"Charles, can we talk?" Jane asked as she knocked on Charles' office door.
He looked up and saw Jane standing there, looking frustrated. He grew worried. Why would his own wife be so formal as to knock on his office door and wait? Normally, she would walk in, maybe tease him a little bit, rumple his hair, give him an affectionate kiss on the cheek if no one was looking. The reservation and formality at his office was new.
He realized it was her military training. Some of that would always linger.
But he still didn't like it, especially now. She was his wife, his partner, his companion. She was his equal in the school. Why did she act as if she was having a meeting with a boss? Why the distance?
"Is this about Jason?" he asked. He had just finished meeting with the boy. Apparently Jane had sent him down here for upsetting Dazzler. Again.
"Yes," she said, walking in. "He also caused a panic, cast an illusion that the classroom was on fire, and that they were all trapped in. The kids ran to the windows to try and pry them open and... God knows, jump out the windows? It was terrifying."
"Did you see the fire?"
"No. I almost was trampled trying to break the illusion."
"And he didn't try any on you today?"
"He did, but it wasn't important."
"Sit down," he motioned, on his lap. Enough of the formality. He was relieved when she accepted the invitation and sat down, placing her arm around his shoulder. "If he cast one on you, it is important, too."
"I knew it was one from the start," she dismissed. "He had you walking into the classroom."
"That's all?"
She shook her head, "It doesn't matter. I can deal with it, he's not as horrid to me as he is the others. He knew I knew it was all an illusion, so when I didn't react, he targeted Dazzler. I don't know what he did to her, but it was enough to upset her. Then the fire... Charles it terrified me, I barely broke the spell in time! Someone is going to get hurt if he keeps it up, he is going to get hurt if he keeps it up."
"What do I do? Send him away?"
"I can't ask you to do that," she said, toying with his hair a little. It was a slight return to her usual companionable behavior. "But is there anything you can do to make him stop? I worry about him. You know as well as I do we can't send him back to his family. You saw the state he was in when he arrived! They may send him back to that wretched hospital, and that's worse than death! I'm afraid what his dad will do once he's back from Vietnam, God knows what the man has in mind for the child! But he can't keep terrorizing the kids here, either."
"Tempted to have Erik come visit," Charles confessed. "Erik could scare him straight."
"Is that...wise?"
"Hell no, it's utterly foolish. I'd be out of my mind to do such a thing, Erik is entirely too sadistic, and I fear he'd appeal too much to Jason's vicious streak. Both of them have had childhoods that made them prone to this kind of rage. Last thing Jason needs is anyone who encourages it."
"But you just said Erik could-"
"The temptation to appeal to the boy's sadistic tendencies would be too great for Erik to resist. He'd never do as I asked with this one. No, I have to try and take care of this with just us. If he gets too out of hand, I can always call Erik as a last resort."
"I hope it never comes to that."
"Me, too," he sighed. "Me, too. Shall I call him back down here?"
"Not sure what good it will do."
"Maybe with both of us... or shall I ask Hank to be here instead?"
"Maybe the three of us."
Charles nodded quietly and paged Hank to the office. Jane moved to a chair. Charles had to laugh at her pretense of propriety. Then again, how would it look if they summoned Jason in? Hank entered and they explained why his presence was needed.
"Not sure what good I will do," Hank remarked.
"He likes you," Charles pointed out. "He seems to respect you more than the rest of us. Maybe you can convince him there is no need for what he is doing."
"Maybe, when he is feeling upset, he can come to you," she suggested.
Hank could see the merits in that. Jason was dependent upon him to the point that Hank had given in and set up a cot in his bedroom during the nights that Jason had struggled to sleep. It seemed to be every night. Hank almost always woke up to find Jason in the small camp bed. The boy seemed to trust him because he looked different, he didn't look like any other human.
"Shall I page him?" Charles asked.
"Yes," Hank replied.
Jason walked down to the office, confused. He had actually behaved a little bit. He didn't mean to make Mrs. Xavier upset. He tried to like her. He really did.
"Come in, Jason," Charles welcomed. "The three of us were talking about how to help you feel safe, and what to do when you feel upset. We wanted to let you know that we care about you very much."
"And," Hank added, "if ever you need to talk to me, you can. Any time."
Jane smiled, "I know you're still trying to fit in and you don't want to make friends, and it's OK if you don't want to make friends, but you shouldn't try to upset anyone, either. They want to be nice to you."
Jason looked at the three of them. "I don't want anyone being nice to me."
"Jason, I know there is a lot you don't wish to tell us," Charles said softly. "I know there is a lot you don't want to say out loud. If you would let me access your memories, I could help you find a way to fight past them, to stop them from hurting you so much."
He cowered in terror and ran to Hank, leaping on the man's lap and throwing his arms around him. "Don't let him!" he screamed. "Don't let him! He'll give me a lobobommy!"
The way he fumbled over the large word gave Charles pause. Then indignation. A lobotomy?! Who threatened the child with such a thing? "I will do no such thing, Jason," Charles snapped. "I don't know who has threatened you with such a horrid thing but I can assure you, I would never wish to harm your brain in such a way!"
"You'll cut me open!" the boy accused.
"Indeed, I will not!" Charles looked at Hank, silently pleading with him to reason with the boy.
"The Professor won't cut you open, he won't harm your brain," Hank said quietly. "You can do it here. You don't even need to go to a hospital. You just sit here, much as you are now, or lie down on the couch. He'll just touch your head right here," he pointed at Jason's temples, "and he'll sit very still. I can even be with you, if you like."
"Holding my hand?"
Hank had to smile, "Holding your hand."
"And you may stop any time," Charles reassured him. "And it will be OK. You don't have to ask me first, you just stop."
The boy looked at the three of them. "Can Polaris or Mrs. Xavier make me cookies afterwards?"
Charles had to smile. The boy was still obsessed with food. "You may eat whatever you like afterwards."
"Can I eat before you do it?"
"Yes, you may."
"Can I get something to eat now and we do it?"
"Of course you may," Jane smiled.
Jason took Hank by the hand and lead him to the kitchen.
Jane breathed a sigh of relief. "Charles, I hope you find some answers in that poor child's brain."
"I can only search for memories right now. I will talk to him about the barriers only after he trusts me not to harm his brain. I have a feeling I will find out more than I ever wish to know about what a parent could do to a child."
"I know too well what human beings are capable of doing to others," she lamented, walking over to him and rubbing his scalp. He loved it when she did that. It seemed to help him relax and focus on what he needed to do. "Lay your head back," she instructed as her fingers pressed into his trigger points.
He let her hands bear the weight of his head. He was amazed that the thoughts running through his mind weren't weighing so heavily that his neck would snap. He tried to steel himself for the horrors he knew were lurking inside the boy's mind. Even Jane's expert fingers couldn't massage all of his tension away. Her thumbs worked on his forehead as her fingers pressed just above his ears. He felt some of his tension ease into her hands as she kneaded the muscles in his neck and his shoulders. He felt something else, something that she had only begun to do. He was feeling stronger. He felt as if he was taking on the fortitude of a battlefield nurse. It was almost as if she was imparting her own strength into him.
"Thank you," he sighed. He wanted her to continue, but he knew Jason and Hank would be back soon. He had the strength to do what he needed to do. Jane had seen to that.