pocket before turning his attention to her. "There's not much to say. Words mean nothing when it comes to this. However, with that being said,- I want you to know that I didn't tell you this because I want to hear your story in return."

"Does that mean that if I were to get up now and head back to our rooms, you won't hold it against me?" The woman arched an eyebrow and grinned a little, though her expression still appeared to be sad after what Erik had told her.

"Sehr komisch, Ann. I told you this because I wanted to. Out of everyone here, I know you are the only one who can understand me the most."

Erik went quiet and looked at Ann, as her small grin slowly vanished. She licked her lips and folded her hands together in her lap. She turned her head to the side and kept her gaze focused on the water spouting from the fountain next to them.

"My older sister Hilde and I, were told by our mother to head upstairs. We found our best and most fancy outfit on our beds and in the middle of the room on the carpet a packed suitcase. We were surprised, but thought nothing of it. When we finally got dressed and arrived back downstairs there were three men standing in our house. Mother stood next to them. She was crying. Then she suddenly got angry and began shouting at one of the men. It was so long ago, I don't remember what she said exactly."

Ann paused for a few seconds and lowered her head. "One of the officers turned to her and shortly after that there was a loud and deafening crack. A gunshot. Hilde tried to cover my eyes with her hands, but I could still see mother on the floor through a small opening. She wasn't moving."

A look of shock and recognition crossed Erik's face. Ann's mother had also been murdered in front of her very eyes. He wanted to say something, but ultimately kept quiet and let her continue. He was already glad that she was telling him anything at all and he feared that interrupting her would only cause her to stop.

"They grabbed us. Hilde kicked and screamed at the man holding her, until he told her that they would shoot me if she wouldn't shut up. I was young, only ten. I didn't understand that much of what was going on. The officers took us with them and placed us on a train with other children. One of the men told us this was for the best. We were going someplace safe, or so we were told."

"An obvious lie." Erik growled.

It sounded to him as if Ann's mother had been tricked into believing they were going to be saved, when in fact they were being sent to a death camp. It was the same as how they'd tricked his family into getting on a train to Auschwitz. But he did find it rather odd that they killed the mother and not the children. Surely that would have made it a lot easier? He didn't dare to ask her.

"After a while we stopped at another station and had to get out. Leave all our belongings behind. We were pushed across several railroad tracks towards a different train. These carts were smaller with no windows. But the most vivid memory I have is the smell and the sound of children crying or screaming. As we waited, we were joined by older people. Women mostly. It was all so crowded and dark in there."

"That train was suppose to take you to a camp." Erik concluded. "But you told me it never arrived. What happened to it?"

"Nothing happened to the train. It did arrive at the camp. But I didn't."

Erik furrowed his brow, feeling rather confused by her story. "I don't understand? Did you manage to run when it got there without anybody seeing you?"

But the woman shook her head. "I don't even understand it myself to this day. Hilde was holding me the entire time. 'Dir wird nichts passieren, Hannah.' And then all of a sudden she was gone. Everybody was gone. Hilde. The other women and children. Even the train. I found myself sitting on a dirt road within a country field."

Ann fell quiet, as did Erik. A heavy silence hung around the both of them as they sat there next on the stone bench beside a fountain. Erik wasn't sure how to reply and Ann felt she had told more than enough about herself for the time being. She cleared her throat and looked up to meet his already focused gaze on her.

"I think I'll return to my room now." She told him.

Erik opened his mouth but quickly shut it. She had managed to caught him off guard once more and somehow he felt left with even more questions than answers. Her story was very different yet so similar in many ways. Ann's earlier comment about how her past was probably insignificant compared to his, had lost its meaning completely.

He wanted to show her somehow that he understood everything she had been through, perhaps she already knew, but he felt the need to let her know. He also still had no idea how she'd managed to escape the train or how she'd survived the war.

But it was obvious she wasn't going to tell him more this evening. It was the most she'd ever said to him at all. He'd be a fool if he would try and push her into telling more. It would most likely only backfire.

"Ann, I,- I'm glad you told me this. Thank you." It wasn't exactly what he wanted to say to her, but he couldn't come up with anything else. "I'll walk you back."

"Thank you." Her mouth formed a small smile as she stood up and together they walked back across the courtyard to the double doors. But as soon as they reached them Ann placed her hand on Erik's arm and stopped him from continuing.

"I'm sorry for being short with you earlier, Erik. Thank you as well for sharing your past with me. If you ever want to talk more about it. Your family. You know where to find me."

Somehow her comment caused Erik to feel a little lighter. As if her words managed to lift a bit of the weight he'd been carrying on his shoulders for the past few days. The upper right corner of his mouth twitched but he refrained from smiling properly.

"Perhaps I will." He replied.

::::::...::::::

They still hadn't come back.

Charles stared at the ceiling above him and his bed, his arms folded across his chest as if someone had mummified him. How long had Erik and Ann been gone? Half an hour, give or take. As soon as Ann had left the sitting area, Erik had waited for only a mere minute before practically storming off after her.

He should have stopped him. But seeing as Raven was there, she wouldn't have let him go without a thorough questioning. Why are you going after him? Why are you so distracted these days? Did you read either of their minds again?

Frankly, it wasn't any of his business what Erik or Ann were doing at the moment. For all he knew they weren't even together. Erik liked working out, he could be in the gym. and Ann liked reading, perhaps she was sitting in one of the courtyards. But of course Charles knew neither of those options were true. After all, he had seen them leave the second he entered the hallway where all of their sleeping accommodations were.

Charles closed his eyes and let out a groan as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't let it go. No matter how much he tried to distract himself, his thoughts kept going back to whatever was currently going on between Erik and Ann.

Raven would call him obsessive. She always called him this anyway. He couldn't deny that he was. Whether it concerned work, writing or even women. Once he was focused on something, he couldn't let it go until he'd finished what he'd set out to do, unless something more interesting or important came along.

Suddenly he lowered his arm and jerked his head towards the left. They were coming back, he could sense them getting closer and closer. As quick as he could, Charles set his feet on the ground and got off the bed.

He swiftly opened the door and looked into the corridor to see the familiar silhouettes of Erik and Ann standing side by side in front of her room. Without hesitation, he stepped into the hall and headed their way.

"Erik, Ann. Everything alright? I'm glad I caught you. Both of you. I,- we need to discuss our plans for tomorrow. It simply cannot wait."
He realized he was stumbling over his words. His mind was somehow working faster than his tongue allowed him to speak.

"I thought we discussed matters already when we drove back here?" Erik questioned as he arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're alright? You seem rather,- anxious?"

"Me? No, no. Fine. Perfectly fine. Excited that's all. Been a very exciting day." Charles smiled brightly as he turned his gaze towards Ann. "Did Erik tell you about it? That we managed to convince another mutant to join our division?"

He ignored Erik rolling his eyes from behind the woman as he waited for her answer. He had no idea what Ann and Erik had been talking about, but whatever it had been, Charles could already tell it had changed something between the two of them. And he didn't like it.

"Yes, actually. He told me you talked to a couple of mutants and that one of them will be here by the end of the week."

"It truly is great news. Her name is Angel Salvadore. We found her at the club where she works as a stripper. I'll tell you, we were very impressed when she showed us what she could do."

Ann blinked, slightly confused. "She showed you?"

Charles's smile immediately vanished as he realized what his words could have implied. "What? No, I meant her gift. Her mutation."

He coughed and felt his cheeks heat up. The last thing he wanted was for her to think they'd watched a striptease being performed before bothering getting to the actual point.
"Of course we didn't ask her to dance for us. Don't be ridiculous, Ann. That was the last thing on our minds,- Well, my mind at least, I assure you."

He caught Erik narrowing his eyes at him and decided it was probably best to change the subject. They'd all already argued enough with each other today. "I'm sure you'll like her. She's got wings, sort of like a dragonfly. A rathe remarkable mutation if I may say so."

"I doubt there will ever be a mutation out there that you do not find exceptional, Charles." Ann grinned as she unlocked the door to her room.

"True. But the more complex, the more interesting I find them." He replied genuinely.

"Oh, you said you wanted to talk about something in regards of tomorrow?" The woman asked as she was about to step over the threshold.

He had said that. But there actually wasn't anything to discuss. He'd already talked with Erik about tomorrow's schedule, as the other blatantly pointed out earlier. Charles had simply used it as an excuse to try and figure out what Erik and Ann had been discussing for the past thirty minutes. Still, he could try and invite her to come along with them. Perhaps she'd come in handy with convincing other mutants. Raven did state earlier this morning, that two men might be a bit too intimidating to some people.

"How do you feel about coming with us tomorrow? A woman might be less daunting than the pair of us, even if we are dressed to the nines." He smiled brightly at her. Not even considering asking Erik about this first. Though he could already tell that the other was not amused with any of this.

"Me? You'd have better luck with asking Raven. Or Moira even. It's not that I don't want to help out, but I'm afraid I'm already occupied with something else tomorrow." Ann answered.

"I'm sure we will manage." Erik quickly said to her before Charles could interject. "You have a good night."

Ann nodded and smiled faintly at the two of them. "Goodnight, Erik. You too, Charles."

"Goodnight, Ann." Charles managed to tell her before the door closed in front of him.

As he turned around, he was met with Erik only a few feet away from him. His arms crossed and his brow furrowed. He might have fooled Ann with that exaggerated display of behaviour, but not him. Charles might be the one with the telepathy, but Erik was pretty well versed in looking straight through someone.

"Mind telling me what that was all about?" He asked.

"Would you mind lowering your voice?" Charles retorted as he took a couple of steps back into the direction of his room. "And you know very well what this is about. I'm just trying to make sure you didn't scare her off, as you'd almost done last night."

"You should really give her a bit more credit, Charles. That woman doesn't scare easily. She might be reserved, but those walls are strong enough to withstand several heated arguments. If anybody should know this, it's you."

Charles frowned at the man. "And what's that suppose to mean exactly?"

But Erik shook his head with a chuckle and crossed the hall towards his own bedroom. "Simply that, Ann and I had a good talk. I apologized for my behaviour as did she. If I were you, I'd let it go. Good night."

Without waiting for a witty remark the metal bender shut the door behind him, leaving Charles alone and slightly befuddled in the hallway.

And that's it for this chapter.

I realize it might be a bit long with revealing some bits and pieces of Ann's past. I hope you don't mind...I didn't want her to have the same history as Erik. Hopefully you all enjoyed his reaction.

I would love to hear your thoughts about it.

Translations: (Thank you WherewasLokiinendgame and Starsky for letting me know where I went wrong :) very much appreciated)

Bitte...Erzähl mir alles - please, tell me everything.

Du musst verängstigt gewesen sein - you must have been afraid.

Dir wird nichts passieren - Nothing will happen to you.