Charles just held her for as long as she needed, rubbing her back gently. He knew she needed it, and he didn't mind, and he wasn't going to let her get away with apologizing to him later, either.

And Paige did indeed try.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to slip away again. "I-- I shouldn't have..." She trailed off.

"Don't even start," Charles said, not letting her pull away yet. "Everyone needs to once in a while, Paige, and you have been on your own for far too long. Don't ever apologize for how you feel."

"You shouldn't have to deal with this," Paige protested. "I'm usually better than this, I should be able to handle things on my own."

"No one should have to handle things all on their own. Erik helps me, we both help the children. Even Logan and Tony come to us from time to time." Charles moved a bit so he could wipe away a stray tear from her cheek. "Really, Paige, don't worry about it. It's fine. And I certainly don't mind."

"Still, you shouldn't have to worry about me," Paige said quietly. "You have enough to worry about already, with the kids and the baby and Erik. I shouldn't be adding anything else to that."

Charles shook his head. I don't need to, but I want to. I will keep reminding you of this until you believe me, Paige. You are not a burden to me, or to any of us.

Breath hitching a bit, Paige snuggled in a bit closer, trying not to cry again.

Charles let her snuggle in as close as she wanted, rubbing her back and smoothing down her hair. He also made sure no one disturbed them just yet.

"I'm not sure what just happened," Paige said softly after a moment. "I came in because I promised we could discuss my mutation. I'm not sure how we got here from there."

Charles chuckled quietly. "It doesn't matter how we got here, just that you needed it." He let her pull back a bit. "Feel any better now?"

"Yeah," Paige said softly. "I do. Thanks." She pulled away a bit, trying to wipe her face on her sleeve.

Charles handed her a tissue from somewhere with a little smile. "Take as long as you need," he said quietly. "We're in no rush. I believe Crystal has set aside some cookies for us, and if I'm not much mistaken, Erik has put the kettle on again."

"Of course," Paige teased softly. "Tea fixes everything. Though I hope it's jasmine this time."

"We have jasmine," Charles replied as he sent along the request to Erik. "And tea does fix everything, it's practically a fact."

Paige just grinned a little and stashed the tissue in her pocket.

"Well, if you still have any questions about my mutation, I'm in slightly better shape to answer them now," she said.

"No, I think that's enough for one day," Charles said. "We can talk more later. For now, tea and biscuits." He managed to get to his feet, grinning at her. "Come along, tea should be ready in just a minute."

Paige nodded and got up, grabbing the tray with the remains of the earlier tea on it and bringing it with her.

Erik was indeed just adding water to the teapot when they got into the kitchen. He glanced over at them, looking them both over to make sure they were fine, before setting the kettle back on the stove.

Crystal noticed immediately that Paige looked a little worn out, her eyes puffy, but she hesitated, stuck between keeping track of the kids and going to go comfort Paige.

"Thank you, dearest," Charles said to Erik as he settled into a chair.

Erik nodded and gave Charles a small smile as he brought over the tea.

Paige just went over to Crystal and rested her forehead on her friend's shoulder.

Crystal moved and wrapped her arms around Paige. "You okay?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, I think so," Paige said softly. "I think it all just kind of hit me at once. They saw, Crys, and they didn't hate it."

Crystal nodded a bit. She knew just how important that was, after all.

"So everything's okay?" she asked, just to be sure.

Paige nodded a little.

"Yeah," she said. "I think it is." She was quiet for a moment. "He wasn't disgusted. Hell, he let me feel the baby."

"He... really?" Crystal blinked. Now that was unexpected. No one really liked their mutations, not even the few other mutants they'd met.