If Ever I Stray// Charles Xavier

I Love You.

"What the hell happened to him?" Logan demanded, turning to Hank after Jack had left the room.

"After he lost Erik, Raven, I mean, his legs, we built the school, the labs, this whole place and just after the first semester the war in Vietnam got worse. Many of the teachers and older students were drafted, it broke him. He retreated into himself. I wanted to help, to do something, so I designed this serum to treat his spine derived from the same material that helps me control my mutation. I take just enough to keep myself balanced but... he takes too much." Hanks sighed. "I tried easing him back but he just couldn't bear the pain. The voices... The treatment gives him his legs but that's not enough... he's... he's just lost too much."

Jax walked silently down the hall. "Charles," she called softly. There was never any telling which room he'd hide himself in. There were dozens he could choose from. "Love..." She heard him grunting in one of the studies upstairs and followed the sound. Jax placed both hands on the door and slowly pushed it open. At the time, Charles was a very delicate man, she knew that. Anything could set him off and the amount of serum he injected into himself and his alcoholism didn't aid in that problem.

When she shut the door behind her, he looked up, the end of the belt wrapped around his arm held between his teeth. She looked on him with so much sadness he couldn't bear to keep her gaze and he dropped his head. Jax walked over to him and knelt in front of him, wrapping her fingers around the syringe with the yellow liquid. Charles let out a sob as tears dripped over his cheeks.

"Stop that." she said softly, reaching up to touch his face, to wipe away his tears like she always did. He felt terrible for putting her through that. He sniffled.

"I'm so sorry."

"Hey, it's alright, sweetheart. You're alright." she nodded. He touched her cheek.

"I love you." he sniffled.

"I love you too, Charles." she guided his hand to the end of the belt again and he pulled it tight. His hands were shaking as held out his arm for her. She kissed his vain before she gently poked the needle into it and released the serum into his body. His head fell back and he moaned, lying still in the chair as Jax put the needle away and slid the belt off his arms. "Charles," she tapped his cheek. "Charles, look at me." Jax gripped his face in her hands and held up his head as he came down off the short high and began functioning normally again. "We have to help him."

"No we don't."

"Yes." she stated. "We do."

"I'll help you get her." Charles interrupted the silence downstairs when he stood in the door of the common area. "Not for any of your future shit, but for her." Charles glanced down at Jax, who was holding onto his arm.

"Fair enough." Logan sighed.

"But I'll tell you this, you don't know Erik. That man is a monster, a murderer. You think you can convince Raven to change, to come home? That's splendid. But what makes you think you can change him?"

"Because you and Erik sent me back here together."