Howdy! Sorry this took so long. I was stuck between whether I wanted to start with Dark Phoenix in this chapter or not, and I felt like I still had some stuff to finish with Apocalypse. I will likely come back to fix this chapter at some point, but I just can't stare at it anymore.

Enjoy!

Alex's funeral had taken place on an overcast morning in early October, its dark and gloomy clouds reflecting the general sentiments of the attendees. There was no body to bury, just as it had been with so many of their other departed friends, yet they erected a headstone on the grounds all the same. They picked a spot a few yards into the forest on the Westchester grounds, close enough that he would not be lost in the expanse of the trees, yet far enough from the main thoroughfare to provide some peace and quiet for him and his visitors.

While it had initially been thought a longshot, Alex and Scott's parents, Christopher and Katherine Summers, attended the small service at Charles' invitation. They didn't say much throughout the day's schedule, and both declined the opportunity to speak a few words at their son's graveside, though Laurien didn't blame them. Besides Scott, they were all strangers, and from what Laurien had gathered over the years, Alex's relationship with his parents had been anything but smooth.

Alex had previously told them how he'd been estranged from his parents in his mid to late teens. He'd already been classified as an angry teen, and his penchant for acting out unfortunately coincided with the manifestation of his mutation. The volatile mixture of complex teenage emotions and an uncontrolled power resulted in him being sent to a maximum security prison to protect others as well as himself. It was only after a year of living at Westchester, and at Charles' insistence, that Alex finally called his parents to let them know that he was alright. From what Laurien could remember, he'd kept up the habit of calling them at least once a month, albeit begrudgingly, until the time that he'd been drafted to go to Vietnam. She couldn't be sure of the status of their relationship in the years since then, yet she hoped they'd managed to make some peace between them.

Despite their apparent discomfort, Laurien was very surprised when both of Alex's parents took her and Hank to the side before they left and thanked them for being such good friends and influences for their son.

"He always talked about you all when he would call home from Westchester." Mrs. Summers said softly, a sad smile tugging on her lips. "You've all had some strange adventures, haven't you?"

"Yes, we did." Hank chuckled nervously as he exchanged a quick look with Laurien, evidently sharing her hope that Alex hadn't told his parents of all the shenanigans they had gotten up to in their youth.

They continued to talk quietly about Alex near the front door as Mr. Summers brought around the car. Just as a brown Ford Escort rounded the gravel driveway, Mrs. Summers bid them farewell and began to turn to make her way over to meet him, before suddenly letting out a slight gasp and turning back to clutch Laurien's arm. "Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot! We were going through some of Alexander's belongings and found this."

She rifled through her purse for a moment before pulling out and carefully handing a book to Laurien. As soon as her eyes met the cover, all the air left her lungs, immediately recognizing her long lost copy of The Hobbit she'd sent Alex while he was away in Vietnam.

Mrs. Summers chuckled softly to herself. "I swear he's read that book a thousand times over the years and I just so happened to look inside and I saw that it actually belonged to you, so I thought I should return it for old time's sake."

Laurien instinctively flipped through the pages, and felt her heart clench as she saw Alex's messy handwriting filling the margins. He'd never been too keen on expressing himself aloud, so he did so through his writing. During their time at Westchester, Alex borrowed many of Laurien's books, and kept a journal of his notes and thoughts on the narrative and characters to show her when they discussed the book later. Alex had always been quite gifted at writing, and if anyone from their group could have written a novel about their experiences, it would have been him.

Laurien desperately searched for the words to describe to Alex's mother what his friendship had meant to her as she held the book between her hands, but even if she'd have found something to accurately convey what she wished to say, nothing could overcome the lump that had formed in her throat. She simply nodded at the other woman in response, her eyes filling with tears as a blue hue stained her vision.

Mrs. Summers gave her arm a quick squeeze before turning to go meet her husband at their car. It was alright, Laurien thought to herself as she took in a rattling breath, leaning into Hank's one-armed embrace. She knew.

A heavy aura continued to permeate the mansion in the days following the funeral, yet the further they descended into October, an effort was made to lighten everyone's moods with some seasonal merriment. Each day brought an incrementally crisper chill to the outside air, and the deciduous trees on the grounds had started losing their colorful leaves, permitting many leaf piles to be made for the students to jump into. Even Boris the bulldog was having a joyous time running through the piles.

Raven and Laurien were sent out one morning on a supply run to gather some pumpkins of various sizes for the students to carve. Nina had initially been confused when her parents had put a pumpkin in front of her. Unlike how it was in the States, Poland did not associate pumpkins with fall traditions, but after a bit of explanation from Laurien and Erik, Nina took great care in carving a spooky cat into the surface of her pumpkin.

Just as Raven had promised, trying out the new American traditions together as a family was tremendously fun, though they still made sure to keep up some of the old ones they'd practiced back in Dąbrowa Górnicza. They were even joined by Peter and some other students as they made their customary jars of pickled cabbage and beets in the mansion's kitchens. By the time they were finished, everyone's hands were stained bright pink from the beets and the students were spiritedly debating what other food items they could possibly pickle.

Since their recent familial revelation, Peter had taken to his new role as Nina and Kasia's older brother quickly and with great enthusiasm. He delighted in making Nina laugh and quickly familiarized himself with all of her favorite stories, which he would act out in a sort of sped-up pantomime for her and the younger students in the evenings before bed. Nina particularly loved Peter's impression of Gandalf the Grey, his grumpy old man expression and voice frequently sending her into a fit of giggles.

As for Peter and Erik, Laurien had to remind herself that even a little progress was still good progress. They remained rather awkward around one another, but at the very least they'd committed to engaging in a few conversations, mostly revolving around quite mundane topics. Laurien was beginning to suspect that both herself and Nina had become safety blankets for the pair of them, as they only seemed to fully relax whenever they were all together. Laurien didn't mind taking some of the pressure off of them, though she hoped that they would soon feel comfortable in one another's presence without her help.

Despite the minor growing pains, in the past few weeks Laurien had caught herself more than once becoming rather overwhelmed by a swell of warmth in her chest. After everything that had happened when she was younger, she could never have predicted that the group of people she called her family would become so numerous and so happy. Part of her wished she could send a message into the past and tell her younger self that through all the sorrows she had endured, there would be hope after all. They were no longer being hunted, they were safe and looked after, and they would soon have a new place to call home.

Laurien and Erik had set aside some time to visit the island on their own. They'd rented a boat and made their way across the water to what would become their new home. It took roughly half an hour to cross the water to the island, and they were already discussing how to make the crossing more seamless for the island's future inhabitants. They had dropped anchor just off a main rocky beach and Erik flew them the rest of the way.

The island was a luscious combination of rocky beaches, daunting bluffs, dense wooded areas, as well as grassy moors. As Laurien took in a deep lungfull of ocean air, her heart swelled. Already, she could imagine establishing a vegetable garden in the land's fertile ground.

"I've always wanted to live near the ocean." She sighed, wrapping her arms around Erik's waist, his larger body protecting her from the buffeting winds. "And there are so many possibilities to what we can do here.."

Erik enveloped her in his embrace, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. "You happy?"

"Yeah, I'm happy." She murmured contentedly, before looking up at him. "You?"

"As long as I have you and the kids, always."

They admittedly took a while longer in the privacy of the island than they had previously intended to. The setting sun was painting the grounds in a soft orange glow when they finally returned to the mansion, yet Laurien, invigorated by the sea air and her excitement, felt as though she could dance throughout the night. They entered through the main front door and were met by a collective of students milling about the main atrium, all talking in hushed tones.

"I'm going to go check on the girls." Erik told her, eyeing the crowd with quiet apprehension. "Fill me in on what you find out later?"

Laurien nodded, watching him go for a moment longer before turning to join the students. As she approached them, Jean turned to face her with a worried expression on her face.

"Hey, what's happening?"

Jean nodded towards Charles' study. "Raven went in there a while ago, and we think they're having an argument about something."

Laurien frowned, casting a glance at the door. "What makes you say that?"

With almost comical timing, the sound of smashing glass erupted from behind the closed door of Charles' study, effectively answering Laurien's question.

"They were also just screaming at each other a moment ago," Scott murmured, his expression indiscernible behind his thick sunglasses. "But we couldn't really make out what they were saying."

"Jean, can't you just do your thing and find out what they're arguing about?" A student named Michael lamented, pressing a finger to his own temple like how Jean did when she used her powers.

Jean shot him a withering look. "You know I'm not allowed to unless I have permission."

"Fine, spoilsport." Michael grumbled under his breath as he leaned back against the staircase bannister.

Sensing the rising heat emanating from the redhead, Laurien clapped her hands together, drawing their collective attention to her. "Alright, I think it's best that we all give them their privacy, hmm?" When they seemed reluctant to move, she followed it up with, "come on now, I know you all have better things to do than eavesdrop. Get going!"

With groans of dismay, the students heeded her command and went on their respective ways. They were all almost out of view when the sound of the study door opening brought Laurien's gaze back. Raven's curly blonde hair billowed out behind her as she stormed out of the study, her face red and eyes flashing dangerously, yet her expression immediately softened when she laid eyes on Laurien.

"Hey," Laurien began tentatively as Raven made her way over to her. "Are you alright? I heard glass breaking."

"Yeah, that was me." Raven glanced back at the study before motioning for Laurien to follow her outside. Once they were back in the crisp fall air, Raven let out a loud sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "So, I just had it out with Charles."

"Oh." Laurien uttered, a self-conscious heat rising in her cheeks. "About…?"

"Everything." Raven shrugged, kicking some of the driveway's gravel with her boot. "Honestly, it's not worth worrying about. It's just helped me come to the decision that I should leave Westchester."

A jolt similar to an electric shock passed through Laurien at Raven's words. "But what about Kurt?"

"Oh, he's going to stay here for school, but we've made plans to see each other regularly." Raven assured her. "He knows that Charles and I have a rather contentious relationship at the moment."

Laurien nodded, taking a deep breath of relief.

"Did you decide if Nina will come here for school?"

Laurien cast her a quick side glance, noting how Raven changed the subject. "We were also thinking of giving Nina a few more years before she has the option to come here. To be honest, after the entire debacle with Apocalypse, I'm not sure she's going to ever let us out of her sight again."

"She'll see the beauty in humanity again." Raven promised, an optimistic tone to her voice. "It could take some time, but she'll get there."

Laurien dearly hoped that she was right, because she couldn't bear the thought of Nina being afraid of the world.

She cast the thought to the back of her mind and focused on the matter at hand. "So, where were you thinking of going?"

"I'm not sure yet."

Laurien hummed in response, a further matter was tugging at her mind. "Well, would you consider…?" She started to ask before trailing off, her eyebrows raised in a silent, yet hopeful question.

Raven chuckled, bowing her head and scratching nervously at the back of her head. "That's, uh, actually what I was going to ask you. "

Laurien's chest felt tight as her heart swelled with excitement. "Of course. We'd love to have you."

A pleasant warmth emitted from Raven as she entwined her arm with Laurien's, and they started walking around the perimeter of the mansion. "So, tell me about the island."

In the time since their first visit to the island, Laurien and Erik had returned regularly to start setting up their new home before the rest of the family would come to join them. Similarly to how they rebuilt the mansion, Laurien and Erik had used their powers to build some basic living structures on the island. They had plans for creating a larger community center, yet that would likely have to wait until their family had settled themselves and some further consultation. The end result of their construction efforts was a rather eclectic-looking house, considering they'd made use of some of the shipping containers that had been adrift off the coast since the debacle with Apocalypse. It became a rather large home, with bedrooms for all the members of their growing family, and they'd even set aside a large room to become a temporary library of sorts for the community they were going to build. With the house being practically on the beachfront, they made sure to properly insulate the walls and windows against any possible wind or weather, though it helped to know that if they noticed that anything was amiss in the future, they could easily fix it with the aid of their powers.

Before long came the day of their official departure from the mansion, and Laurien awoke that morning to a complex mixture of emotions. While she was excited to finally start their life in their new home, it still felt as though there was unfinished business in Westchester. She and Charles had barely spoken since the unfortunate events in his study, and part of her was worried about leaving matters unresolved, but ultimately, it wasn't up to her to help him sort out his lingering feelings.

Even as they gathered to say their final goodbyes after packing up their car, Laurien was reluctant to say anything to Charles, though as much as she was still angry with him, he had provided her family with a place of refuge in their time of need.

With Kasia and Nina safely nestled in their car seats, Laurien made her way over to where Charles' wheelchair sat at the mouth of the mansion doorway. "Thank you, Charles," She said, fighting back an urge to cringe when the words came out stiltedly. "For all your help."

"Of course." He nodded, putting an attempt at a smile on his face, but Laurien could sense the guilt brewing within him.

Thankfully, it was at that moment that a blue-furred Hank emerged from the mansion, out of breath and carrying Bilbo the Bear in his arms.

"Oh God, thank you, Hank." Laurien laughed, taking the bear from him. "You just spared us from a major meltdown."

Hank followed Laurien as she walked over to the car and handed the bear off to Nina through the open car window, before she turned back to give Hank a final hug.

"Remember, you're always welcome whenever you'd like." She told him, squeezing him tight. "We have plenty of rooms and you deserve to take a little vacation every once in a while, right?"

Hank nodded, knowing that she was right. "I know, I want to, but there just always seems to be so much to do, so much happening in the world."

"Well, the world can wait to allow you to have some time to relax, Hank." Laurien replied, raising an eyebrow. "In fact, I don't think I've ever seen you step foot on a beach that wasn't in Cuba."

Hank let out a snort, his blue nose twitching. "Okay, okay, I'll admit it does sound nice."

She cast a glance towards where Raven was saying her farewells to Kurt and some of the other students near the car she and Sera were taking. "Raven will want to see you too."

"Laur…"

"I'm just saying." She teased gently, holding her hands up. "But I mean it, don't be a stranger."

"I won't. I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to it." She said as she opened the passenger car door and got inside.

Erik gave a wave to Hank before settling back in the driver's seat and looking at Laurien. He took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Ready to go?"

"Ready." She smiled, her heart swelling as Erik brought her hand to his lips and kissed the ridge of her knuckles.

Wooooooooo! We're now done with Apocalypse! That only took *looks at watch* nine years... Jesus, yeah, 'cause it's actually almost been nine years since I posted the first chapter of this story... holy moley!

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review!