Honestly, Moira could easily admit that while she traipsed through the white, blinding clinical corridors, that the last thing she imagined seeing when finally finding Liesel's room, was the woman in question sitting up in bed. It wasn't this that caused a moments pause in the doorway, rather the questioning examination she was sending in the small tub of jelly direction. It was like she had never seen something like it before. Noticing Moira in the doorway, Liesel put the tub down and placed her hands on the wheeled table in front of her.

She simply blinked and looked to the female agent. "Are you now acting as a door stop?" Liesel asked with a light frown. Moira still hadn't moved, and it was annoying. "Is that a promotion or demotion?" 

With a shake of her head Moira finally moved into the room, she shut the door behind herself and walked over to the bed. All the time Liesel watched her simply. Tilting her head she looked at the bag in Moira's hand before leaning awkwardly back against the pillows behind her. "How're you feeling?" Moira asked, deciding to ignore Liesel's earlier words.

"Are you personally asking, or is Charles, or is Erik, or is it all of you?"

"Must you answer my question with one of your own? Can't you just simply answer this one time?"

"What? Why would I do that? Can't ask for miracles." Moira rolled her eyes as Liesel smiled contently. She even gave a little fidget against the pillows, only to wince. "I have been better. But I have been worse."

"Yeah, well, from the chat I had with your doctor, you're actually very lucky." Moira said while finally moving to the seat by the bed. She sat down and placed the bag by her feet. Entwining her hands she leaned forwards and looked to the woman in front of her. Liesel turned her head awkwardly, even that seemed to bring a small level of discomfort to her. Moira nodded slowly, she had passed her doctor in the corridor as she neared the nurse's station. "From the impact you are lucky not to have internal bleeding."

"At the price of three busted ribs." Liesel tried to sound optimistic with a wry grin, just from the bruising and cuts, she didn't feel all too lucky with what was considered 'lucky.'

"Well, yeah, there is that." Moira said awkwardly. "How's the rest?"

"Hm, well," Liesel said while holding her hands up. "When hitting counters, or rather pulling myself to stand, I may have been ignorant to the fact that glass shatters and spreads." Her hands and fingers were bandaged to a point. Not all of her fingers were, some were free which just made the bandage gloves look even odder. Reaching down she lifted up the hospital shirt she was wearing, she was sporting bandages around her midsection. Turning awkwardly on the bed she managed to show off the dressings and bandages on her back too. "You know, it could've been a lot worse." Liesel smiled, Moira gave her the look of how? By the looks of things Moira believed this to be the maximum of worse. Liesel sighed and placed her hands in her lap, "How is everyone?"

"They're all doing good."

Liesel looked unconvinced. "And?"

"Truthfully? Everyone is keeping to themselves."

Liesel frowned gently in thought. "You sound surprised."

"You're not, it seems." As if that was a shocker.

Smiling lightly Liesel nodded slowly. "When faced with something dangerous, it stands to reason to hide away. You are safe with yourself, and you don't have to watch out for others. Problem is, you'll dwell on your own mortality. And that is never a good thing."

"Speaking from experience?" Moira asked tentatively.

Liesel smiled thinly. "Sort of." Looking at the female agent for a few seconds, her eyes fitted downwards. "What's in the bag?"

"A present," Moira smiled and picked the bag up before putting it on the bed by Liesel's side. She reached out and pulled the bag open, peering in she raised an eyebrow at the sight of items of clothing. Looking back to Moira, she simply looked at her waiting an explanation. "You don't have any clothes." She hated to state it so bluntly, but there wasn't exactly any other way of saying it. "Everything you'll need is there." Moira said sounding a little awkward. Truthfully, she never had to exactly buy underwear and such for someone else. It was a little strange feeling. Shrugging though she flicked her wrist to look at her watch. "Well, I better get back. Tell them all you're doing fine, and that you'll be discharged in a days' time."

"Ah, you got told more than I did."

"The better points of being an agent." Moira stood and brushed herself down.

"Throwing your weight about for answers, hm? Why thank you." After all she hadn't been told when they planned to let her out.

"If I didn't ask, then I wouldn't be able to relay the information back, would I? Can you imagine the reaction if I didn't tell every last scrap of this meeting?" Moira frowned and looked mock serious for a moment before Liesel smiled and nodded.

She understood completely what she meant. "I take it I shall see you again when I am to be free of this place?" Liesel asked sounding somewhat hopeful. More for the freedom really, this place was annoying.

"Yes, until then... just..."

"Stay here, relax and enjoy the food?" Liesel smiled and watched as Moira moved towards the door. She nodded slowly, bid her farewell and then walked out; shutting the door behind herself and leaving Liesel on her own again.

----

It seemed in the passing of the first day, everyone had settled down enough to actually dare venturing out of their rooms. If that alone wasn't daring enough, conversations started getting bounced around the living room. In fact, upon walking down the main stairs and standing in the foyer, Charles looked about with a small ounce of confusion when he could distinctly hear laughter. When exploring and finding out the source, he leaned against the door frame merely looking at the small group getting along, at last! Without the need for drinking, unlike back at the base, or being forced to cooperate, which truthfully he thought would have to eventually happen, it was a good sight to see. 

As fine as this was, he couldn't help but notice how two were predominately missing. He would count three, but the way he saw it; Liesel had a good reason to be missing seeing as how she wasn't even here. Hank and Erik however, did not. The younger of the two had hidden himself away in a spacious room which was down a corridor off from the living room. He rarely seemed to come out even in the short space of time they'd been here. The other male just didn't seem to wish to be present at all really. Erik seemed hugely disinterested. Any enthusiasm he did slightly show, had gone. It didn't help hearing Moira's account of Liesel, and furthermore: her injuries. 

But she was coming here today. The hospital had phoned and said that she was more than ready to be discharged early. Charles and Moira had parted ways little less than half an hour ago, she left muttering, "Better not keep her waiting or else." Charles did see the point of her words, he sensed Liesel to be in possession of an impatient temperament when it suited her. 

With this in mind, he turned in the other direction of the laughter and made for one of many quiet study rooms. These weren't like the main one, in the sense that though there were many bookcases, the furniture within the room was less. A table and chairs in each was about the most furniture. There was one which had settees and a big fireplace, but that was the only one which could somewhat upstage the main study. He walked lightly towards the one tucked down and away from the staircase, even through the gap between the door and the frame he could see who he was looking for. 

"I get the feeling you've adopted this as your second room, you seem to like it as much as the other." He said while pushing the door open slowly and peeking around it. 

"It's usually quiet." Erik stated, "Unless company decides to appear."

Charles pointed a finger at him. "My house, remember?"

Erik smiled and placed the book in his hands to one side. "What happened to our?" He merely asked while watching Charles ponder over this before shooting him a look. He got him there, without a decent counter Charles decided to sit in the chair opposite. "What brings you here then? Everyone making too much of a racket for you?" Even from here he could hear the distant social gathering. 

"Well I did notice how neither you or Hank were present."

"So I take it he's had a visit too? No? Just lucky me then, hm?" Erik rolled his eyes. Honestly he didn't exactly wish to go and joke about with a group of teenagers. It wasn't on his list of things to do today, even if Darwin was present too. He was fine quiet reading, why Charles sought him out for he didn't know. Why couldn't he have just gone and bothered Hank instead? 

"Well unlike Hank, you've not exactly been present much."

"I didn't know my presence was needed." Erik easily countered. They'd been here a day, and a bit. The time so far was spent settling down. It wasn't like he was needed for that. He was settled and that really was all that mattered to him at the moment. 

Charles sighed, this conversation was going nowhere seeing as how Erik was being so awkward. "Okay, fine, I'm just going to come out with it. Liesel is coming here, today, rightfully in about an hours' time. So can you now stop being so...moody?"

"Coming from the man who just ranted. Are you sure I'm the so called moody one?"

"Erik-!"

"Yes?" He simply answered while watching Charles work himself up, he really was getting bothered by his short and blunt responses. "Thanks," he said quietly before Charles had the chance to exclaim something else. He stilled and calmed down and looked to Erik. 

"You're welcome. You firstly deserve the right to know. I was going to leave it as a surprise, but somehow I don't think that would've ended well for me." Charles admitted with a smile. 

"Who deserves to know secondly?" Erik merely asked while he glanced to the large windows in the room. The thick red curtains had been pulled back and allowed the daylight to stream in. 

"Darwin, shortly followed by everyone." Seeing as how Darwin was still not over having himself saved, Charles thought he deserved to know independently from the others. 

Erik merely nodded slowly at this, yet otherwise didn't comment anything. Actually to be honest, he was being rather reserved on the whole matter. This caused Charles to look at him uncertainly. He honestly thought this information would cause some reaction. Maybe that was wishful thinking. But he did believe that hearing of Liesel coming here would cause him to look slightly happier. Because truthfully, he really didn't look it. 

"What is it?" There was no point beating around the bush. Charles was just going to flat out ask him. If anyone could deal with blunt questions being sent his way, it was certainly Erik. His eyes turned away from the window, which seemed utterly enthralling apparently, to look at Charles with a sidelong look. "There's something wrong, so what is it?" He prompted seeing as how all he was receiving was a blank look. 

"Can I not just sit and think in peace? And before you ask, no, I'm not telling you." Erik didn't want to explain his thoughts to Charles, who evidently thought the problem was something psychical, something actually able to be mended. 

"You don't need to tell me, remember?" Charles stated and got a hardened look sent his way. Holding up his hands in defence, he smiled thinly. "Fine," he just sat in silence. 

It was silent until Erik let out an irritated sigh. "You're not going to go until I tell you, are you?"

"I hear talking can help any problem." Charles stated with a rather innocent look, which got a frown in response. 

"Have you ever promised something, and never really seem able to fulfil it?" Erik asked realising this seemed like a rhetorical question. "When we were children, we promised to look out for each other. It's all well and good, until something like this happens and then I can't help but realise that...anyway, this is oddly enough the longest we've been parted, recently, and this happens. Problems never really seemed to crop up in the past." Erik said while growing somewhat impatient with the honest words he was saying. He secretly cursed Charles for being a rather easy person to talk to. 

"You're still blaming yourself. What did I say? You cannot blame yourself for what happened, because it was out of your control." 

"That doesn't make a difference." Erik said quietly while staring unblinking at Charles. 

"You can't be in two places at once!" He said exasperated. Running a hand through his hair, Charles sighed gently. 

"It isn't the first time he's wound up hurting her, either for his own gain or to get to me. And it most likely won't be the last."

Charles looked sadly away from the floor. "Then she is your Achilles heel." He stated quietly. 

Erik thought over this before shaking his head. Looking once more to the window, he looked back at Charles. "If so, don't be mistaken, because I will do anything to protect her." He said deadly serious, and honestly, Charles looked a little taken back by the sheer truth and gravity of those words. 

Tearing away from the intense look being directed his way, Charles listened to the slamming of a door and Moira's voice calling out. Looking back at Erik, Charles could see he didn't have any intention of moving to welcome Liesel back. Or rather, he'd prefer to without others around. Honestly, Charles didn't think he'd ever understand Erik. He was extremely complex. Honest and quiet one minute, only to turn closed off and hostile, which could then a second later be followed by relaxed and witty. 

"Well, it sounds like the welcome wagon is present." Charles said while standing slowly up. "Don't dwell in here for too long, Erik." After all, being on his own didn't seem like a totally brilliant thing. Smiling lightly once more, Charles turned and left the room. He closed the door behind himself and walked back along the corridor. 

As soon as he got to the foyer he was witness to Darwin trying to figure out how best to thank her, again, only for Liesel to awkwardly walk up to him and throw her arms around his neck. Sure, Darwin got pulled to her level, but it seemed like a suitable way of thanking and accepting. Spotting Charles from over Darwin's shoulder, Liesel smiled. Letting the taller male go she walked over to him. "So this is your former home? It is very spacious for one man, and his sister, no?"

"Liesel, my family used to live here too. We weren't just hermits tucked away up here." Charles stated with an awkward smile. 

She nodded and looked around the corridor. "It is...a curious space," she hummed lightly in thought before nodding and looking to him. "I thank you for letting me into your home." Though she did seem somewhat reserved, Charles remembered full well what Erik had said about her possible outlook on it. Smiling she ran a bandaged hand awkwardly through her hair. Turning and smiling at the small group she, if anything, smiled more. "It is good to see you all in one piece."

"Yeah, well, we didn't appreciate that whole fear speech you gave before going to the hospital."  

"It is normal to be afraid. Without fear you do not have something driving you. You need fear in your life, it pushes you. I'm sorry though, if me pointing out your fear embarrassed you, Alex. But know that your fear was not misplaced." Liesel said seriously while staring at the teenager. He seemed at a loss, though he did continue to frown and look at her darkly. Smiling suddenly she looked to Charles. "Do I get a tour?"

"That's my job, thank you very much!" Raven said happily while appearing by Liesel's side. 

"Tour guide Raven, please do lead the way." Liesel gestured a hand to her and walked after her while she rather animatedly pointed things out, and explained where passing corridors went, and where certain doors led to.

----

Edited: 10/June/2019

Reedited: 17/August/2021