Chapter 4: Pulse

ABOUT A MONTH LATER

Charles waited until the late evening to surprise Ava. He had been practicing walking without his walker more than she realized, and he was now confident enough to walk down the hall to her room unaided –a task he hoped would lead to a second surprise.

After the first two mishaps, he had decided to take sex off the menu for a while. Like most men, he didn't want to keep trying and failing, so he decided to "fly solo" for a while, so to speak. While he was working on the strength of his legs, he had also been re-conditioning himself to the feeling of sexual pleasure, so that a few simple touches wouldn't put him over the edge. In a way, it was like being an adolescent teenager again. Of course, Ava didn't officially know about that, either, but she had suspected as much.

Through some unspoken understanding, the two of them had not yet begun sharing a bedroom. Though neither of them had even started to address the topic, both of them knew it would feel odd for a couple who wasn't yet figuratively "sleeping together" to start literally sleeping together. Plus, there was so much sexual tension between them, one was sure to lead to the other, and Charles had clearly not been ready for that.

Until now, at least, or so he hoped. He felt his heart pounding as he walked slowly and steadily to her bedroom in the dark, quiet mansion. He felt confident but nervous, but above all, determined.

After placing one foot in front of the other enough times to arrive at her door, he took a breath and knocked.

"Who is it?" came her sweet Parisian accent.

"Charles," he said simply.

"Come in!"

He opened the door and stepped inside with a smile on his face. She turned to look at him, wearing nothing but a lacy nightshirt and panties, and her eyes immediately widened.

"Oh my God, Charles!" she said. "You walked here!" Her mouth was agape.

He continued up to her, maintaining eye-contact. Once in front of her, he boldly but nonchalantly placed his hands on her waist.

"I wanted to surprise you," he said.

"Well, I'm very surprised!" she said, and placed her hands on his face as she kissed him.

He moved his hands up the sides of her silky tanktop as he did, sending a tingle down her spine.

"This is a lovely blouse," he said softly, his face close to hers, letting his fingers caress the sensitive sides of her breasts.

Ava looked deep into his eyes and drew in a slow breath, having to stop herself from biting her lip. She'd been nothing but angelically patient with him for the last several weeks, but she had been achingly horny for him almost every day.

"Something tells me you had another surprise in mind," she said.

In response, he pulled her against him and passionately kissed her, making his intentions crystal clear.

Her breath trembled when they paused again, and she resumed kissing him with vigor as she hastily began to unbutton his shirt. He liked her eagerness and smiled within the kiss.

Once unbuttoned, he removed his shirt and let it drop to the floor. He undid his belt and, out of habit, sat on the bed to remove his pants, leaving his boxers on for now. Ava took the opportunity to stand just in front of him, her knees straddling his, and seductively removed her top.

Charles ran his fingers up the back of her thigh and cupped her ass.

"Are you smirking at me?" she said, sarcastically defensive.

He let out a breathy chuckle. "Your enthusiasm is so damned sexy," he responded with bold eyes.

She raised her eyebrows as if to say is that so? and then, in one swift motion, removed his hand from her ass and placed it directly on her crotch so he could feel the dampness of her panties.

A little puff of surprise escaped his lips as his and he stared up at her for a moment, not knowing what to say, feeling himself throbbing in response. Charles was a slut in his own right, of course, but he'd never been with a woman as unabashed as Ava, who he also happened to be madly in love with. The combination was equally passionate and exhilarating.

"Well," he breathed and pulled her on top of him on the bed, kissing her again, both caressing each other.

Soon, their underwear was shed too, and both naked, Charles had moved on top of Ava as they continued making out.

She paused for a moment to look up at him, stroked his hair, and smiled, relishing the moment.

"I love you, Charles," she said.

"I love you, Ava," he said back, somewhat surprised.

"Ready?" she asked, mock-coyly.

"God, yes," he breathed.

Then, she shifted her position beneath him so she could spread her legs, her knees bent.

Charles took another breath and gently thrust into her, and his eyes instantly fluttered shut. The smooth, taught, slippery sensation of her surrounding him was like nothing he could've prepared himself for. He remembered how sex felt, of course, but he'd let himself forget how much he missed it. Being paralyzed, he'd had no choice but to accept that physical sexual pleasure was something he didn't need to lead a fulfilled life. But now, to have it again, and to feel it as intensely as ever, he thought he might die of ecstasy.

Barely thrusting, his breathing had become labored, his eyes tensely closed. Ava had let out a pleasurable moan with his first thrust, and now watched his face as he basked in the feeling of fucking her – finally. She placed her hands on his ass, encouraging him to thrust harder, which he did, eliciting rhythmic moans of pleasure from her, as he kissed her again. He wanted to say something, to whisper something, to tell her how amazing and mind-blowing it was, but he had no words. Every fiber of his being could do nothing but feel. And so, holding her close, he thrust and felt and breathed.

He became aware of Ava moving her hand between them, and subsequently heard her moans become more powerful, but had to open his eyes to realize that she had begun rubbing herself. She wasn't about to let this glorious sex go by without coming. Charles realized he was being a bit of a selfish lover by having neglected that part of her anatomy, but he was so consumed by his own pleasure, the thought barely registered. Plus, she clearly had it covered.

"Haaa-aaa," he let out in a shaky gasp a few minutes later, as he felt his orgasm approaching. "Oh, God…"

Ava had been intensely rubbing, and was also nearing climax.

"I don't want this to end," he said, looking into her eyes, semi-apologetic.

She smiled up at him.

"Don't think of it as the end," she said in a whisper. "Just enjoy it."

He kissed her again and began pumping faster, bring them both to a trembling climax.

Afterward, they lied in each other's arms, panting and sweaty. Since the moisture of their skin was making them stick together uncomfortably, Ava rolled off of him and onto her back on the mattress with a sigh of delight.

Charles rolled onto his side to look at her and she did the same, smiling when they were face-to-face. He brushed a few blond strands out of her face, looking thoughtful, and placed his hand on her cheek, clearly about to say something.

In that moment, she became afraid that he was going to say the wrong thing – something expressing gratitude. She didn't want to be lying next to a thankful, grateful person right now. Her entire adult life had been full of grateful people. What she wanted was to be lying next to her hot boyfriend, who fully understood that she loved sex as much as he did. But, what Ava wanted someone to say in an intimate moment was often somewhat disconnected with what they ended up saying. So, as she'd grown accustomed, she steeled herself against his next comment, ready to not be annoyed if he did express thanks.

"You are so beautiful," he said earnestly.

She blinked in surprise and relief, touched and almost wondering if he'd read her mind.

"I thought so from the first time I saw you," he said, still stroking her hair. "Gorgeous."

She smiled and thought about the first time she had met Charles, when she had seen him watching her from across the cellar. His big, blue puppy dog eyes had won her over almost instantly. Of course, she had been preoccupied at the time.

"You're not so bad, yourself," she said with a little smirk and kissed him.

The next day, over at Azazel's mansion, Raven was getting her hump on as well. In the midst of her moaning, she paused to look at her arms draped around his shoulders, their heaving chests nearly touching, their legs intertwined. Something about the contrast of her dark blue skin against his bright red skin got her off even more.

She'd been visiting Azazel's bedroom more often in the last few weeks. There was something about sex with him that consistently felt new and exciting and daring, especially since he wasn't usually one for long or deep conversations. He was perfectly ripped and amazingly skilled, too, which didn't hurt.

And since Erik didn't even seem to bat an eye when she slept with Azazel, she couldn't see any reason not to enjoy herself now that she wasn't pregnant anymore.

After their romp in the sheets, she crossed through the bathroom of the enormous master suite to remove a still-sleeping Kurt from his crib in the adjoining unoccupied bedroom.

Out in the hallway, Erik was just entering his own room when he saw Raven start to emerge from Azazel's. He paused to watch for a moment and saw her leaving with Kurt in her arms, then stalled when Azazel grabbed her arm and embraced her for a final passionate kiss. Erik couldn't help but notice how much they looked like a family. Of course, biologically, that's what they were. But there, standing in the doorway all three together, something seemed very warm and fuzzy about them. In that moment, Erik felt a little pang of…jealousy? What was it? Maybe part of it was jealousy, but the main thing Erik felt was fear – fear of losing Raven, coupled with an underlying thought that she might be better off with Azazel anyway. He sighed and pushed it away, continuing into his room.

Raven came in a few seconds later, as he had suspected. She looked happy.

"You don't have to take him with you," Erik said, regarding Kurt. "I wouldn't mind if you left him here with me."

"Oh?" she said, a little caught off guard by the comment. "It's alright. I think Azazel likes to see him more than he admits."

She placed Kurt in the crib next to her side of their bed.

"Right," he muttered, and then held out an envelope to her. "You got mail today."

"Oh," she said, taking it. "This is from Charles," she said in confusion and surprise as she read the front.

She tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter inside. It carried the news of Charles's recovery, his progress in re-learning to walk, and explained how Ava had healed him and had been there every step of the way.

Erik watched Raven read the letter and saw her expression become increasingly disbelieving, until she was cupping her mouth with her hand, her eyes were tearing up, and she'd had to sit on the bed to finish reading.

"Bad news?"he said softly.

She shook her head slightly, her focus still on the paper.

"Oh, my god!" she said when she had finished, and stared at it for a few seconds longer.

She wordlessly handed it to him, still staring at it as if to confirm that it really existed. He curiously took the paper and quickly started reading, raising his eyebrows as he got to the important points.

"Well, that's good news," he said, and Raven though there might've been a hint of shakiness in his voice.

"Yeah," she said, nodding.

Erik re-folded the letter and placed it on his nightstand.

"I guess we'll never really stop owing Ava," he said.

Raven shook her head. "I can't believe it."

Later that night, Erik found himself alone in their bedroom. Again. Raven was gone, and the crib was empty. He sighed. This was the fourth night that week that Raven hadn't been around at "bedtime." Not that they had an official bedtime, but midnight was usually when the house became pretty dormant. He couldn't help but think about what he had said to her when he'd first proposed the idea of an open relationship – that he wouldn't mind who she slept with, as long as she came back to their bed eventually. She did usually come back eventually, though it would be in the wee hours of the morning when he had already dozed off. A few nights before, she had failed to return until morning, when she casually apologized and, with a shrug, said she accidentally fell asleep and slept in.

He wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand, he really didn't mind if Raven wanted to have sex with Azazel. On the other, he couldn't shake the suspicion that it was becoming more than sex – for Raven at least, if not both of them. And there'd been another condition to their arrangement: if, at any point, one of them became uncomfortable with the relationship being open, they would immediately close it indefinitely. But was "uncomfortable" really the word for what he was feeling? He thought it sounded pretty accurate.

He sighed again. He knew it was true. Raven spending so much time with Azazel – the father of her child – was making Erik feel insecure about the relationship. Every time he found his room empty at night, some kind of prick of negative emotions hit him in the stomach. And this time, that prick was starting to swell. He poured himself a scotch. The kid; there was another reason he couldn't figure out how he felt or what to do. With Kurt in the picture, he felt almost selfish for wishing she'd see Azazel less – there it was. He had admitted it to himself; he wanted her to see Azazel less frequently. But he had a gnawing feeling that she wouldn't respond well to that request, because, deep down, he also suspected that he'd already lost her. It figured as much, or so he thought, because anyone who loved Erik Lensherr was bound to either get over it or disappear, right?

He rubbed his temples, then sipped his scotch in the dark for a while before turning on his lamp to read. He decided to be awake this time when she got back.

A few hours later, when Raven quietly entered Erik's bedroom, she was surprised to see his lamp on, but was still smiling over her time with Azazel. She was cradling Kurt, whose ability to sleep through the night was turning out to be a god-send, and was in a happy state of self-reflection about her current place in life when she realized that something about Erik being up and reading at this time made her uneasy. As she set Kurt in his crib, she looked over Erik and pushed the thought away, noting that he seemed calm and normal.

"Couldn't sleep?" she said, scooting onto the bed next to him.

He set his newspaper on his nightstand.

"Actually, I waited for you," he said, looking at her.

She blinked and her uneasy feeling instantly returned.

"Oh," she said.

"Starting to seem like you don't live in here anymore," he said.

She became instantly concerned, a flicker of worry passing over her eyes.

"Do you think it's too much? Am I…with him too much?" she asked, trying to ascertain his mood regarding the subject.

"Tell me what you think," he said, his voice unangry but firm.

"I…don't know," she said nervously. "I didn't think I was doing something wrong…"

He sighed again, seeing that he wasn't going to get anything out of her by being vague. He decided to go straight for the punch, in his typical style.

"Raven, the thing is," he shook his head a bit and looked down, gathering his words. "If you're thinking you want to pursue a relationship with him, there's no need to drag it out. Tell me now." He looked up at her. "Rip the bandage off."

The last bit sounded a bit more pathetic out loud than it had in his head, but he maintained a straight face. Besides, it was the truth.

"Erik," Raven said, shocked and hurt. "Are you saying you think I'm…leaving you for him?"

"Is that so ridiculous?"

"Erik!" Raven said again, leaned forward, and flung her arms around him.

She tightly hugged him for a few moments, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said, then pulled back to look at him. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I know," he said, still unsure whether her hugging him meant that he was right or wrong.

"I'll stop seeing him," she said, touching his cheek and answering his question.

"I wasn't going to ask you to stop," he responded with a slight head shake.

"You don't have to," she said, still looking concerned, and kissed him.

"Did you really think you were losing me?" she asked afterward.

He studied her face for a moment and then gave an ironic little smirk.

"I thought I'd lost you," he said softly.

She hugged him again and cuddled up into his arms.

"I'm so sorry, Erik," she whispered, her cheek pressed to his chest.

He kissed her head.

"You don't need to apologize," he said softly.

"I love you so much," she said, continuing as if she hadn't heard him. "I'm yours."

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him, and they drifted to sleep in each other's arms.

Raven awoke to sunlight pouring over her face from the window, where she could tell from droplets on the glass that it had been raining. She basked in the happy feeling that was lying on Erik's chest in the pretty light of morning, and then shifted carefully to look up at him. He was still asleep. She smiled at his face, feeling awful for how she had inadvertently treated him, but glad and relieved that he had said something. Easing off of him slowly so she wouldn't awaken him, she slipped out of bed and into the shower.

When she came out later wrapped in a towel, he immediately embraced her and kissed her head, then headed into the bathroom. She found that he had cracked the window open to let the fresh post-rain air in, and dropped her towel to let herself finish drying in the sunlight. He reappeared a few moments later and wrapped his arms around her from behind, as he often did, kissing her neck. Then, Kurt cried and they were back to reality.

Ava awoke that morning and noticed a bright spot of color on the nightstand. After blinking a few times and focusing, she realized it was a gorgeous yellow flower propped up in a slender vase. She smiled, and looked over at Charles, only to realize he wasn't there and the bathroom door was closed. It was her second night of sleeping in his room, and she found the gesture incredibly romantic. She looked back at the flower and noticed something strange about it: the petals seemed more orange than yellow upon closer inspection. She leaned forward, studying it closely, and discovered that they were slowly shifting from yellow to pink. She watched it with fascination, and as the transformation finished, the previously sunny flower was now a bright, almost neon, pink. She looked at it skeptically, wondering if she was dreaming, and reached for it. Just then, the flower slowly floated out of the little vase and up into the air, where it silently exploded into a shower of beautiful sparkles. She smiled at the sight as the sparkles vanished, recognizing the illusion for what it was, and looked back down at the nightstand, where she realized there had never been a vase at all.

"Good morning," Charles said as he came out of the bathroom, as if on cue.

She gave him a knowing little smirk, though her eyes gave away how touched she was by the gesture. Rising from the bed, she moved over to him and slid her arms around his waist.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"You liked your flower?"

"It was so beautiful," she said, and kissed his cheek.

"Well, if you're that impressed, I'll have to be sure to get you real ones, soon."

She smiled and hugged him, and despite her better efforts, felt tears rise in the corners of her eyes. Ava was always deeply touched by thoughtful gifts, and the way this one had melted her served to reaffirm how completely smitten she was with Charles. And, as she took a moment to appreciate the feeling of loving someone with every fiber of her being, the tears came, but weren't heavy enough to drip out.

Charles realized that this was a very intimate hug over something as silly as a flower illusion, but he didn't care. He held Ava tightly and rubbed her back, still in ecstatic romantic disbelief that they were together.

Later that day, Charles was heading down the hall, now able to go most of his day with no walker, when he heard a sudden metallic crash come from Hank's lab, followed by a pained shriek, and by Hank apologizing in a panic. Knowing Ava had been helping Hank that day, Charles became alarmed and hurried down the hall to the lab. He hadn't mastered running yet, but there was nothing like fear to get his feet moving.

Upon opening the door, he saw Ava on the floor with Hank at her side, surrounded by metal utensils.

"What happened here—" he started but stopped short, realizing that Ava was grasping and removing a small, sharp knife from her abdomen below her ribcage. She winced as she carefully pulled it out.

"Oh, god, Ava," he said, and immediately crouched by her side, where he became aware that the floor was wet and slippery, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Ava let the bloody knife fall to the floor and closed her eyes as her healing energy repaired the wound. Fully healed, she opened her eyes again and let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright?" Charles said, genuinely concerned.

"Yes, Charles, I'm fine," she said politely but in a tone that made it seem like a stupid question, and he helped her stand.

"But that hit a major organ," she said firmly to Hank. "It's a good thing that was me and not someone else."

"I know, I'm so, so sorry. I forgot that the floor had just been mopped; I would've warned you not to walk through there."

"Carrying a box of sharp objects, no less," Ava said with a tinge of sarcasm.

Charles scowled at Hank for a moment, and then noticed that Ava had bent down to begin picking up the dropped utensils.

"Ava, no, just leave it," Charles suggested.

"It's alright," she said, adding with a sigh, "it's dangerous, so I should do it."

Then, she looked up at him.

"You should get off of this slippery floor," she scolded sweetly.

Charles glared at Hank again with a sigh. "Please be more careful," he said, turning to leave.

"Wait," said Hank, and Charles turned back. "Actually, since you're here, I should let you know that I'm leaving later today. A colleague of mine says there's been some kind of an emergency at another mutant research lab down in Florida. Some kind of security breech. They need all the help they can get, so I said I'd be there."

"What mutant research lab? I wasn't aware of another one," Charles said. "And what kind of security breech are they talking about?"

"Honestly, that's all I know. The whole place was top-secret until now. I'm not even sure if they're government owned or independent. I won't know more until I arrive."

"Hmm, I'm not sure I like the sound of that. I think I should go with you."

"Oh, uh, actually, you're not…invited."

Charles raised his eyebrows in amused surprise.

"They mentioned you by name, said they were familiar with your research, and they didn't want to tear you away from your work," Hank explained.

Charles scoffed.

"Right. They don't want a telepath snooping around is what they meant."

"I had considered that."

"Well, the whole thing sounds a bit seedy, Hank. I'll see if I can find out anything else via Cerebro."

"That would be great."

Charles gathered what he could from Cerebro, and saw that the facility was indeed in a state of chaos, but he couldn't figure out much else because there were some kinds of blocks in place for all the important employees. So, with a word of caution, he sent Hank on his way and instructed him to report back.

A few days later, when he'd heard nothing from Hank, he was growing concerned. He used Cerebro again and, through the eyes of an unassuming caged animal, was able to witness a glimpse of what was happening to Hank, and saw him in handcuffs. So much for having "friends" there. Charles knew a rescue mission was in order, but he was unsure where to begin.

"What's wrong?" Ava said to Charles when he found her in their bedroom that evening.

"Hank needs our help. I have reason to believe he's being held against his will at that research facility."

"Oh, no…"

"The thing is, I can't work out how I'm going to get into that compound without…"

Ava looked curious.

"…asking Erik and Raven to help."

"So, ask them!" she responded happily.

Charles sighed.

"Yeah, I'm thinking I'll have no other choice, but I'm afraid of what Erik's going to do to that place when we discover what they're actually doing. I have the suspicion it's not going to sit well with any of us."

"All the more reason to rescue Hank and any others as soon as possible. I have to say, Charles, I've been subjected to both forced experimentation and torture – at different times – and either way, there's not much time to be indecisive."

"You're right," he said solemnly. "I'll call them immediately."

"Charles," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from walking away. "I'm going with you, too. Not negotiable."

"Of course," he said. "There will probably be lots of people there who will need your help."

"What have you done to me?" she said softly, with something like a sad smile, her eyes focused intently on his face.

Charles looked confused.

"I was only thinking of you," she explained.

He let out a blissful sigh and was unable to resist kissing and embracing her. As he did, he noticed that the roses he had given her a few days before were now starting to wither.

"Those are looking a bit sad," he said.

"Oh, I know," she said, glancing at them. "It just makes me so sad to throw them out."

"I guess you can't heal plants?" he said as a half-joke.

"No," she said with a little smile. "I can't heal something that doesn't have a pulse."

Later that night at Azazel's mansion, Raven was heading down to the kitchen for some pre-bedtime milk and was surprised to see Azazel already there. Her stomach dropped. She had been kind of avoiding him since things had changed, and though she felt hugely guilty about not explaining herself, she just didn't know what to say.

"Haven't seen you in a while," he said casually.

"I know," she said guiltily, "I'm sorry, I should've explained. It's just that things with Erik—"

He had been approaching her as she spoke and now put a finger over her lips.

"You don't owe me an explanation, Mystique… What is it?" he asked, shocked to see a small tear drip down her cheek, which he brushed away.

"I miss you," she said softly, having realized that all that bullshit about not knowing what to say was really a guise for the fact that standing next to him and hearing his ridiculously hot accent was killing her.

"Well, know that you're always welcome," he said, and kissed her cheek, then disappeared.

Raven sadly looked down, then took a deep breath, reminding herself that being with Azazel wasn't worth hurting Erik, and tried to take comfort in the fact that she had chosen to give it up for him. She turned toward the fridge, but then caught a figure in the corner of her eye, and looked over to see Erik in the threshold.

"Oh," she said, realizing he must've been eavesdropping from the hall. "I guess you heard all that."

He wordlessly approached her and pulled her into a hug.

"Why don't you go see him tonight?" he said, looking down at her.

She pulled back to look at his face in shock, shaking her head.

"Erik, no, I—"

"I appreciate what you did for me," he said, "but I want you to be happy."

She didn't respond, instead looking down, indecisive and concerned.

"You miss him," Erik continued. "He means something to you. There's no crime in that."

She looked up at him and studied his face for a moment through rosy eyelids.

"I'd rather be with you tonight," she said, and kissed him, genuinely touched by his selfless gesture.

After Raven had promised to stop seeing Azazel, it took a while for her and Erik to get back to feeling totally normal together sex-wise. The conversation that revealed to Raven that Erik feared losing her had been one of the most passionate moments of their relationship, which gave everything that followed an air of importance that created an underlying tenseness.

Until that night. Their kiss in the kitchen became more heated when Erik backed her up against the fridge, and moreso when she boldly wrapped a leg around his waist. Then, when they took it to the bedroom, Raven scrambled to get Erik's robe and boxers off, which made him seductively grin, and what followed was one of the hottest nights of their lives. Something about Raven essentially admitting that she'd rather sleep with Erik than Azazel – which was true – had unleashed their passion for each other in a way that they didn't realize they'd been missing. When Erik ran his fingers up her torso, kissed her neck, and put his arm around her her – when Raven touched his face, rocked her hips, and breathed his name – everything had a fiery urgency to it as if they hadn't seen each other in months. And when Erik – thrusting and rubbing – brought her to climax, Raven could feel the orgasmic pulsations all the way down to her feet.

Just as they were finished, lying there next to each other panting and smiling, the phone rang.

"Who would be calling at this time?" she said, still smiling and facing him.

"No one important," he said, shrugging it off and kissing her.

Less than a minute later, it rang again.

"Somoene's persistent," he said, annoyed.

"I'll go get it," she said with a sigh, and started to get up when the ringing abruptly stopped.

Then, there came a knock at the door. Raven got up to answer it and found Azazel there.

"Sorry to interrupt. Charles wishes to speak with you," he said, extending his hand.

"Oh," she said in surprise, and looked over at Erik, who was still naked with the sheet draped over him. "Charles," she repeated to Erik, though he'd obviously heard. He nodded. She took Azazel's hand, and immediately appeared in the phone room, where he then disappeared to give her privacy.

When Raven returned to the bedroom, Erik could see from her expression that she had much to report.

"Should I be getting dressed?" he asked, feeling like he knew the answer.

She nodded.

"He needs our help."

After they had washed up and Erik/Magneto was dressed, Raven stood observing a sleeping Kurt for a few moments before scooping him into her arms. He let out only a slight whine of discomfort and then continued sleeping and drooling.

"You could probably leave him down with Angel or Emma," Erik suggested.

"No, I'm bringing him," she said reluctantly, knowing he'd hate the idea.

"What? Why? He'd be much safer here."

"Erik, I can't leave him," she said with pleading eyes. "Not after what happened to us here, when we thought we were safe."

She paused to look down at Kurt and adjusted the blanket around him.

"I'll feel much better if he's on the ship. He'll be safe with all of us," she said.

When Charles's ship (piloted by one of Charles's students who was the best flyer in Hank's absence) was above the house, Azazel teleported the four of them up to it. He glanced down at Kurt in Raven's arms, but didn't say anything about her bringing him.

Once on the ship, Raven and Erik had a happy reunion with Charles, both stunned and overjoyed to see him walking. He embraced Raven and touched Kurt's head. When Raven and Ava greeted each other, Raven went in for a friendly kiss, but Ava shifted her head so that Raven hit her cheek. She then smiled slyly at Raven, who caught on and laughed it off. She had forgotten that Ava and Charles were now a couple and that if she suddenly started making out with Ava it might not go over so well. Then, Raven opened one of the ship's small fold-up compartments, and situated Kurt in it on top of the cushion from his crib. On the flight there, Charles discussed his plan for infiltrating the compound, explaining that it was impossible for him to tell where Hank was being held.

Once there, though, the entire plan was scrapped. Charles had asked Raven to morph into him, believing she'd be apprehended immediately when they landed. In reality, though, their landing was barely noticed by the officials. The area surrounding the compound was in complete battle mode. Everywhere people were attempting to fight off some kind of modified animals. It didn't take long for them to realize what the organization's "top-secret research" had been: attempting to mutate the DNA of animals in a similar way to human mutants.

The mutant animals – strong and violent – took notice of the ship when it landed and began attacking it. Since that would've made exiting tricky, Azazel teleported them over to an elevator that lead down to the rest of the compound, with Kurt and the pilot remaining in the ship. Once inside, Charles found that he was able to use his telepathic abilities to locate Hank within the compound. Azazel immediately teleported them to Hank's location, where they found him strapped down to some kind of experimentation table. Ava healed him, but he was still sedated, so Erik and Azazel had to lift him up for Azazel to transport them back to the ship.

"We've got to do something to end this," Charles said when they were beginning to take off.

"It's their mess, Charles. Let them clean it up," Erik retorted.

"But what if those animals get loose? They're not doing a great job of containing them. And then what new impression of mutants will that give the world?"

"I'm sure they'll understand that it was all a horrible accident and not at all our fault," Erik said, mocking Charles's usual optimism.

Charles glared at him.

"You want me to turn that place into a pile of scraps? Say the word. Want to bomb this entire area until all that's left is dirt? Say the word," Erik said, mocking again. "What'll it be, professor?"

Charles didn't have time to respond again, though, because suddenly, the plane jolted sideways and threw everyone off balance.

"What's going on?" Charles shouted to the pilot.

"Something's wrong…I lost control of the right wing, and we're losing fuel! Those animals must have damaged the plane more than we thought!"

The next few moments were a blur for everyone on board. The plane was going down in the forest next to the compound; that became clear. And then, things got worse. Azazel tried to shift his view out the window at the same moment that the plane jerked forward, and ended up banging his head so hard that he passed out, giving the rest of them no way off the plane. Raven was immediately at his side, but couldn't shake him awake. Ava wanted to reach him, to heal him, but the motion of the plane was making it hard for her to stand up; the faulty right wing was making them spin in rapid descent. And when the plane crashed into the trees and finally the ground, everything went black.

Raven awoke first to find herself lying on the side of the plane, which was now the bottom. She forced herself to get up and look around. In the distance, she could hear the sounds of growls and gunfire. Looking ahead of her, she saw Charles unconscious, but then became aware of the sound of a baby crying and was immediately on her feet. Kurt was still tucked away in the other side of the plane, which meant she had to climb up to him. She found him scared but unharmed. By this time, Charles was awake too, and had become alarmed that Ava was nowhere in sight, and the back of the plane had been ripped off.

"Ava! Ava!" he said, getting to his feet and calling her, looking out of the front window and the hole in the back. He immediately left through the hole and went to search for her in the woods.

This made Raven acknowledge Erik's absence, and she immediately hid Kurt in another storage compartment, cursing herself for bringing him, and exited as well. Since Charles had turned left in the woods, she headed straight out, and her stomach sank when, just thirty feet away from the plane, she discovered Erik's helmet on the ground.

"Erik!" she called out to no response.

Charles was almost running now, calling Ava's name, not knowing what else to do. Suddenly, there came a response.

"Charles?" her voice said distantly.

His eyes darted around, searching for her, and he saw her emerging from a clump of bushes several yards to his right, and hurried up to her. Her flight suit was torn and stained with blood, and her boots were missing.

"Ava!" he said, throwing his arms around her. "Are you alright?"

"Charles, of course I am," she said. "Why did you come out here? It's not safe. You should've stayed with the ship."

He looked at her through rosy eyelids for a moment, and then gave a sad smile.

"What have you done to me?" he said softly, quoting her.

Ava sighed and kissed him, and healed him as they embraced. They both suddenly broke off the kiss, though, when there came the distant sound of Raven screaming.

"That was Raven," Ava said, wide-eyed.

"Oh, god, she must've found Erik," Charles said in realization, and the two of them hurried in that direction.

"Help!" Raven cried again. "Ava! Charles!"

"We're coming!" Charles called back.

"Keep talking!" Ava added.

"Over here!"

Soon, they spotted her. She was kneeling on the ground next to Erik, who was lying on the ground, unconscious, with blood leaking from his mouth. Raven had tears streaming down her face as she unsuccessfully tried to shake him awake.

"Erik, please," she was saying as she sobbed.

When Charles and Ava finally reached them, it also became apparent that the sounds of the battle were drawing closer to them. Charles watched as Ava ran over to Erik and kneeled, instantly healing both of her bleeding bare feet as she did. She grasped Erik's wrist and closed her eyes, but then reopened them with a look of panic.

"No!" she said to Erik as if scolding him, and moved up to his chest, where she began CPR.

"What are you doing? What's wrong?" Raven said in confusion.

"He's got to have a pulse," she said, pausing to hold his nose and blow air into his mouth, "he's got to have a pulse or I can't…I can't…"

Her voice broke. Her hands were violently shaking as she continued compressions. She paused to touch his neck, but then went right back to CPR.

"GODDAMNIT, ERIK," she shouted in a way that Raven and Charles had never heard her speak.

Her entire arms were shaking now, and her crying was making the respiration more difficult. The thought that she might not be able to save this person who meant so much to both Charles and Raven had wracked her body with fear and panic. She had the feeling that someone was sitting on her chest.

Raven had both hands cupped over her mouth, unable to think or speak or breathe.

Charles suddenly kneeled next to Ava and grasped her arms.

"NO!" she shouted defensively, thinking he was going to tell her to give up.

"Let me help," he said calmly, and began his own chest compressions, which were stronger than Ava's.

Ava backed off and grasped Erik's wrist, trying to calm her breathing and focus, with little success.

"Nothing?" Charles asked, looking back at her.

She could only shake her head no and blink more tears out of her eyes. She couldn't even look at Raven.

Charles decided to take more drastic measures. He began pounding on Erik's chest with his fist, quickly reasoning that Ava could heal any damage it might do.

"Come on, Erik!" he shouted, blowing air and pounding his chest again.

Suddenly, there it was: a tiny blip of a pulse ran beneath Ava's grasp, and in that instant, she was connected to him with her healing energy, but just as quickly, it was gone again.

"Charles! It's working!" she shouted in panicked disbelief.

He began pounding Erik's chest more rapidly.

"Come ON!" he shouted again.

Just as his fist landed on Erik's breastbone that time, Ava's eyes widened and Erik began to glow even before her eyes were shut. Raven collapsed onto him in relief as Ava silently healed him and Charles struggled to catch his breath.

As the healing ended, Erik slowly opened his eyes, and was mildly confused to see Raven crying as he did. He sat up, and she threw her arms around him. He looked over at Ava, who was dazed and soaked with tears, and then Charles, who looked relieved. The expression on Erik's face made it clear that he didn't quite grasp what had happened.

"We almost lost you," Raven said, looking at him.

He still looked mildly disoriented, but before he could respond, she kissed him.

Charles turned to Ava and put his arm around her, silently studying her face.

"All better," he whispered, as she often said when she finished a healing.

She looked up at him to say something, but no words came. It was the first time in a long time that someone else's help had made the difference in her ability to save someone.

All of them made the trek back to the crashed ship, where Ava rushed to Azazel's side and was relieved to find that she could easily heal his concussion. She re-healed Beast as well, though he was still sedated. Their young pilot was unconscious as well, but she was elated to find that he still had a pulse, and healed him immediately.

As they had gathered inside the ship, Raven had opened the compartment where she'd placed Kurt to find…a blanket. She blinked, unable to comprehend that he could possibly have left the ship. She glanced around, expecting to see someone else holding him, then back at the blanket, and then the panic set in.

Just then, a nearby explosion sent a rumble through the ground, shaking the ship.

"We've got to get out of here; they're getting close," Charles said.

"Kurt isn't here," Raven said in a shocked calm voice.

"What?" Erik said, not believing that he'd heard her right.

She shook her head.

"He's not here," she glanced back at the compartment, "I left him here, I thought he'd be fine, I don't know what happened…I can't…I have to find him!"

She started to leave the ship, but there was a whistling sound followed by another, closer explosion. She tried not to let it slow her down, still heading for the opening. Erik stepped into her way.

"Erik! Let me go!"

"Raven," Charles began sympathetically, "they mean to flatten this place. You can't go out there."

His tone, his expression, his absoluteness, all of them filled her with rage. She pushed passed Erik, who then bent one of the loose bars of the ship around to hold her against the wall.

"No! NO!" she yelled, struggling to no avail, as the bar conformed to her shape.

Ava looked on teary-eyed, her heart breaking for her. Azazel was still overcoming some disorientation, but now stood up to take in the exchange.

"Erik!" Raven yelled. "If you don't let me go, I will NEVER forgive you."

Her panicked gaze was intense and unrelenting.

He sadly swallowed. He knew the pain he had seen on his own mother's face when she had been torn from him. But if someone could've saved her at his expense, he would have let them. And he would stop at nothing to save Raven's life, no matter what the cost.

"Do you HEAR me? You'll lose me, Erik!"

"Then that's something I'll have to live with," he said softly.

Raven's eyes widened momentarily, as if she hadn't considered that her argument lacked enough persuasion.

"NOO!" she cried again, closing her eyes and struggling against the bar. "No, don't make me leave him!"

Suddenly, Azazel's hand was on her shoulder. Seeing him, she recoiled from his touch, thinking he might be ready to teleport her away.

"No!" she yelled at him, too.

"Mystique," he said calmly. "I will get him."

Suddenly her eyes were full of hope and relief.

"You can do that?" she asked.

He turned to Charles.

"Can you locate him?"

Charles blinked, and wondered why it hadn't yet occurred to him to do so. He blamed his preoccupation with Ava's safety.

"I can try," he said, and closed his eyes.

Raven watched anxiously, and the bar around her suddenly let go, causing her to lose her balance.

"A little warning?" she said, glaring angrily at Erik.

"I see him!" Charles said suddenly, opening his eyes. "Someone is carrying him…"

"Oh, god," said Raven.

"…they're about half a mile from here, heading northeast."

Azazel nodded and disappeared.

Raven sighed and rubbed her face, ready to anxiously wait, but in under three seconds, he was back with Kurt in his arms.

"Oh, my god!" she exclaimed, taking Kurt into her arms.

After Kurt was safely passed on, Azazel collapsed to the floor. Apparently three seconds had been long enough for him to get shot in the back.

"Erik!" Raven called, kneeling to touch Azazel's shoulder, seeing the wound.

Erik immediately withdrew the bullet, and Ava was already at their side, ready to do her part. Raven looked down at Kurt in her arms and hugged him, kissing his forehead, relieved that he was back and safe.

Azazel simply nodded at Ava, who smiled her signature smile, and they both stood. Raven touched his face.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"He is my son, too," he simply replied.

She leaned up and kissed him, letting her hand slide around to the back of his neck.

Finding that sight a bit uncomfortable, Charles couldn't help but glance over at Erik, who was silently looking at the floor.

When their kiss ended, Azazel wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Now that he's felt a teleportation, he may begin to do it on his own. You will need my help when he does," he said.

She nodded. "Okay."

Azazel put his hand on her shoulder and turned to face the others, who then began to form an incomplete circle. Ava put her arm around Raven from the other side and smiled at her. Charles was next to Ava, then the pilot, then Beast, then Erik. Azazel took them back to Charles's mansion, and then returned home with Raven, Erik, and Kurt.

Later that night, with Kurt fast asleep, Raven was looking for Erik, but found their bedroom empty. After roaming the halls for a bit, she found him standing outside on one of the balconies, smoking and shirtless. When she leaned against the railing next to him, he noticed her.

"Where's Kurt?" he asked, looking her over.

"Asleep," she said happily.

Then, to his surprise, she stepped forward and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, Erik," she said softly.

He blinked and returned the hug. "I thought I'd be the one saying that."

"No," she said looking up at him. "I know you were saving my life. I…didn't mean what I said."

"Yes, you did," he said with a light tone of confusion.

She shook her head. "I was scared…confused. I couldn't think…"

"I know," he said sincerely.

"I love you," she said, looking up at him.

He touched her cheek, studying her face, still surprised at her mood. She embraced him again, pressing her cheek to his chest and was silent for a while.

"I love you so much, Erik," she said after a few minutes, and her voice revealed that she was crying.

Right, I almost died, he thought. From his point of view, it had been more like he blacked out for a while and then woke up to crying people. He wrapped his arms around her and held her.

"I can't lose you," she said after a few minutes.

He kissed her head. She responded by leaning back to kiss his lips, and her passion grew as she caressed his neck and head, then kissed his neck, surprising him again. He moved so that she was between him and the railing, and cradling her body, kissed her lips again.

They paused to look at each other in the moonlight. She ran her hands through his hair. He caressed her lower back. Both of them wondered just how far this was going, and both immediately knew the answer.

Raven could feel his arousal, quite obviously pressing into her pelvis next to her hip. He could've bruised her, had he pressed harder. Bracing herself on his shoulders, she hoisted herself up onto the thick concrete railing, which was cold against her naked ass. She wrapped her legs around his waist, showing him just how possible the position was, and pulled him closer to her. They kissed again. She ached for him. She reached down for his belt and began to undo it. He had to break out of the kiss, surprised at her bold intentions. Sure, they both knew they were about to fuck on the balcony, but now it was official.

He dropped his pants just enough for comfortable freedom while still mostly concealing his ass from behind. She put her hands on his hips and made eye-contact while guiding him in. His eyes fluttered shut when he first felt her, and he let out sharp gasps as he pushed the rest of the way. She again wrapped her legs around him and held him close to her, holding onto him to prevent herself from falling off the railing, feeling the rhythmic motion of his hips and all that came with it.

It wasn't the most comfortable position for her, and she doubted she would orgasm, but she didn't care. She felt some kind of peaceful contentedness wash over her that, at first, she couldn't describe. There was some word or phrase that would capture what she was feeling, but it wouldn't come to her.

She opened her eyes, and before her was the cool, dark patio coated in moonlight, and so silent, save for their heated breathing. They locked eyes, and she again noticed the way the moon's ethereal glow casted shadows on his face, and took in how the scales on her arms were casting their own shadows…and she kissed him again. She knew the word.

Thanks to Ava, the word came to her: healing. Everything she felt in that moment could be summarized with "healing." She felt so alive, so full, so happy. Even as the railing stole her body heat and a crisp breeze made her shiver against him, she felt whole.