Chapter Four

                                    

                                          
"Told you there was no professor here," said Hank under his breath. 
                          
"I'm so sorry," Clara said to the man, still in shock. "He'll come around. He's not normally like that. He's... mostly drunk and... he's been through a lot." 
                          
Clara thought about everything Charles had been through and she felt ashamed of herself for being mad at him when he said all those bad things. 
                          
"What the hell happened to him?" Asked Logan.
                          
"He lost everything," said Clara. "Erik, Raven... his legs," she frowned at the thought of that. If Charles were to help that man, he would have to loose his legs, never being able to walk again. 
                          
"We built this school, the labs, this whole place..." she continued. "Then, 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 himself."
                          
"Well you were one of the main reasons," commented Hank. She just glared at him and he shut up. 
                          
"Hank created this serum to treat his spine... but he takes too much."
                          
"I tried easing him back... but he just couldn't bear the pain, the voices..." said Hank. Clara looked at him in confusion. "The treatment gives him his legs... but it's not enough. He's... he's just lost too much."
                          
Clara felt a warm tear scrolling down her cheek. Charles had been through so much while she was gone. It was her fault.
                          
A thought came into Clara's mind.
                          
"You knew Hank," said Clara, in realisation. "When he opened the door, he said his name was Hank and you recognised him as Beast."
                          
"Yeah. As I said, I'm from the future."
                          
"But were surprised when you were told who I was," said Clara. "When Charles spoke of me, you asked who I was and you were surprised."
                          
"Erm.." Logan did. "I..."
                          
"Say it, Logan," said Clara. "It's alright."
                          
"I haven't seen you. I haven't met you. But I know you are dead," he said. He shook his head. "I don't know how, Charles would never speak of it. He was broken up." Clara was in shock. She took some seconds to absorb the information, waiting for one of the men to console her, for she had just learned that she was dead. Then, she realised that, right there, she was to be the strong one and console the others, give them hope. She wiped away a tear and took a deep breath. 
                          
"It's okay," she said to Hank and Logan. "We can change it, right? The thing is; that could be of real help. Charles doesn't know that. If we tell him I die, he will probably want to help you," she said. Hank smiled and kissed her forehead.
                          
"Oh you are brilliant!" he said. Clara smirked.
                          
"Said the man who graduated Harvard at the age of fifteen," she said. Hank blushed. "Let me go talk to him. Hell listen," Clara explained. Hank and Logan nodded.
                          
The truth was; the last thing Clara wanted to do was talk to Charles. He wasn't alright, and she wasn't ready to talk to him after months of him thinking that she was dead. But anyway, she walked up the stairs, taking support on the handrail, since her leg was still torturing her. 
                          
Some time later, Charles, laying on his bed, heard a knocking on his door. Before he could say anything, a familiar voice rang inside his head. 
                          
"Please let me in." A smile suddenly and automatically appeared on his face. It was the woman he loved. 
                          
"Get in, love," he said out loud, since, without his powers, he wasn't able to respond with his mind. Clara opened the door and stepped in. "I know what you are going to say," he said. 
                          
"Erm... do you? I don't think you do," she said, worried about what he might say. 
                          
"Logan asked who you were. And he was surprised when he heard your name. Which probably means you... die." Charles seamed to experience some difficulty on pronouncing that word. It was painful to even think about loosing his loved one... again. "So I will help. At least I will try. I'll do my best to keep you alive, Clara. I promise."
                          
Clara smiled softly. She walked towards his bed and sat besides him. She laid down and passionetly kissed him, Charles kissing her back. Clara ran her hand through his long hair.
                          
"You need a haircut," she mumbled, breaking out of the kiss. Charles smiled. 
                          
"Let's go," Charles finally said. "Downstairs."