Chapter Text
Charles remembered very little of the events that had led to his current predicament. It was understandable, of course. The strong medications had that kind of effect on a person. The pain had been blinding, temporarily blurring any memory he would have of the incident.
One moment, he was sneaking into his father's study. It had been a source of comfort in his younger days and truthfully he'd managed to sneak in more than once after his stepfather had forbidden him from the room. That move had meant to hurt him, sever the last remaining ties he had from his biological father. It was a pathetic last-ditch effort from someone who hadn't bothered to even become even tangentially aware of how deep his gifts ran.
It hadn't taken much effort on his part to sneak into the dusty locked room in the past. The lock was old, damaged, and easily picked with any number of long thin objects readily found around the house or tucked away in a pocket. His powers had only been icing on the cake in terms of ease of entry. Using them meant he could just as easily make himself invisible as he could erase the memories of him being caught sneaking into the forbidden room in the first place.
Really the level of comfort he had sneaking into places he'd been forbidden from had been his downfall. He'd been quiet about his abilities in the presence of questioning officers, of course, but the alphas never passed up the chance to tell him how wrong he'd been. How if he'd just been more obedient he'd still be able to walk. Whatever happened he'd just wanted to be done with it.
It'd been what felt like months and the authorities were no closer to tracking down his stepfather or stepbrother – the details on that didn't matter much, they found one they'd find the other. But it had been his fault. The little omega who had just been trying to survive. He'd had faith that those people had wanted to help him. That they'd go through with it. He'd been naïve. He shouldn't have.
He didn't move his eyes from the window when the door opened. It wasn't worth the effort it would take to engage. Some new detective eager to prove their worth or a new orderly that would be polite enough but take pity on him for his situation. He wasn't entirely certain which was worse. Ambition was at least something he could understand. The pity for his situation left him empty and exhausted.
“Hello. Charles, is it? Or do you prefer Mr. Xavier?” The woman paused. “I'm Maria Scot. I'll be your nurse this evening.”
She waited for a response or anything to show that he'd heard her. She wasn't all that concerned by that aspect. She'd been around long enough to hear the whispers from the other nurses. One had even gone out of his way to outright warn her to not make much of a push for conversation. This was a ward for omegas, many were angry and hurt. It didn't take someone entirely qualified for the position to understand that.
She picked up the chart from the foot of the bed and flipped through to the most recent page. The words made no sense in particular. She'd made a few notes from what little she'd picked up on. She was able to fool the other nurses more or less, but she wasn't supposed to be here.
Charles stared at the starry sky, or what of it he could see from the edges of the window that wasn't blocked by the monitor. What he wouldn't give to be outside, to be free of this damned place. If for only not giving them the satisfaction of having to give the same lecture for what seemed like the thousandth time that month alone.
Raven hesitated for a moment before stepping around the edge of the bed, carefully pushing the monitor closer to the wall. He had never been cruel to her, the least she could do was afford him some small kindness. From what she'd been told he hadn't spoken since shortly after arriving here. Honestly she couldn't blame him.
Charles avoided her gaze though the simple action had come as a shock. It wasn't normal. Most of his interactions with staff had been nonexistent at best. He didn't trust it. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, otherwise trying not to give away too much. It was kind of her. Kindness didn't do any favours in this hopeless grey shell of a room.
Raven shifted her weight, pretending not to notice the subtle shift in his posture, the cautious release of tension as she scribbled something in the chart. Ultimately she was certain it would be ignored, but she could have the reminder for herself.
“Is there anything else I can do to-”
“You can get me out of this damn bed.”
Raven startled as the chart clattered to the floor. The suddenness of him snapping at her was shocking. Truthfully, she hadn't been certain he could speak after a month or so of working her. She tried to ignore the feeling of his glare. It wasn't the first glancing blow, her colleagues had been plenty kind in warning her of this fact.
“You've not completed treatment yet. This is the safest place for you.”
Charles was taken aback by the lack of distinct emotions typically present in these sorts of interactions. This wasn't something he was entirely certain on how to move forward with. He wasn't used to getting this sort of a rise out of the staff, the tone of her voice teetering dangerously on indignation.
“I don't care.”
She scooped the chart up off the floor, slotting the clipboard back into place at the foot of the bed before meeting his gaze. She'd never been one to back down from a fight. Pretending to be someone else while they were indisposed had the benefit of anonymity if pulled off correctly. She hadn't tried to go to this sort of extreme with her skills. One thing had been clear, however, she had to keep an eye on Charles. He was barely over the threshold for marriage age when it come to omegas.
“Does anyone even know you're here?”
Charles stared at her. He was certain she'd been told that no one knew. It was best to keep it that way, claimed the police. The whole thing still made his skin crawl.
“I'll take that as a no,” she sighed. “Is there anyone I can call? Family? Anything?”
She knew she was grasping at straws trying to play games to hide her identity from the telepath. It was pretty obvious to both of them. It didn't take a telepath to understand that, but she hoped that somehow he'd not question the little slip in detail as rumours spreading among staff members. She'd been present for the earlier discussion of who would be released within the next two months. He was on the top of the list. Part of her wondered just how much of that was related to his situation making the other omegas on the ward uncomfortable. It wasn't like she knew.
Charles wasn't entirely sure how to respond to the question. It seemed everyone on this ward was aware of his situation. It didn't help that it was consistently almost completely silent. Word had a tendency to travel fast. He just wanted to leave, to get away from this hellhole. Part of him assumed they wouldn't let him go until he was put in the ground. He could tell she was at the very least trying to be nice. She wasn't falling for his provocations and that didn't help matters.
After a moment's consideration, he realised that there was honestly nowhere to go from here other than downward. He wasn't absolutely certain that he could survive this if he even wanted to. No one knew he was here. That was for the best. Yet, he needed to have a way out. He'd managed to get out of prior situations. Either way he would need help. They'd made that plenty clear.
“The coat in the wardrobe.”
Raven hesitated. Was he still talking about leaving against what was reasonably safe? Even if he were, there was nowhere he could go. She moved to pull the coat from the floor of the wardrobe where it had been abandoned months ago.
Charles closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore the anxiety rolling off of her in waves. She had every right to be anxious.
“The inside breast pocket. Should be an envelope.”
He hadn't planned on contacting whoever was listed in that envelope just yet. He remembered the hope that had come right before he'd snuck into his father's office. The thought that he might could actually make it on his own. Perhaps he would have contacted them sooner, but no one else seemed willing enough to help him.
Raven pulled the envelope from the coat pocket, carefully unfolding it. His name was written across the front of it in neat script. She offered the envelope to him rather quickly. Pretending she didn't feel entirely comfortable with opening such a thing.
Charles took the envelope from her, running his fingers over the writing on the front. It'd been so long since he'd seen his father's handwriting. After a moment he carefully removed the tape from the seal and pulled the half-sheet of paper out of it. By the confused expression she wore, he could tell she had no idea what this was.
“The forum for an arranged marriage. Made for me by my father before he passed,” he explained. “I've tried to get somebody here to let me call the agency...”
“And they wouldn't. I'd hate being stuck here too.”
Charles nodded slowly. It hurt seeing the writing, but not in the way he expected. He had a way out this entire time. All he'd had to do was manage to get time to make a phone call, but that was neither here nor there.
Raven watched him carefully. From the short interaction she surmised that he was far smarter than what he was bothering to let on.
“Do you want me to call for you?” She offered.
Charles glanced up from the paper, somewhat shocked. Why was she bothering to try and help him? That didn't particularly matter. It was more kindness than anyone had offered him in months and he was willing to take a risk if it meant getting him out of this concrete casket that they claimed was a room. He held out the paper for her to take.
“Please,” the answer came out weaker than he would have liked.
Raven took the paper from him, glancing over it. There was very little information and even then she highly doubted this was accurate. She offered what she hoped was a sympathetic smile. She didn't need to get involved, but here she was doing exactly that.
“I'll be right back then.”
Charles watched her leave the room. He wasn't sure that he'd made the right call, but still he didn't have much of anything to lose.
It was close to 10:15pm when Erik got the phone call. He'd been anxious all day, but that didn't matter much. He let the phone ring a few times before picking up.
“Hello?”
“This is nurse Maria Scot from New Eden Community Hospital. Is this Mr. Lehnsherr?”
Erik scrubbed a hand over his face. He knew this would be a long night and there wasn't much he could do about this fact. It was inevitable, after all. He'd been trying to find Charles after the rumours had reached him.
“It is. You can drop the act, Raven. I know it's you.”
She glanced around, doing her best to make sure she was alone before dignifying that with a response.
“I found him. He's been here for a few months on the Omega ward.”
Erik paced the floor. The information was shocking to say the least. He'd hoped that he'd find him in far better condition than sequestered to a hospital room for months at a time. He'd hoped that Charles would come to him in his own time. He closed his eyes as he paced. He had far too many questions and not nearly enough answers.
“Did he recognize you? In terms of his abilities?”
“No, but they give him pain medication on a regular schedule to keep him at least relatively comfortable.”
“Can I see him?”
“It's a gamble. Do you have your copy of the paperwork?”
“Of course I do.”
The other end of the line went quiet aside from the loud footsteps of someone passing by. It stayed quiet until whoever it was that had passed was safely out of earshot.
“They're moving him into a step-down unit in the morning if you want to try. I can't guarantee anything,” she muttered into the phone.
Erik was quiet. He'd figured that much at least. He wanted to be there, to be close enough to offer at least some sense of security. Raven had been adamant enough on the details of what had been going on in that household when they'd agreed to work together to find him. There was no use in trying to do anything tonight. It was best to try and get at least a few hours of sleep before heading out there.
“I'll be there first thing in the morning with the paperwork in hand.”
“I figured you would be.”
Erik hung up the phone only to immediately pick it up again to call his boss to let him know he wouldn't be in to work in the morning. His boss had been made aware of very few details regarding everything, just enough to ensure that he was aware enough to give him time off at a moment's notice. In return he'd been one of the most reliable workers the hole-in-the-wall mechanic shop had ever seen. Both parties had found the arrangement agreeable. The quick conversation consisted of a quick congratulations. It hadn't been warranted, but the sentiment was appreciated all the same. After hanging up the phone for the final time, he decided to try and get a few hours of rest before he set off into the unknown.