Inside of the embassy there was a sort of organized chaos. People were running back and forth, dealing with the bevvy of phone calls on all sides. They had, of course, told Levine what had happened to Moira. Although she hadn't woken up since they had retrieved her, her condition and their explanation was enough for him to file a report on.

He'd also received a few tapes and documents, anonymously dropped on his doorstep. He gave Charles a meaningful glance and he'd nodded. They both knew who they had come from. Seeing how she was under the protection of the Genoshan embassy though, he hadn't asked. Charles doubted that he would ask even if she wasn't. It just wasn't in his nature, and neither of them wanted to bring more hardship on her.

Charles had assigned Raven to bedside duties. He'd wanted to the one to do it, but as the senior diplomat his presence was required. He was determined this was the last time his job would keep him from being with her. When she woke up they would have to have a long talk. In many ways he was looking forward to it.

The conversation he had with Erik was had been one that he was decidedly not optimistic about. And he'd had good reason. To start, Erik hadn't heard from them for hours. Charles hadn't even checked in with him once they landed. He had been too occupied with Moira's absence, their new situation, and Raven's anger. From Erik's shouts he'd gathered that he was minutes away from sending a search party when they did call.

Afterwards Charles had had to tell him about the CIA pulling out of the hunt for the MRD. That had caused quite a stir. Charles had listened to him rant for several minutes before confessing the real reason that they hadn't checked in. Erik had listened quietly to the events before giving an angry sigh.

"Do we have Cain in custody?"

"With enough drugs to knock out a rhino," Charles said drily, "Logan's guarding him constantly. We smashed the helmet and we're going to interrogate him. I suppose the CIA has questions for them too, but he's in our custody."

"I don't think we have enough authority to hold him," said Erik, "It was an attack carried out on American soil by an American. Even the victim of the kidnapping was American and, despite all the work she's done for us, unconnected to us."

He'd winced.

"She's not unconnected," said Charles, "Now that she's quit the CIA I…I'm going to see if she'd care to marry me."

There was a very long pause.

"Charles, did I hear you right?"

"You did," Charles said firmly, "And I'm not asking permission Erik. I'm just telling you, as a friend, what I intend to do."

Erik groaned on the other end.

"Why do you have to complicate things?"

"I keep things relatively simple," Charles said, "You're the one who usually complicates everything. I think I deserve a shot at it."

He heard a dry chuckle from the other end.

"Perhaps you're right," said Erik, "Don't think for a minute that it will be easy Charles. There's a lot to deal with here."

"I know," said Charles, "but we both know how precarious life can be. I don't want to risk anything else."

Erik paused for a few seconds. Charles wondered if he was thinking of Susanna, probably in the gardens tending to her roses. Perhaps he was even thinking of the small daughter he had tucked away in the palace, safely asleep by that time. Either way Charles wasn't certain, and he thought that it might be better that way.

"Alright then," he said, "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

"I do," Charles said, "Don't worry about it."

Erik laughed.

"I'll try."

He'd hung up then. Charles had wearily gotten up from his desk and stumbled over to the stairs. Janos could handle the rest. He'd been appointed ambassador because he had the ability to be diplomatic when the occasion called for it. For now Charles was going upstairs to take over from Raven. He wanted to be there when Moira woke up.

His sister gave way the minute he got upstairs. From the looks of it she had been expecting him. She winked at him before she left, walking down to her own room. He wondered just how much of that he was going to have to endure from his baby sister as his relationship with Moira progressed.

He sank down into a chair. Moira had been put into one of the finished bedrooms, the room warm and the sheets clean. Raven had removed the soaked and filthy dress she'd been wearing and replaced it with one of her Genoshan dresses. She'd brought a few to work on; his sister's interest in fashion one of the safer hobbies she had taken to. The floaty fabric fit close to her skin; Raven had given her one of her unfinished dresses but it was still made in a smaller size than was right for her.

Charles had been glad to know that she was in no danger of frostbite or hypothermia. They had gotten her warmed up in time to avoid that. The bruises that dotted her arms and legs had made him angry, but they would heal. Her head injury was not serious, and he supposed that her prolonged state of unconsciousness was her body's way of making up for its exhaustion.

All he wanted to do was fall asleep himself. His mind was spent and even his limbs ached from all the running he'd had to do. Charles had been made athletic by the revolution, but his desk job had left him somewhat unprepared. He'd have to make sure that it didn't happen again. It all built up to a crushing exhaustion.

Still, he held out against it for close to two hours. The fight with Cain eventually got the better of him and he started to dose. His dreams were troubled ones, filled with his fear as he ran across the clearing. Adrenaline mixed with a flurry of snow and he felt helplessness against his stepbrother.

"Charles?"

He jolted awake. Moira was propped up on her side, staring at him. He smiled, trying to force away the lingering nightmare.

"As always," he said.

Moira smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. Her legs flipped over the side and he struggled to remember what he was going to say. He'd only ever seen her dressed ready for business or in a floor-length dress. Charles didn't count when they had rescued her, his mind had been fixed solely on her well-being. Now though, now other less noble thoughts were entering his head and pushing out more important ones.

Luckily she prompted him on.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Sorry?" he asked.

She grinned, probably aware of the effect she had on him. She had no idea though, not really.

"The Genoshan embassy," said Charles, "We're going to be on the first flight out of here tomorrow. And…Logan said…and I figure…what I mean is that I've heard indications that you'd like to come with us."

She nodded.

"There's nothing left for me here," she said.

Charles swallowed nervously.

"I hope…I hope you don't feel that I'm taking advantage of your current situation," he said slowly, "I…there was something I wanted to talk about. And I think you want to talk about it too; it is very important. "

Moira folded her hands in her lap, looking at him patiently.

"Oh…I…you see…"

He blew a frustrated breath.

"After everything," he said, "here I am talking like a nervous schoolboy."

She smiled weakly before looking down at her lap. They both knew that there was no need to skirt around the questions on their mind.

"I'm a mother Charles," she said quietly.

"I know," said Charles, "Rahne's a wonderful child."

Moira nodded and closed her eyes.

"I'm human."

"Do you honestly think that matters to me?" asked Charles.

She shook her head and his heart lifted.

"No," she said, "I don't. But others…how about Genosha?"

"Their Queen is already a human," said Charles, "I think they'll be able to deal with it. But Moira, what is it you want?"

She looked up tears spilling down her cheeks.

"You Charles," she said, "You. I've always just wanted you."

One of her hands pushed away her tears.

"I love you," she said, "And I...when I quit...when we were running..."

She trailed off.

"I understand," he said, "It's what I thought too."

For a second the silence hung thick between them. It was now or never. Charles pushed himself out of his chair so he was on one knee, his head tilted up so that he could see her face. He didn't dare take her hands. It had been such a taboo action between the two of them for so long that he couldn't imagine touching her. He ached to, but somehow couldn't find it in himself. Not yet.

Her eyes widened and he smiled nervously.

"I know it's sudden," he said, "And I know you might not have expected it. But I don't want to let you slip away. Not now."

Her gaze remained fixed on him and he took a deep breath.

"I want you to marry me," he said, "I know we'll have to wait a while."

He swallowed, hating that sentence. Part of him wanted to find a minister and smooth it out immediately. At the same time there were things to consider.

"It would look suspicious if we did it immediately. We may have to look like we only developed feelings after you took up permanent residence on Genosha," he said, "And then there's Rahne to consider. I want to give her time to get used to the idea of us together."

Moira took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly.

"You thought about Rahne..." she murmured.

"Of course," Charles said, "When the time comes, if you want it to I mean, I'd be a father to Rahne. I'll do my damndest to make you both happy. I love you Moira."

She didn't say anything and Charles swallowed. He'd expected her to say something, and her unresponsive features confused him.

"Of course, you can decide how long you want to wait. If you want to at all," he said, "But-"

Moira slid off the bed and into his arms. Her lips pressed against his and he was lost. When he'd told Raven that he wouldn't be able to let go of her he'd meant it. He really would never be able to let her go now. Charles moved his tongue between her lips, tasting her and breathing her in. She moaned and he pushed her up against the back of the bed, his hands running over her and taking her in.

A fire was starting in his skin, one that was simultaneously quenched and stoked by her touch. Desire and love that had been held back for years was rushing to the surface, desperate that its cries be heard. His lips parted from hers and he moved down to her neck. Between gasps Moira whispered;

"Yes…more than anything."

Charles held her tighter, kissing lower and taking her in his arms. She was there now and never going to leave him. There would be no more helpless glances, no more words left unspoken. Charles threaded a hand through her hair, pulling her flush against him but trying to be careful of her injuries. He had enough presence of mind to move to the bed before he lost himself.

Moira breathed in. Her back still hurt, as did her arms and legs. Bruises were dotted all across her, making sitting anywhere uncomfortable. No matter how luxurious the plane's seats were she still felt the familiar aches in her limbs. She'd taken long soaks before leaving in some remedies Clarice had given her, but there were still underlying pains.

There were, of course, other reasons for those pains. She had heard that it was supposed to hurt her first time, but it was much less so than her other injuries. Charles had treated her as though she were made of glass while pulling her close to him all the while.

The plane touched down and Charles took her hand. The gesture was strange to her, even after what had happened the previous night. She squeezed back as he helped her up and led her out of the plane. Raven looked over her shoulder at them, smiling quickly before leaving.

He'd hovered near her for the entire flight and she'd been grateful for his attentiveness. He'd been grateful too, she was sure. On the way there they had heard the announcement of Genosha as a country as well as reactions to the news. He'd gripped her hand tightly then. They were in for a storm soon, but Moira had learned that life was just one storm cut by interims of peace. They just had to enjoy the peace when they had it.

"I have a surprise for you," he whispered.

Moira smiled as she left the plane. He held her hand until she placed her foot on the ground. Then, from a few feet away, she heard joyful cries and running feet. She thought she saw Kayla stepping out of a car before she realized the source of the running.

"Mom!"

Rahne ran into her arms, nearly knocking Moira down. She knelt and embraced her, laughing and crying all at once.

"I heard you were coming back to stay," Rahne said, her voice anxious.

Smiling Moira looked from her daughter to Charles. She glanced around her, at a land that was both strange and familiar.

"Yes Rahne," she said, "I've come home."

A/N: And I hoped you enjoyed it! The House of M reality where Genosha became a sovereign homeland was always an interesting concept. Obviously a lot of bad things happened as a result, but I thought it would be fun to write a story about Charles being invovled with the running of that country. Erik and Charles tend to balance each other out, Charles being accepting and Erik being willing to do the bad thing if the situation requires it, and would form a cohesive government. Add a forbidden romance to it, I'm a Charles/Moira sucker, and I think it would be very interesting indeed.

I'm planning a sequel to this called 'The World on Fire', which would detail a bit about the character's lives now that they're all on Genosha. Charles and Moira are going to have problems, and Erik's marriage is going to come up as well. I'm looking forward to trying out the characters a bit more. 'The World on Fire' should come out in a few weeks; exams are coming up. Thanks to everyone who read; a special shoutout to noamg, Time and Fate, ShiroNeko316, and !