It's finally here…the last chapter! Bittersweet, right? We all knew it had to end eventually ;)

Really quick, thanks to all the people who gave well wishes for my friend's wedding I was involved with. It was gorgeous and went off without any problems.

Now without further adieu…

The next days were torturous. Charles' temperature was down to 103.9. High but not as dangerous as before. I kept my helmet off. I wanted to know immediately if Charles regained control of his emotions so that I could call a doctor.

To pass the time, I talked. I could understand the loneliness Charles felt as the sole leader of a newly formed group. There was nobody to talk to, nobody to support you if you were having doubts or fears or if you were just unhappy. You could never show any sign of weakness, no matter who weak you might feel. I told him everything I could think of. How devastated I was when I found out he was paralyzed and that, no, it wouldn't get better. How I'd been thrilled to see how well Sean and Alex and Hank were doing, even if they were keeping me from my goal at the time. How much it hurt to see the kids we'd been training together using that training against me.

Finally, almost 48 hours after my foray into Charles' mind, I woke from a nap to discover a quiet that I hadn't felt since I'd come to the mansion. The emotions emanating from Charles had diminished to a dull buzz. I grinned, genuinely grinned, and telephoned a doctor. Maybe, for the first time in 9 months, things would work out the way I wanted them to.

Nearly six days after I had first entered Charles' room, I awoke to find his fever down to a reasonable 100.6. He had stilled the day before, which the doctor assured me was a good sign, indicating that whatever hallucinations had been going on due to the fever were gone and he could rest now and recover. I had informed Hank of Charles' recovery after the doctor left. He told me he would be bringing the children back soon, but for the time being I could stay.

I was bustling around the room putting some of the towels I'd been using away when I heard the bed shift. I looked over to find Charles' eyes blinking back at me.

"I thought that was a dream," he murmured, almost to himself.

"No. I've been here the past six days. And yes, you dragged me into your head. It was quite the experience." I made the statement with a nonchalance I certainly didn't feel.

If he was flustered by the news he didn't show it. Instead he shrugged. "You were always telling me to stay out of your head. It's only fair that you have a chance to poke around mine." I smiled despite myself. It was almost as if the past 9 months hadn't happened. Almost.

I shook myself from my thoughts and moved towards the bed. "How do you feel? Your temperature is down so you should be feeling better." As I talked, I fixed the sheets and felt his forehead, habits formed over the past few days. When I looked at him again, he was giving me an amused smile.

"What? I can take care of people. It shouldn't be that surprising…" I grumbled, immediately backing away from the bed and crossing my arms over my chest.

Charles let out a chuckle. "There's no need to move from a maternal role to that of a petulant child. It's just…it's nice is all."

I uncrossed my arms but remained where I was. Charles looked at me again. "I'm sorry about what you might have seen in my head. Those were things that…well those were things I meant to keep to myself. I'm afraid that, while I did have some control, my skills were lacking due to illness."

"If you didn't want me to see it then why did you pull me into your head Charles? You said it was so that at least one person would understand why you were dying. Was that really it?"

The bedridden man was silent for a moment, contemplative. "To a point…yes. Part of me really did want to die rather than face reality again." My heart sank. Charles eyes shot to my face, clearly feeling my emotions. "But not all of me," he added quickly. "I think, on some level, despite what I said before, I brought you there because I knew you were the only person who would be able to convince me to come back."

"How did you even know I would come to the mansion?"

"My dear friend, who do you think could have planted the idea in Hank and given instructions for how to get past all your guards?"

I gawked. "How did you know how to get past my- never mind. I'll deal with that later." Charles was wearing a big grin, clearly very pleased with himself. "So it was your idea to bring me here. Hank said when he came to get me that you thought I wouldn't come."

He shrugged. "I didn't. Clearly, my subconscious disagreed."

"Good. Whatever you may think, I won't abandon you to death."

"Yes, I remember what you said up there." He tapped his forehead for emphasis.

"You were so…lonely…and sad. You know, when I was…up there." I mimicked his forehead tapping. "I had no idea it had been so hard for you."

"Most of the time, before this at least, it wasn't that bad. I had my moments, but overall I've been satisfied with my life, despite the pain it has given me at times. Doctors told me it's normal for someone who has gone through an ordeal like me to have a period of depression. It does tend to impact one's view of one's own mortality, not to mention the adjustments to being bound to a wheelchair. They tried to send me to therapists, but I kept feeling their pity and it only made things worse. Being a telepath is quite detrimental to dealing with one's own mental shortcomings as it turns out."

"Are you better now?" I asked tentatively.

A somber smile crossed the telepath's face. "For the time being. I'm afraid that's the nature of depression though. It ebbs and flows. Tomorrow may tell a different story. But today, in this hour, I am okay."

I didn't like it, but I knew it to be true. Charles would have his ups and downs. If he could get through them, the ups would begin to outnumber the downs until eventually he was back to relative normalcy. Still, I didn't want to leave him knowing how fragile he was.

"Charles, promise me, if you…relapse…you'll find a way to contact me before it gets this far. I meant everything that I said before. I don't want to see you die. We can meet somewhere, play a game of chess, get away from everything. We can be the friends we once were, even if only for an hour."

"I'd like that Erik. You have my word I won't let things spiral out of control as I have these past few months."

I gave a sigh of relief. My eyes drifted to the table and the chessboard sitting on it. The chessboard I'd seen so often while I was in Charles' head. I looked back to the man in the bed. He looked at me cautiously, like he was fearing what I might say.

"Would you care to play a game of chess? I'm afraid I don't recall where we were in this game. We may need to clear it and start a new one."

A small smile formed on Charles' face and he visibly relaxed. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

I smiled as I cleared the chessboard and moved it to the bed. After getting Charles some water and another dose of medicine, we began to play.

Charles had just taken my king when a knock sounded at the door. Hank entered. His relief at seeing Charles sitting up in bed, fully awake and aware, was palpable.

"Professor, it's good to see you feeling better."

"Yes, thank you Hank. And thank you for finding a way to help me."

Charles looked pointedly at me as he said it. Hank nodded and turned his attention to me as well. "I wanted to let you know, the students will be here in an hour. It would probably be best for you to be gone by then." Knowing he was right, I stood, gathering the things I had brought with me. As I began to leave the room, I turned back to Charles.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"I have you to thank for that." His face grew serious. "Thank you for coming. I mean it."

We shared one last smile before Hank escorted me out of the room and to the front door. The sun greeted me. I glanced down at what my hand held. With a sigh fixed the helmet firmly back on my head. Our truce was over for the time being and it was time to face reality once more. At least until tomorrow.

Fin

And there you have it! I hope the last chapter met everyone's expectations.

Thanks to everybody who has been keeping up with this, especially everybody who put it on their story alert and favorite list. Special thanks to everybody who reviewed and/or sent me messages. Thank you all SOOOOO much! You guys really inspired me. You're all AMAZING! I'm glad people enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks again for reading!