Memories

Chapter Ten

Charles had reached out to the mind standing behind the door to see if they were a threat, but he found that it was the mutant he and Erik had tried to recruit that had cursed at them. Erik hadn't known it, but Charles had mentally reached out to him during their encounter and had seen his emotional anguish. He'd explained to the mutant, Logan, that he was a telepath and if he ever needed help, to find Charles. Apparently, Logan needed him now.

Charles calmed his children, telling them he knew the man visiting them now and went to the door. Just as Charles knew, Logan stood behind the door, looking just as rough-around-the-edges as he had when they'd first met.

Logan looked surprised when he saw Charles in a wheelchair- he'd had no reason to suspect that when the next time he would see the telepath, Charles would be confined to a wheelchair. "Chuck," Logan greeted, not saying anything about the wheelchair.

"Logan, it's good to see you. Why don't you come in?" Charles asked, backing away from the door to let Logan through the doorway. Logan's nostrils flared, sniffing out everyone who was in the house to check for a threat. When he was satisfied that there was no danger, he stepped into the large house.

"Where's your friend? I can't smell him," Logan said, most likely talking about Erik. Charles's jaw tightened at the thought of his rival. "Erik is no longer with us," Charles said finally, rolling toward the kitchen. Alex, Sean, and Hank had now all grabbed a cookie for themselves, singing their praises to the five-year-olds and Ororo. Wanda and Pietro were grinning with pride. The oddest feeling of familiarity hit Charles, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"I'm sorry for that, Chuck," Logan said, only slightly apologetic. Logan had no inkling of how much Erik truly meant to Charles. At the deep, gruff voice, the children were silenced, cowering behind the three oldest boys- Alex, Sean, and Hank- and Ororo. "You've been busy, haven't you, Chuck?" Logan chuckled at the sight of all the children in kitchen.

"Well, yes. You've got to start somewhere when starting a school for gifted youngsters," Charles replied, smiling slightly at all of his students. After Christmas, he'd start their schooling. Kitty and the twins wouldn't be starting their classes yet, but they might play some math games or learn the alphabet. Never too early to start reading, as Charles always said.

"Well, I'm here because I need a place to stay. It's hard to get a job these days." Logan sighed as Rogue came out from behind the older boys. The other children followed suit, finding their own courage as well.

"Well, I can offer you a job and lodging. Why don't you teach the children? I'm trying to start a school, and I've found myself in need of teachers. I have a feeling you'd be great at teaching history, especially since it is your favorite subject," Charles offered slyly.

"Chuck, are you sure that's such a good idea?" Logan asked, anxiety creeping into his voice without his realization. "I'm sure, Logan," Charles replied, and Logan sighed in resignation. Charles smiled triumphantly.

"Now that that's settled, who wants to get a tree?" Charles asked, and the three smallest children squealed in glee. Bobby cheered with excitement with them, and Marie shook her head at Bobby's behavior. Scott smirked with amusement, Jean giggled at the children, and Ororo smiled happily. Hank, Sean, and Alex all high-fived and cheered with excitement.

Charles smiled, pleased with himself for making the children happy. They'd been through a lot in their short lives- mainly at the hands of that horrible foster mother of theirs- and it was Charles's goal to make up for that. Charles knew that Jean, in her sleep, had lessened the other children's pain from the memories, but Charles didn't see a problem with that. The children were better without the pain; unfortunately, Jean's powers hadn't seemed to help Marie's antisocial behavior.

"I could help with that," Logan said, and Charles smiled at him with gratitude. The kids cheered again, and Charles led them out behind the mansion. It hadn't gotten cold enough quite yet to snow, but it was cold enough for the Professor to see his own breath on the air.

He led them down a path leading from his back patio to a dense grove of evergreens. They were in all different shapes and sizes- some were well over ten feet, maybe even to twenty feet. Some were under five feet tall, some were slender, and some were thick. There were small trees about the size of the twins, even.

Charles's family picked out a tree standing about ten-feet-tall, and the twins and Kitty decided on taking home a sort of Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It was about the twins' height, coming in at about three and half feet tall, and was very thin. It also had a distinct lean.

They left Logan, Alex, Hank, and Sean to cutting down the Christmas tree and baby Christmas tree, and Charles sent the children to take down the decorations from the attic. Jean, Scott, and Ororo took up that job, Charles telling them exactly where the lightest boxes were. He'd have the older boys get down the heaviest boxes with Logan later.

Lastly, as the three took down the boxes, Charles and the youngest children began decorating the house. Kitty and the twins ran around covering everything with tinsel, and Bobby and Marie began setting out decorative, flameless candles. Charles marveled at their childish wonder and glee, then began directing Logan and the boys on where to put the tree.

Once it was placed, he had Hank put the tree skirt under it. Sean went to go ask the three youngest children where they would like their tree as Logan, Hank, and Alex went to go carry heavy boxes downstairs. Charles was merely directing the madness as his family descended into Christmas chaos.

After a while, the three youngest came back into the living room and stared up at the tree with awe. Ororo set a box of ornaments next to Charles, and he smiled to her with thanks. Once the whole family had convened in the living room, all of the boxes now downstairs, Charles began the family tradition of decorating the tree together.

As they decorated the Christmas tree- Charles silently reliving some fond memories or unsavory memories with the ornaments- Charles noticed Marie's outcast behavior even as a smile played on her lips. When it came time to put the angel on the Christmas tree, Charles offered the honor to Marie.

"Uh, sure, Professor," She replied nervously, nibbling on her lip. When she noticed Kitty pouting, she kneeled down to her level. "Wanna help?" Rogue asked her with a smile. Kitty nodded with excitement, and Marie giggled. Marie took Kitty in her arms and put her on her shoulders, but they still weren't tall enough.

"Hold on, kiddos," Logan said, suddenly picking Rogue up. Marie clutched Kitty tighter, afraid of dropping the slightly chubby three-year-old, but she didn't. Kitty giggled as she went higher into the air, and when she could finally reach the top, she placed the angel on top of the tree with a big smile on her face.

The family cheered, and ever Marie giggled slightly. Logan placed the two girls down, and Rogue placed Kitty gently on the ground, Rogue's legs still a bit wobbly from the small bit of adrenaline that had gone through her when she'd been hoisted up.

The decorating now done- Charles already planning on buying more stockings- the make-shift family went into the kitchen to eat more of the delicious cookies. As Charles ate the twins' cookies, he still couldn't shake the feeling that the twins looked somehow familiar. Charles could almost swear to you that he'd seen that bold chin, the sharp jawline, and those defined cheekbones before. Even the determined gleam in their eyes was familiar to him, but he just couldn't place it.

Perhaps because their father was far from the innocence of a child.