Hey, so I recently saw a Tumblr post about how some readers get really worried if their authors just stop posting for a long time, so I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm fine and that nothing horrific has happened. Life just got busy and difficult. I've had some incomplete chapters hanging around in my computer for a couple years now, and now I've gotten enough motivation (or at least motivation stemming from avoiding doing my homework or regular work) to complete a few chapters and post them. It's been a bit of a challenge to get back in touch with Laurien as a character, but it's been lovely getting to know her again, just like reuniting with an old friend you've lost touch with.

I started writing this FanFic when I was just newly 15 years old... and now I'm 21. God, the time flies. I'm so fortunate to have had you all along with me on this crazy ride.

Anywho, here is the LONG awaited Chapter 50! Enjoy!

It was nearly dark by the time they reached the outskirts of the mansion's property, but while it was still light out, Nina had spent most of the time in the taxi staring wide-eyed out the window, taking in the beautiful countryside that Westchester county had to offer. On multiple occasions, Nina gasped quietly as they passed the many grand farms and ranches whose bountiful green fields provided the perfect grazing conditions for the countless horses upon them.

Once the sun had long since disappeared beyond the horizon and the darkness obscured any further curiosities, Nina turned to Laurien. "Mama, where are we going?" She asked in a hushed tone, so as not to disturb the snoozing Kasia in her mother's arms.

"We're going to go stay with some old friends of mine." Laurien explained, her voice as light and carefree as she could manage under the circumstances. "You'll love them, Nina. They're so friendly and fun."

"Do they have horses?"

Laurien chuckled, as of course that would be the first thing on Nina's mind. "Mmmm, not that I know of, though it's been a very long time since I last saw them. Perhaps they have since taken up my suggestion that they do so."

"What about pets?"

"I'm not sure." She admitted, frowning to herself as she realized how little she knew about the current situation at the mansion. She had kept contact with Hank for the few years she and Erik had spent in Switzerland after their reunion, but with the sudden move beyond the Iron Curtain after Nina was born, they'd become nervous about who was privy to the information in their letters and had stopped writing. Besides knowing that the school was up and running, Laurien had no clue about any other changes that had occurred in her absence. "I know that they're quite fond of dogs, though. While I lived here, we had a golden retriever named Shasta."

"You did?" Nina whispered, her eyes lighting up. While she would vehemently deny having favourites amongst her friends of the animal kingdom, Nina always did have a soft spot for those of the canine species.

"Yes, you would have loved her. She was the most loyal of companions I'd ever known."

"What happened to her?"

"Well, she-" Laurien's breath momentarily caught in her throat as the sight of Shasta's lifeless body floated to the front of her mind, her darling face marred by a bullet wound between her beautiful eyes. She fought silently against the painful knot forming in her stomach as she inadvertently reminded herself that the man who had killed her had almost taken Laurien's own life that night as well, but such details were not anything that Nina ever needed to know about. She cleared her throat. "Unfortunately, she passed away, kochanie." Laurien explained gently. "But only after having lived a long and happy life being pampered and loved by us."

Nina nodded solemnly, but Laurien could practically see the wheels in her mind turning. After remaining silent for a moment longer, she suddenly piped up. "Could we get a dog for our new home if there aren't any already there?"

Laurien couldn't help the snort of amusement that erupted from her, though she found that she wasn't alone in her reaction, as she could sense Sera smiling as well from the front seat of the taxi. "I will consider it."

Nina seemed satisfied enough with that response and turned to continue looking out the window with a small smile on her face as faint lights in the far distance came into view. Laurien had driven back in the dark enough times in the wee hours of the morning to know that they belonged to the front doors of the Westchester mansion. Charles had always made sure to leave plenty of lights on for her when she got home from her late shift at the hospital.

Before the lights could get any closer, the taxi came to an abrupt stop. "Alright, everyone out." The taxi driver announced.

"Sorry?" Laurien frowned, as there was still a significant distance to even get to the front gates of the mansion grounds.

"This is as far as I go."

"And why is that?" Sera inquired, her tone verging on acidic.

"You can't pay me enough to go near that freak show." The man spat, nodding towards the lights in the distance.

Heat flared from where Sera sat in the passenger seat. "Are you seriously-"

"Sera." Laurien interrupted, reaching forward to place a placating hand on her forearm.

"What?"

Laurien shook her head. "It's not worth it."

Sera opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Laurien gave the driver his owed money and turned to Nina, her tone shifting up an octave in feigned lightness. "It's alright, we can walk the rest of the way. After all that time on the plane and the car, we need a little bit of a stretch. Are you warm enough, kochanie?" She hurriedly asked Nina, diverting her attention away from the uneasiness she felt radiating off the driver. As soon as Nina nodded, Laurien quickly opened the car door and ushered her out.

The driver did them the small kindness of removing their bags from the boot of the taxi before quickly maneuvering the car back the way it came, leaving them on the side of the dark country road.

"Now, before you say anything, remember that there are children present." Laurien bade her angry relative, as while she couldn't see her face in the darkness, she knew that Sera was livid.

Laurien received only an irritated grunt in response, before they moved to collect the bags. Sera insisted on taking the majority despite Laurien's powers, as in her words "What use is enhanced strength if not for moments like this?"

With Nina latched onto her back and Kasia safely tucked into the baby carrier, Laurien followed along behind Sera as they made their way along the road towards the mansion grounds in the distance. Each passing moment, the knot in her stomach grew larger as she wondered as to what their reception would look like once they arrived. It had been just over a decade since she'd last set foot onto the grounds, or had even exchanged words with Charles. Their last interaction prior to her departure had been cordial, yet profoundly stilted and strained, and while she and Sera had been banking on being granted refuge in Westchester, a horrible feeling seeped into her mind to suggest the contrary.

Having been so utterly consumed by her thoughts alongside the rhythmic footfalls of their journey, it seemed to her that they had suddenly reached the entrance of the property in a matter of minutes. Thankfully, the gates of which were still open this late in the evening.

As they finished the last stretch up the driveway, Laurien could make out a solitary shadowy figure standing at the front steps of the mansion, a cigarette held lazily between their fingers. Once they got closer, Laurien suddenly thought that she recognized the figure and couldn't help but call out to them. "Raven?"

The figure's cigarette paused before it could reach their lips, as if they were attempting to place a voice to a memory. Laurien placed Kasia's carrier on the ground and gently slid Nina from her back before stepping further into the light emanating from the mansion.

"Laurien?" The figure inquired, the very sound of her voice bringing back a nostalgia of simpler times to Laurien's mind. As soon as recognition dawned on her face, Raven abandoned her cigarette and ran forwards, catching Laurien in a tight embrace. "Oh my God!"

Laurien held onto the other woman for dear life, before they held each other at arm's length, taking one another in. "What are you doing here?" Laurien asked, breathlessly.

"I heard about what happened to you and Erik, and I came to get help from Charles." Raven gasped out, her words coming out in a chaotic jumble. "Oh, Laurien. I'm so sorry."

Laurien shook her head, forcing an uneasy smile upon her face as she changed the subject. "How have you been?"

"Alright. Can't complain." Raven's smile quickly dissolved into a frown as she saw Sera and took in their rather dishevelled appearance. "Wait, did you walk all the way here from the main road?"

"Uh, that's a rather sore subject that we should perhaps avoid at the moment." Laurien advised, as the very reminder sparked a pulse of heat from Sera's direction.

Raven nodded, seeming to gather her meaning and swiftly turning on the charm again. "And who are these beautiful people?"

"Well, this is Nina," Laurien said, turning to where her eldest daughter was hiding slightly behind her, and putting her arm around her to draw her forward. "Nina, this is Raven. An old friend of ours."

"Hello!" Raven greeted kindly, extending a hand for Nina to shake, which Nina took shyly. "It's lovely to meet you."

"And this little one," Laurien said, moving to bring forth the carrier. "is Kasia."

"Oh, my goodness, she's so small. How old is she?"

"Only a month." Laurien gushed, before turning to introduce Sera. "And this is Sera, my…" She trailed off, suddenly aware of the can of worms she may be opening if she chooses the wrong familial term in front of the children. "Relative?"

Sera snorted. "Yeah, that's probably the best way to put it for now."

Despite the subtle confusion that emanated from Raven, she rolled with it. "Here, let's get you all inside."

Laurien took Nina's hand and followed Raven up the steps. As they stepped through the front doors, Laurien was baffled by how the mansion seemed to have been utterly transformed, well back to the height of its old grandeur from the school's first session. Though it was quite late into the evening, students still hung around the main atrium, with some dressed in pyjamas and looking thoroughly ready for bed, while others were still toting book bags and cups of coffee.

Laurien's gaze then fell upon the back of a familiar chair, just as Raven called out to its occupant. "Charles. We've got some more visitors."

Laurien's body stiffened unconsciously, bracing herself as he swung around in his chair. She felt relieved to see that Charles looked healthy, with full cheeks, clean hair, and bright eyes that shined with their old reliable sparkle when they made contact with hers. "Laurien." He greeted.

A wave of warmth came over her. He smiled as he approached her, but when his eyes took in the baby carrier as well as Nina holding her hand beside her, Laurien's brow furrowed as a profound sense of loss shot through her and nestled in her chest. She took in a deep rattling breath, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.

"Charles, I was hoping to speak with you."

Charles turned in his chair to motion towards a group of nearby students. "Jean, would you and the others mind entertaining the little ones for us while we talk?" He then looked at Laurien. "Is that alright?"

Laurien nodded curtly, carefully handing the baby carrier to the pretty redheaded girl, Jean, who smiled reassuringly at her, before holding out her hand for Nina to take. Surprisingly, Nina took her hand with a smile and waved to Laurien as she went with the girl. Laurien's eyes lingered a moment on the girl in curiosity before turning back to Charles, who beckoned her towards his study.

As she followed him, she heard Nina's voice from across the entryway. "You're blue, just like my doll." Which was followed by a student's heavily German-accented reply of "Wow! So cool!"

She entered the familiar study, though since the last time she'd been in it, it had been severely tidied up. While it was, of course, still quite a disastrously organized room, with books, trinkets and documents scattered about on every surface, in what Charles liked to call his own personal manner of 'controlled chaos,' it was thankfully nowhere near the levels of disaster it had been a decade prior. Immediately upon entering, a comforting warmth returned to her as she saw Hank, and surprisingly, Moira, both seated in the office. Before she could say a word, Laurien then sensed a figure to the right of the doorway, and was engulfed by a massive wave of shock and relief when she laid eyes upon someone she hadn't seen for ages.

"Oh, Alex." She gasped, striding quickly forward and pulling him into a tight embrace that he eagerly returned.

"Hey, Laur." He chuckled, his voice slightly muffled against her shoulder.

"I never heard back from you after sending the Hobbit to you in Vietnam." She chastised after they released one another. "I thought the worst had happened."

"I got it, but once they found out I was a mutant, they rescinded all communication privileges between myself and home." He explained, his face apologetic. "Once I got out, I didn't have an address for you."

She gave him a small smile and squeezed his arm. "I'm just glad you're alright."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Laurien." Charles called to her, gesturing for her to take a seat in the armchair across from his desk. "We've all heard the information shared on the news, but we want to hear what actually happened from you."

Laurien nodded, feeling admittedly somewhat miffed that she couldn't greet the others. She moved to the middle of the room, seating herself in the offered chair. "Uh, well, a few days ago, there was an earthquake and-"

"Wait, so the earthquake reached you as well?" Moira interrupted, jarring Laurien's focus. The woman's appearance had barely changed in two decades, though a semblance of authority and confidence had changed her posture and reinforced the tone of her voice.

Laurien blinked. "What?"

"There was an earthquake which was documented all around the globe." Hank explained, somewhat excitedly. "A massive seismic event with its epicentre in Egypt."

"Ah," Laurien frowned. "So, everyone felt it?"

The others nodded, and Laurien was unsure whether she should feel more or less at ease from this new information.

"It's been all over the news." Hank stated, looking at her strangely, and as much as she loved him, Laurien wanted to throttle him in that moment. A childish part of her was tempted to test his detection of sarcasm, and apologize for not staying informed because she had been trying to get her family out of the fucking Soviet Union in the midst of an international manhunt.

Instead, she took a breath and bit out, "I'm guessing that a global earthquake is not normal."

"It's not, but we'll address that later." Charles stated, giving her an encouraging smile. "Please, go on."

Laurien cleared her throat, returning to the matter at hand. "Erik saved a man's life at his work during the earthquake. In doing so, he used his mutation, and I suppose some of the other men saw him do it. They told the police, who then came after us, and…" She hesitated, the harsh sound of the arrow hitting the forest floor echoing in her ears. "They almost hurt Nina, our daughter. In fact, she could have easily been killed by their carelessness."

She let out at rattling breath, her hands gripping each other tightly as she willed herself to keep it together in front of her friends. She opened her mouth again, but as the memory of that day sent an icy fear through her body, her voice failed her.

Mercifully, Sera instead piped up from where she stood near the study's doorway. "We stayed with some old friends of mine while we figured out what to do." She explained, picking up Laurien's story from where she'd left off. "But Erik went back to the factory the next morning, apparently with the objective of getting revenge upon the men who put his family in danger. Laurien went after him, but someone else got there first and dealt with the factory workers themselves."

Laurien swallowed with difficulty, finally finding her voice. "And I think that Erik's been taken by them."

Hank raised an eyebrow. "By whom?"

Laurien shook her head. "I- I don't know. I only saw him for a moment."

"From what you saw, did he seem like a mutant with a God complex?" Alex asked from where he was now seated in a nearby armchair, chuckling to himself for a moment until he noticed Charles' raised eyebrow. His expression sobering, he then explained to Laurien, "We may have an idea about who you saw."

"From what I heard from a mutant in Germany, he was drawing together forces." She replied, hoping that this made sense to them all.

"Caliban?" Raven asked curiously.

Laurien nodded. "He said that this mutant apparently wanted Erik to join them."

"As part of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." Moira announced, looking intently at Charles.

Laurien frowned. "Sorry?"

"Biblical metaphor." Alex added simply.

"Of course, but how…" Laurien stammered, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose as her head felt it might explode from attempting to fathom the sudden influx of incredulous-sounding information. "Why?"

"I know it's a lot to take in. How about we just return to the matter of Erik?" Charles suggested, his calm aura sweeping over her. "When was he taken?"

"The day after the earthquake. Like Sera said, he went to confront his co-workers at the factory after our ordeal with the police." She continued to explain, shifting in her seat. "When I went after him, all I found were the men's limbs sticking out of the concrete ground. It was if the ground had swallowed them up."

"It does sound like something Magneto would do." Moira pondered thoughtfully, glancing at Laurien. "Is that something within the scope of his powers?"

Laurien had to momentarily bite her tongue to prevent a harsh retort from escaping her lips. "No. He can do many things, but most certainly not that."

"Perhaps Erik joined him willingly after he saw what this mutant did for him?" Hank countered gently, seemingly more tactful with his delivery.

"No, he wouldn't, believe me." Laurien urged sternly, feeling frustration rising in her chest as she gripped the arms of the chair. "This mutant has to be holding something over him. Even Caliban said that my actions from now on will have consequences for Erik, and vice versa."

"He could be lying." Moira theorized, looking doubtful. "For all we know, this Caliban could be allied with this mutant being."

"Caliban doesn't lie." Raven chimed in, exchanging a brief glance with Laurien. "Erik wouldn't leave his family willingly."

Laurien felt the sudden desire to get up from her chair and hug Raven.

"Alright, this is what I propose we do." Charles declared, his brow furrowed as he clasped his hands together. "We will use Cerebro and try to locate Erik's whereabouts that way, but not tonight."

Laurien opened her mouth to argue, but Charles quickly continued explaining his plan before she had the chance. "You and your family have just endured an arduous journey, and are in desperate need of some rest. Therefore, I advise that we wait until tomorrow morning."

Despite her desire to persevere through the night, Laurien couldn't ignore the exhaustion that was clinging to every inch of her being. Both her mind and body were begging for some manner of repose from this waking nightmare.

"When we find him through Cerebro, he can tell us what happened and how we can help him." Charles finished, though she was very conscious of his deliberate use of 'when' instead of 'if' in his sentence. "Sound good?"

Laurien took a deep breath before nodding and rising from her seat.

They collectively made their way out of Charles' study. As they walked into the main atrium, Laurien felt Hank's calm demeanour draw near before he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his embrace, grateful for the gesture.

"How have you been, Hank? It's been quite a while."

"Good. Busy." He replied.

"That's good." Laurien stated, wanting to press him further, especially regarding his thoughts about Raven's presence at the mansion, but she thought it best to leave it for now. "Happy?"

He shrugged. "For the most part. You?"

"Really happy." She revealed, before taking a deep breath as tears suddenly threatened to rise. "It's been a difficult few days though."

"I know, I'm so sorry, Laurien. I can only imagine what you're going through." He said, guiding her away from the others to a corner of the atrium. "Look, I know that our history with Erik is complicated at best. Goodness knows, I, myself, have taken a few swings at him once or twice-" He said, eliciting a sound that was a combination of both sob and laugh burst from Laurien's mouth as she tried to wipe away the rogue tears that had succeeded in being shed. "But we're going to do everything we can to find him and bring him back home to you and the girls." He promised, pulling a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his jacket and handing it to her.

She nodded as she accepted the handkerchief, waiting a few moments for the lump in her throat to subside before she responded. "Thank you, Hank." She then pulled him into a tight hug. "God, I've missed you."

"I missed you too." He murmured, his chin resting atop her head as they embraced for a few moments, before then rubbing her arm. "Come on, let's get you and the girls something to eat before bed."

Kinda rushed reunions with everyone, but it seemed more detailed in my head. Whatever.

I've also decided to start posting updated chapters on Archive of Our Own under the same title, as I have been more active on that site, but my username is TiredAvenger17 over there.

Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review!