Hey, everyone! Hope everyone had a great two or three weeks, I honestly cannot remember how long it has been... So, sorry for the long wait. Here's chapter 26, enjoy!

"Little rascal, where have you gone?" Laurien muttered under her breath as she peeked underneath one of the many couches, groaning as her aching joints let her know of their displeasure when she tried to get to her feet. "Fuck, I'm getting old."

She moved over to the next armchair, her mouth twisting into a grimace as she thought about the prospect of getting down on her hands and knees again. She was ultimately saved from that task when her ears picked up the sound of clumsy pattering paws on the hardwood. She spun around and darted over to where Shasta was scrambling toward the stairs, scooping her up in her arms with a small exclamation of triumph.

"Oh, you troublemaker!" Laurien cooed affectionately into the puppy's red fur, kissing her head as she carried her over to her makeshift bed that Laurien had layered with as many blankets as she could manage, next to all the other cardboard boxes that held her items. As she set her down, Shasta's big brown eyes looked up at her in mock innocence as Laurien glanced over at the feathery mess that Shasta had made by ripping up one of the couch pillows. "What am I going to do with you?" She asked, smiling tiredly as the pup tilted her head to the side in response.

Shasta, named after the daisy, had grown to almost twice her original size over the past month, though it seemed as if her paws growing were far faster than of the rest of her body. It made walking and running a difficult feat to perform without tripping and falling forward onto her cute little face, but at least it meant that Laurien could keep up with her, seeing as her joints had been acting up badly of late.

When Laurien had visited Adela earlier that day, where she was now situated until further notice in the bed of her and Franz's house, she had deduced that it had something to do with the time of the year and the cold weather. Nevertheless, Laurien was afraid that arthritis had settled in her knees and fingers, as she recalled that her mother had had the same issue.

"Ah, becoming your mother. There's a nightmare for you." Adela had stated, biting her lip comically.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I would be happy to become my mother." Laurien retorted, not quite sure whether Adela was joking or not, seeing as the baby had been having some odd effects on her brain at the moment.

"Not your mother, you idiot, I meant my mother." She said testily, taking a voracious bite out of her piece of raspberry pumpkin cake that Laurien had made her. Adela had specifically asked for those two ingredients in something of Laurien's choosing. Laurien didn't question it, she just made the cake.

"What wrong with becoming your mother? Eline is a lovely lady." Laurien asked, frowning as she popped a small bit of cake in her mouth, before grimacing at the odd flavor.

"Well, yes, she's great and all, but–" Adela suddenly paused; her fork stalled half way on its trip to her mouth.

Laurien waited for a moment before prodding Adela's elbow, afraid that something was wrong. "Adela?"

The brunette soon snapped out of it and slowly set her fork down next to the half eaten piece of cake on her plate before grabbing Laurien's hand and placing it on her swollen belly. Laurien was startled by her friend's change in behavior, but quickly caught on as she felt the subtle vibrations along Adela's stomach.

"She's kicking." Adela whispered, her mouth widening into a small smile as her eyes met Laurien's fascinated gaze.

"Wow." Laurien breathed quietly, Adela's mood becoming infectious as it seeped through her skin, filling her with an immense sensation of purpose and anxiety. "She?"

"I have an intuition about these sort of things." She said, waving her hand about before she looked back down at her stomach "There's a tiny human being inside me." She murmured, rubbing her hands over her belly. "And soon it will be your turn too, Laur."

"Oh, I don't think so." Laurien blurted out, a flare of panic erupting in her stomach at the very mention of her having children. "I'm not sure that it's for me."

"Oh, hush you. I think that you'll find yourself warming up to the idea very soon." Adela said knowingly, as if she were a psychic foretelling her future. "What with that gorgeous man making many visits in the past month."

Laurien almost snorted in amusement at the very thought. Erik had been coming by a great deal recently, and it was just a matter of time before Adela noticed. "No, Erik's… well. He's not one for settling down."

"I don't know, from the way he looks at you…"

"Mmm mmm." Laurien hummed, smiling as she shook her head. "I don't want to hear one more word about it."

"But–"

"Not a word."

Adela finally conceded and held out her hand for Laurien to take in hers. "Just promise me that you'll just settle down somewhere that makes you happy and plant roots. Deep ones."

"I promise." Laurien said, bringing Adela's hand to her lips before hugging her tightly, taking a lasting breath of her sweet perfume. She reluctantly let go and gave Franz a goodbye hug and kiss as well, before heading back to her house to clean up the last bits. It had admittedly taken a while to pack everything up, considering Laurien's joints that made her feel like the Tin Man and the memories that were loaded in each and every item that she pulled out. Though she was very thankful that there hadn't been that much of a hurry to pack everything up, as Charles had told her so over the phone a few weeks earlier.

"We're not going anywhere, take all the time that you need." Charles had said when she'd fretted over how she wasn't sure what timeline she was on for coming back to the mansion.

"Thanks. What have I missed over there?"

"Oh, nothing much, Hank has started working on the blueprints for the new Cerebro machine, so we'll need your help with that when you get back."

"Sure thing, that'll be fun." She said, nodding to herself.

"And there hasn't been much else, though the house has been a little lonely without you here." He added, his tone light but accidentally filled to the brim with subtext.

Though he probably hadn't meant it that way, a swell of guilt rose painfully in her chest, but she quickly pushed it down as a new voice arose from the other end of the line.

"Is that Laurien?" Sean's voice asked faintly through the receiver.

"Yes, it is." Charles responded before she heard the muffled scrapings of him passing over the phone to the redhead.

"Hi-ya." She exclaimed, happy to hear his voice for the first time in over a month. "How are you?"

"Hey, I'm good, Laur." Sean replied jovially. "Look, can you do me a favor and pick me up some chocolate on your way back?"

"Sure, Sean." Laurien chuckled, leaning up against the counter as she grabbed a pen and paper. "Any preference for what kind you want?"

There was a short pause before he responded. "The good kind."

"Oh, of course, why did I even ask?" She said, smiling as she let the pen slip through her fingers.

"All right, see you soon."

"Bye bud." She called.

Charles returned to the line, chuckling. "Yeah, they've missed you a lot, especially your cooking." He said, eliciting a small laugh from Laurien. "The meals have been absolute rubbish these last couple of weeks."

"What? I thought Sean could cook?" She asked, remembering all the times that he'd made pasta.

"No, far from it actually. Goodness, I never want to see another box of cheesy macaroni again."

"Aw, Charles." She cooed teasingly. "You know I had to live off those for three years when I was in university."

"You poor thing, how did you survive?" He gasped comically, making her heart feel lighter than air as she laughed.

"I don't know honestly. Roosje and Bastijn would send biscuits sometimes, but my roommates liked them too much for me to ration them."

There was another pause from the other side of the line, and for a moment, Laurien was afraid that she'd lost him somehow. When he finally spoke, his voice was unnaturally low and tight. "How's Erik?"

She was taken aback at the question, leaving her scrambling to find an answer. "Um, he's good, I guess. Still up to stupidly reckless shenanigans with the Brotherhood, but other than that, he's good." She winced the moment that the word 'shenanigans' left her mouth, but trekked on arduously. "Charles, I know it's a sore subject after everything that he's done, but would you be at all against me bringing him back with me to talk to you?"

He paused again, unnerving Laurien beyond belief. "Did he ask you to ask me?"

"No, it was my idea." She said tentatively, but decided to just come out with the truth. "I'm not asking you to forgive him. I know that he has hurt you, but I believe he's willing to try to make amends."

Laurien paused, taking a deep steadying breath, before then adding, "I'm also afraid that he's currently going down a dangerous path that I don't think I can stop him from pursuing. But I believe that he'll listen to you."

"And what if he doesn't?"

Laurien let out a sigh, knowing that the scenario was always a possibility. "Then, well, screw him. We've done all we can." She said, fiddling nervously with the pen between her fingers. "But yesterday he came back to the house with more bruises than I can count, and I don't know how long it's going to be before it's a broken neck or even worse. You know more than anyone that he's a danger to himself, as well as others around him, and I think that if he would listen to anyone, it would be you, but only if you're comfortable with it."

Charles didn't respond for a while, but when he did, he said "All right." and Laurien finally allowed herself to breathe, not sure if the wave of heat she felt wash over her was one of relief or fear.

She knew she had to ask, because while relationship matters had progressed between Laurien and Erik over the past month, she began to notice strange occurrences. Laurien would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night to find Erik just entering through the door, barely giving himself enough time to take off his stupid cape and helmet before he flopped down onto the bed. His arms would immediately wrap around her waist and pull her body snuggly against his, as he nuzzled his tired face into the crook of her neck, his subtly chapped lips brushing gently against her warm skin. She would chide him until he finally got up and changed into some suitable night clothes before joining her again properly.

By the time that she woke up the next morning, he would already be gone, out on another mission for the Brotherhood. As the days turned into weeks of this new routine, Laurien couldn't help but feel concerned as she found small stains of blood on the hardwood floor. One night, she stayed up, reading a book in her bed until three in the morning when she heard the telltale crack and burst of vapors from the living room. Her chest caved beneath the anxious weight of what new bodily horrors she might see, as his footsteps grew louder until the door creaked open to reveal an exhausted man before her.

"What are you doing up?" He asked, his shadowed face frowning in confusion, before quickly twisting into a smile as he removed his helmet and closed the door behind him.

"Waiting for you." She said as innocently as she could, trying to hide the relief in her voice at seeing him in one piece. As he moved over to the armoire, Laurien noticed that his usually strong and sure steps were now uneven and lopsided, as if he were favoring his right leg.

"Take off your pants." She demanded suddenly, taking even herself off guard.

He blinked in surprise. "What?"

"You heard me." She said; her eyebrows rising as she nodded down at his legs.

He hesitated, chuckling at her. "You know I like it better when you do the same."

She shook her head, a smirk pulling at her reluctant lips. "Not tonight, darling."

Erik let out a deep sigh before he pulled down his crimson pants, revealing the mottled purple mess of his thigh and confirming what she'd suspected.

She stared blank faced at the ugly bruise for a moment before tipping backwards on the bed and rolling onto her back with a groan. "Erik." She managed from behind gritted teeth.

"It was an accident." Erik explained as he pulled up his pants again before limping over to where she sat on the bed, putting one of his warm hands on her knee. "It won't happen again."

She glanced over at him, narrowing her eyes at his easy demeanor. "Look, I don't want to seem whiny, but I'm getting bloody tired of stitching you up and strapping frozen bags of peas to you, you know that right?"

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug, grinning sheepishly at her before he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. "You tell me every time." He murmured against her lips.

"And for that exact reason." She had sighed, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. "Now go to the kitchen and sit on the counter."

Laurien smiled to herself as Shasta nibbled on her fingers, but it quickly disappeared when she remembered that some homecomings hadn't been as happy as others. Only a week ago, Laurien had been down in the basement, clearing up the last of the remnants of her family's old things, when she heard a dull thud from the ceiling as small particles of dust floated down onto her hair. Wondering if Shasta had knocked over something heavy again, she'd made her way up the stairs, wiping her grime smeared hands on a rag as she jumped over the faulty step, only to see the tail end of Erik's red cape disappearing through the doorway to the kitchen.

Laurien frowned. Usually Erik didn't come around until it was very late, but over the past few days, she hadn't seen him at all. She treaded carefully into the kitchen and was greeted by his red leather clad back as he faced away from her, his hands steadying himself on the counter.

She didn't think anything of it at first, seeing as that was his usual stance when he was thinking, so she continued over to the sink and let the cold water wash the dirt from her hands, staying silent until she heard the rustle of his clothes as he turned around.

"I've sorted through everything in my Aunt's room and the basement, but I still have to go through Dan's things and the twins' bedroom, I was wondering if you could help me with that if you've got the time?"

He didn't respond, and when she looked up at him to see what was wrong, she was hit with a wave of guilt and sadness, making her freeze the very moment that she saw him. The front of his red clothes were stained sporadically with a dark substance that emitted the sour odor of death from the soaked layers of fabric, spreading all the way from the shockingly colorless flesh of his throat down to his knees. Fear flowed freely through Laurien's veins when she saw the deathly grim expression face, blood spattered across it like a constellation of stars, the bloodshot sclera of his blank eyes were almost as red as his costume.

"Erik?" She asked tentatively, her voice wavering slightly as his gaze suddenly shifts and meets hers.

He opened his mouth slightly, his brow furrowing when no sound came out. He cleared his throat with difficulty and finally spoke, his voice soft, but painfully hoarse. "Angel's dead."

Laurien felt her stomach plummet. "What?" She breathed, images of the girl she'd met back at the CIA base suddenly flashed to the forefront of her mind. Her mysterious dark eyes and luscious long black hair that had cascaded down her shoulders that had the markings of her insect-like wings tattooed upon them. "What happened?"

Erik shook his head slowly, his face twisting into a grimace as he ran a gloved hand through his hair. "We were on a mission in San Francisco and–" He broke off, squeezing his eyes shut as he clenched his jaw tightly. "They took her."

"Who took her?"

He shook his head again, this time a bit more vigorously; opening his eyes to bore into the cabinet adjacent to him. "I don't know, but we soon tracked them down. They experimented on her." He ground out, his hands curled into tight fists against the cold counter; the skin over his knuckles was blossoming with dark purple bruises and was caked in dry blood. "And when they were done, they butchered her like an animal."

Laurien couldn't even fathom the scenarios that popped into her head as she sank down to the floor with him, her blue eyes wide and scared as she imagined the atrocities that these faceless men could've inflicted on Angel.

"Erik." She whispered, her chest barely moving as her breaths came out in shallow rasps.

"You need to go back to Charles and the others." He urged, blinking rapidly as he stared at the ground. "I can't lose you that way. I just can't."

She reached out and held his face between her hands, willing him to just look at her and breathe. "You won't." She murmured, her blue eyes wide and scared as she knew that it wasn't really within her control, because things would happen whether she wished them to or not. Even so, she still repeated her words as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. "You won't, I promise."

Laurien shuddered to think of that day, though it solidified her decision to go back to the mansion and the others. She glanced back down at Shasta, where she sat lazily on her makeshift bed, her jaws opening up wide as she yawned and her pink tongue curling up before she finally closed her mouth. Laurien reached down and scratched her behind the ears as she waited for the puff of smoke that would signal her departure from the house of woe.

Out of a new habit, she slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the photo of her mother and the mysterious woman by the name of Sera. The edges of the photograph had become worn and frayed over the years, yet it was uncanny how much Laurien resembled the woman, potentially even more than her own mother. The same solid jawbone and high cheekbones, even the same sad smile that seeped through without her knowledge.

Laurien had admittedly memorized every single aspect of the photo in fear that it might get destroyed somehow, so that Charles would be able to see it in her head if all else failed. She'd memorized everything from the soft curl of the woman's wavy hair that had been pinned up in a pretty bun, to the distinct checkered pattern of the black and white dress that she wore. Even though she couldn't quite tell from the photo, Laurien wondered if she was wearing the same dark red lipstick that she'd worn in her vision of her in Charles' study.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance in the living room of Azazel and Erik, who was thankfully not wearing the ridiculous costume, but a dark shirt, a pair of grey slacks, and his leather jacket that she'd grabbed onto to throw him against a tree in the forest by the CIA. She could still see the subtle marks where her fingernails had dug into the soft leather. She smirked inwardly, but didn't let it seep to her exterior as she gathered Shasta in her arms and walked toward them, being a bit wary of the demon mutant, seeing as the memories of the attack had still not faded at all.

"Hi." She greeted Erik with a quick kiss on the mouth before letting his hand slip into hers.

"You ready?" He asked gently, squeezing her hand.

Laurien took one last long look at the house surrounding her, seeing the old peeling wallpaper with slight shadows where picture frames used to hang, and the disproportionate kitchen to living room ratio that had irked her for so many years. The uneven step that would, from then on, be someone else's problem to curse loudly over, the mismatched furniture that Laurien had decided to leave behind for the new buyers, and the scuffed floorboards that recorded the footprints of all those who'd passed along them.

Her gaze slowly shifted over to the hallway that had been, and what would probably still be, the subject of the majority of her nightmares. She wondered if the new buyers knew as to what had happened in this house, the bloodshed and the tears. She silently hoped that they did, because they surely needed to be prepared for when the ghosts finally awoke from their graves.

She took a deep breath and nodded to no one in particular. With a small crack, the house in Belgium suddenly disappeared and was immediately replaced with her room at the mansion, with all the boxes from the house all piled up around her.

Laurien felt her knees buckle unexpectedly, but Erik quickly caught her before she hit the ground. "Don't worry, happens to everyone the first time." He said, as he helped her into one of the nearby armchairs and set Shasta down gently on the carpet.

"Wow." She groaned, lifting a hand to her temple in an effort to ease the pressure that had arisen in her head. "That's some kick."

The feeling soon passed and she lifted herself out of the armchair before turning to Erik. "Charles must know that we're here by now. You ready?"

The expression on Erik's face caused her stomach to plummet and she suddenly knew what was going through his head. "You're leaving, aren't you?" She murmured slowly, the weight of it all coming crashing down upon her. "You're not even going to talk to him. Was it all just a ploy to get close to me again? Were you ever actually going to try to mend things between you and him?"

"I was going to, please, believe me. But after losing Angel, there's so much more I need to do, and Charles will just try to stop me." He made to get closer to her but wisely thought better of it, and stayed at a distance, his blue eyes glistening apologetically. "I can't let the people responsible for her death walk free. They're just going to keep coming after us. You have to understand, I must continue in order to keep us all safe. To keep you safe, Laurien."

Laurien shook her head. "He won't try to stop you, if anything, he'll try to help you catch the people who killed Angel."

"Charles' diplomacy will do nothing to stop these people." He countered, a muscle in his jaw twitching as it clenched. "It will take years for bureaucracy to do anything, and the process will risk exposing mutant kind to the world. In the meantime, they will continue experimenting on us and killing us, without compassion, without mercy. The only way to ensure our safety is to be on the offensive and destroy these barbarians ourselves."

She bit her lip and glanced down at her feet. "I understand where you're coming from on that front, but the reality is that you're using it to back out of your promise to me." Laurien accused, feeling an argument rising in her chest, but she quelled it with a deep breath, suddenly feeling very tired. She looked up and met his gaze again, her vision flashing a dark green. "Please, don't do this again. Don't just leave us again."

"Laurien, I'm not–"

"No, Erik. I didn't want it to come to this, but if you don't talk to Charles, then I'm finished with this." She stated firmly, ignoring the blatant fact that Azazel was still in the room. "I've given you this opportunity to make things right, for both of your sakes, and you won't even face up to what you've done or the person you've done it to."

There was so much more she wanted to say, but she didn't trust herself to keep her composure. "If you've truly made your choice, then it's time that you've left."

Erik stared at her solemnly, his chest slowly rising up and down against the fabric of his jacket as he mulled her words over in his head, before he finally nodded. "I guess this is goodbye then."

"I guess so." She whispered, the words reluctantly rolling off her tongue. Her chest ached as the reality of the situation set in. He wasn't going to help Charles. He wasn't going to try to fight for what they'd painstakingly rebuilt in Belgium. He wasn't even going to fight for her.

The silence in the room was deafening to the point where Laurien could hear the subtle croon of Edith Piaf's Milord being played somewhere in a room out in the hallway, soon followed by the sound of Charles' wheelchair.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Erik nod at the red mutant, who then grabbed Erik's hand and vanishing in a wisp of red vapor. She allowed herself a small moment of reprieve before the door opened up behind her, and she was almost bowled over by Sean's body colliding with her, hugging her so tightly that she thought she might split in half.

He was soon followed by Alex, who, once Sean let go of her, picked her up and spun her around. "Oh man, please never leave for that long ever again!" He exclaimed from her elbow as the room was reduced to a vortex of blurs until he put her down.

She was so dizzy that she almost fell backwards, but caught herself as she saw Hank wheeling Charles into the room, a smile appearing on her face as she dashed over and gave Hank a big bear hug. "This is a surprise, we didn't think you'd be back until next week." He commented, burying his face into her shoulder.

"Just couldn't wait to get back." She stated truthfully as she let him go and straightened his glasses on his nose that she'd accidentally bumped when hugging him.

She then moved to Charles, whose face lit up as her blue eyes met his. "Welcome home, Laurien." He greeted, beaming up at her, and she didn't know why, but his words made her breath catch in her throat. She bent down and hugged him tight, relishing in how good it felt to be in his embrace, as if it was, in fact, like coming home.

She kissed him quickly on the cheek before standing up again, noticing that there was a question on his face as he looked up at her. She bit her lip and shook her head, trying not to notice how his energy fell with her slight motion, before he rapidly busied himself with getting acquainted with Shasta, their new family member that Sean held lovingly in his arms.

So that was chapter 26, hope you guys liked it. In recent news, I got surprised by my dad last week and he took me to a Paul McCartney concert! Man, for a 70 year old guy, he can still rock! I'm looking forward to adding some Beatles references to the story. Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, thank you for reading and please leave a review!