A/N: Listening to Gareth Malone's All Star choir prompted this.

'Feeling my way through the darkness,
Guided by a beating heart.
I can't tell where the journey will end.
But I know where it starts.'

They were silent. Charlie had run away, and nobody had gone to look for him. Nobody except Miss Quill. She roamed the halls looking for the lost prince. Contrary to popular belief, she did have a heart. And, unfortunately, she did harbour some sort of affection towards the snivelling prince. She found him crouched under the desk in her classroom, shrinking away from the world. She approached catiously, taking tentative steps towards the fragile prince underneath the desk. "Charles?"

"Go away." Quill huffed at that. She stepped closer.

"Charles, come out. You are not a child, you cannot run away from your problems." She heard a sniffle. "Are you just here to insult me?" She sighed and slid down the desk. "No."

'They tell me I'm too young to understand.
They say I'm caught up in a dream.
But life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes.'

That got him to peek round the corner of the desk and look at her. He saw nothing but sincerity in her eyes, and in her tone. He moved out from underneath the desk to lean against it like she was. "What have I done?" Charlie whispered, staring at the floor.

"What have we all done?" Quill replied, cradling her bump. Charlie glanced at her, then back down at the floor. "I thought it would be fine. I thought I could carry on living in a dream. And now, because of that, it's destroyed my life. My friendships." Quill sighed. She supposed Charles did have a point, however teen angsty he was making it. "You know," she started, gaining his attention. "None of this was your fault. You did what you thought was right. And in the end, you protected your friends, saved the world. That counts for something." Charlie was giving her a strange look when she'd finished her little speech.

'Life's a game made for everyone,
And love is the prize.'

"What?" Quill asked.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" She snorted. "Because, spending all this time with you has made me realise I do actually care about you, however much I may hate it." She saw him smile a little, and it made her happy. She scowled at herself. Bloody maternal feelings. "I like you too, you know." She looked at him, startled, and he gave a small watery laugh in response. "Honestly." He scooted closer, his side pressing against hers. She let him. But only cause maternal feelings. "I didn't want this too happen.'

'Wake me up when it's all over,
When I'm wiser and I'm older,
All this time I was finding myself,
And I didn't know I was lost.'

"I know you didn't." Quill told him. Charlie sighed heavily, and then did something strange. He curled up, resting his head on Miss Quill's shoulder, and pressing his body closer to her. And, once she overcame her shock, she placed an arm around him. He sobbed quietly onto her shoulder, curling closer to her warmth, needing her. She looked down at him and saw the child she'd always wanted. The child she was going to get. But Charlie was hers. In all honesty, ever since they'd been bonded by the Ahn, she'd felt some sort of parental responsibility towards him. And it had grown. Charlie was her son, she accepted it. She had always treated him like one, perhaps inadvertently, but nevertheless, he was her son. So she hugged him close and let him cry. Her boy. She kissed his head and whispered to him. "It's okay Charlie. I'm here. You're not lost now." Charlie smiled at her tone as he continued to let the sobs out. He finally knew what it was like to have a mother.

One who loved him.