What The Cat Dragged In Ch. 32

"And you think that gives you a kind of inside understanding of Victor." The professor said, placing unnatural emphasis on the name.

"No. I think the fact that I worked with him gives me a pretty damn good insight into Victor." A ripple of surprise went through the room. Kelly suppressed a little smile.

Hank took off his glasses. "Are you saying that-"

"I did all the same things that he does. I saw what he did to his targets with my own eyes, so if you're about to read me a list of everything he's done you can save your breath. When I knew him before, he was a cold bastard who didn't have an ounce of feeling for anyone or anything. Frankly, I didn't think he was capable of it."

"Then you know why I'm so concerned." The professor said.

Her grandfather nodded. "A year ago I would've agreed with you."

Hank looked curious. "What changed your mind?"

"Before Victor brought Kelly to see us, he met me alone at a bar." He looked at Kelly. "I'm not sure if he told you."

She smiled. "Not until after. I didn't even know he'd found you."

"You didn't tell him about your grandparents?" Hank asked.

"Of course I did. And I told him that I hadn't seen them since my mother married Stan. He encouraged me to try and find them. I wasn't having any luck, so I guess Victor took over." Kelly said.

The professor's eyes narrowed.

Her grandfather went on. "When I met him in that bar, I thought he wanted money to give Kelly back unharmed." Joe shook his head. "You should have seen the look on his face when I made that suggestion. It was almost like I tried to feed him something disgusting."

"I'm certain that look was well practiced." The professor said.

Her grandfather shook his head. "This was different. When he talked about Kelly, it was the first time I'd ever seen anything in his eyes other than malice and indifference. I had almost convinced myself that I didn't see it, but then Kelly called. He brought her to see us. Put up with visiting and small talk. Would the Victor Creed you knew do that for anyone?"

"Sabretooth isn't able to fully control the animal side of himself." The professor said. "He might try for a time, but he doesn't have the ability to do so for more than a short time."

Kelly couldn't take anymore. "So you treat him like an animal and you're surprised when he acts like one."

The professor's placid expression didn't change. "I'm not sure I know what you-"

She gripped the arms of the chair to keep from shaking. "You know exactly what I mean. Either that or you shouldn't be allowed within ten miles of impressionable children."

Anger simmered in his eyes, but never touched any of his other features. "You blame me for his choices."

Kelly's gaze never wavered. "I think the fact that you won't even use his name speaks volumes."

Kelly took a deep breath and leaned forward a little. "You call him Sabretooth, you tell him that he's an animal, a killer who doesn't understand decency or empathy because those are human feelings and he isn't human. Well I have a newsflash for you. I don't think I've ever met Sabretooth. The man who nursed me through nightmares and trauma, who I've eaten with and laughed with and slept with, is Victor Creed." She smiled a little. "He's short tempered and ill-mannered and most of the time he has no idea how to be comforting when I need it, but he tries. I can't think of anything more human than that. So I'm not going to listen to any more lectures. I'm not going to pretend to ignore any more thinly-veiled inferences and I'm not going to go out of my way to prove to you that I don't need to be rescued. I'm Victor's mate. That isn't going to change. Accept it or don't, but move on." She sat back in the chair.

Silence filled the room like noxious smoke. Her grandfather smiled a little. "Can we talk about my grandson now?"

The professor opened his mouth to say something, but Hank cut him off. "Yes, we certainly can."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Creed followed Jimmy's scent through the thickest part of springtime woods. The frail's words had been ringing in his head, distracting him from the silent run. She'd said he could be a good man. Him. After all she knew and everything she'd been told. And what the fuck was that supposed to mean anyway? That if he tried hard enough, he could look at the world and see pink hearts and roses everyplace? That he would suddenly want to stop drinking and swearing and all the other shit that got him dirty looks from polite people?

He stopped. Jimmy was waiting on the other side of the rise. Whatever the fuck she'd meant by it, the frail believed he could do it. Believed he could figure out how to do it in his own way. Maybe he could. He just knew that hearing her say it had taken his breath away and those words hadn't stopped echoing in his head since. He went over the rise and settled onto a rock above Jimmy.

"Took you long enough." Jimmy said.

Creed shrugged. "Didn't see you making much of an effort."

"Nobody told me I was going to be entertaining you this morning." Jimmy turned his head away.

"Think this was my idea of a good time?" He lay on his back. The bright blue sky through the network of nearly bare, silhouetted branches reminded him of stained glass.

"Told Chuck he should let you in."

Creed didn't turn his head. "Bullshit."

"What the fuck ever." Creed glanced at him. Jimmy was staring off into the trees. The runt was a damn good liar, but even he had his tells. Creed wasn't seeing any of them. "Son of a bitch, you did." His eyebrows drew together. "Why?"

Jimmy shrugged. His eyes were still on the trees. "You know Kelly chats with Cassie every night."

"Yeah. They do homework and shit." Creed looked up at the sky again.

"And every night somebody just happens to stop by to see how she is. Sometimes me, sometimes Ro, whoever can make up an excuse that doesn't sound too much like an excuse."

"She told me." Creed smiled a little. "Saw through it right from the start. So?"

"So every time I saw her she looked better. Chuck tried to tell me that it was just her healing factor keeping her looking healthy. I knew that was bullshit. I know happy and comfortable when I see it."

Creed clenched his fist until his claws were pressed almost deep enough to draw blood. "The old bastard's never going to see it that way."

"Ain't like I'm in his good graces at the moment anyway."

Despite the direction of the wind, Creed caught the barest tang of anger from Jimmy's scent.

"What'd you do, chew up his favorite pair of slippers?"

Jimmy halfway laughed. "No. I slept with Marie."

Creed shrugged a little. "So?"

Jimmy looked at him. "She's got control of her skin."

"I repeat; so? You fucked her. Do you have to turn in your balls when you sign up?"

Jimmy looked out into the trees again. "He went through about ten different ways that it was immoral, tried to make it sound illegal and when none of that worked, he started in on her fear of losing control of her mutation in a bad moment."

"Bastard's the master of the low blow. That scare her off?"

Jimmy gave a short laugh. "Would it have scared Kelly off?"

Creed chuckled. "The girl watched me get half my head shot off and kept on fighting. Some old bastard in a wheelchair ain't gonna make her blink."

"We got out of that office and Marie started packing. Managed to talk her out of it for the moment."

Creed looked down the runt. "Why the fuck would you do that?"

He took a deep breath. "Because..." He went silent for a long moment. "She has to understand before we go." Jimmy glanced up at Victor. "How did you explain to Kelly what you meant when you said she was your mate?"

Creed shrugged. "I didn't need to explain it really. I told her she was my mate and that it was permanent. The rest she just got. Intuition or some shit like that." He closed his eyes and listened to the wind chase through the trees.

"If she doesn't just get it?"

Creed looked down at the other man. His eyes narrowed. "Ninety nine percent of the words you've spoken to me in the last few decades have revolved around the phrases 'I'm gonna kill you' and 'fuck off'. Now you wanna sit here and have a goddamn "Beaches" moment?"

"And here I was thinking you were slightly less of an ass than I remembered."

Creed looked down at the runt. "How the fuck should I know what to do if she doesn't get it? Half the time I got no goddamn clue how to talk to my frail. What makes you think I have a hope in hell of knowing how to talk to yours?"

Jimmy looked at him, a little smirk twitched the corner of his mouth. "Fuck off."

Creed grinned. "I'm gonna kill ya, Runt."

Creed looked up at the sky again. "Then tell her. Don't ask. Don't explain. I guess if it's right, she'll get it. If not, call Dr. Phil, 'cause I got nothing." The cell phone on his hip started to vibrate. He checked the incoming text.

"Frail's ready to go." He got up and headed back toward the mansion. Jimmy ran next to him.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The noxious tension that had infected the room left Kelly emotionally drained and with a throbbing headache. She could see the concern in Victor's eyes, but he didn't say anything. He just 'accidentally' stroked the back of her hand every chance he got. Her grandfather seemed to be almost as tired and the ride back to the Cavinder was mostly silent. As soon as they were inside, Victor led them into the dining room to a quiet table in the corner. Victor waited until the food was on the table before he said anything about the meeting.

He sliced through the first thick steak. "What'd his holiness have to say?"

"From what anybody can tell, Cody's a fair candidate for the treatment." Her grandfather said.

"That ape made it sound like there wasn't any such thing when he was describing it to me." Victor said.

"I don't know that there is." Kelly took a sip of her lemonade. "I know Hank spent a lot of time showing pictures of my genes before and after the treatment and describing what it does and what it doesn't do. Then he showed us Cody's genes and said that they were partially active, though not as much as mine had been before the treatment. He said the fact that Cody's healing factor was partially active already meant that he would have a slim chance, if he gets it."

"What do you mean, if?" Victor took a long swallow of the beer.

She looked up at her grandfather. "Apparently it's not as easy as easy as just giving it to him." Kelly said.

Victor looked at her. "Why not? I told the ape to give it to you and you were getting it ten minutes later."

Her grandfather shook his head. "The school's clinic is private and designated as a research facility because treating high-level mutants isn't always so straight forward."

Creed snorted. "So that means McCoy can turn anybody into a lab rat. Beautiful."

"He did follow the ethical guidelines." Her grandfather said.

"I suppose it also helps that I was already officially dead at the time." Kelly took a bite of her salad.

"Couldn't've fucking hurt." Victor started on his second steak. "So what kinda hoops you gotta jump through to get the kid treated?" Her grandfather took a deep breath. "Good way to put it. The geneticist at Cody's hospital knows Dr. McCoy. That's how we got the specialized genetic profiles done so fast. We have to get Cody's doctor to recommend the treatment, then the hospital has boards and reviews that govern any experimental treatment. They tend to be extremely conservative because they're trying to protect the hospital from liability."

Victor shook his head. "Fucking bureaucracy. What do you do now?"

"Hank's contacting Cody's doctor with specifics of the formula and the facts of my case without using my name. " Kelly toyed with the last few bits of lettuce.

"Dr. Ackerly has an open mind about treating coma patients. Hopefully, it won't take too much convincing and we can move on with the rest of it." Her grandfather sipped his coffee. "It's going to take me awhile to convince Anna that this is the best way to go anyway."

Kelly set her fork down. "I'm sure that she'll get used to having another one in the family." Her grandfather took her hand. "That's not what I meant."

She smiled and gripped his hand. "I know, but Granna isn't sure if I'm human or mutant or something else entirely and you know as well as I do that she prefers it when people fit into neat little boxes. Cody doesn't need to wake up and deal with her issues. He'll have enough of his own."

The waitress came over to the table. "Would anyone like any dessert this afternoon?"

Kelly shook her head. "No thanks-"

"Yes." Victor pointed at Kelly. "Bring the frail a slice of the chocolate cake."

The woman nodded and walked away.

Kelly shook her head. "Victor-"

"Leaves in a bowl ain't fucking lunch." He smiled a little. "'Sides, you love chocolate."

Kelly knew better than to argue. Besides, Victor had beer, she had chocolate. She smiled a little.

"I'll take it upstairs then. It can be a study snack."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Creed watched the frail carry the cake upstairs. She looked fucking exhausted. He itched to get up and go with her, but he had shit to take care of first. As soon as she was out of the dining room, he looked at the old man. "Beer?"

"Sounds good."

Creed signaled the waitress, then looked back at the old man. "She's fucking exhausted." Joe snorted. "I'm not surprised. She told the professor where to go and what to do when he got there. After that, he sat there with this look on his face like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth and the whole time the son of a bitch is glaring daggers at her and making sneaky little comments whenever he could."

Creed's eyes narrowed. "What'd she do?"

Joe smiled a little. "She didn't take the bait." He took a deep breath, his smile faded. "She shouldn't be that strong at her age."

The waitress brought the beer and took the plates away. Creed took a long swallow. "Nope. Can't help but be impressed though."

Joe nodded and took a sip of the beer.

Creed turned the beer bottle slowly on the table in front of him and studied how the light played off the brown glass. He was pissed off at Xavier, but the bastard would still be there tomorrow. The question floating around in his head meant more to him at that moment. Didn't mean he knew how to ask the fucking thing or even if Joe was the one to ask. He didn't have a hell of a lot of options though.

He turned his head and studied the still life at the other end of the room. "How'd you get out?" Joe was quiet for a long moment. "I'm not sure what you-"

Creed looked at him. "Bullshit. You know exactly what I mean."

Joe took a sip of beer. "Lost your taste?"

A deep growl rose from Creed's chest. "You better watch your fucking mouth old man."

"Calm down." Joe didn't flinch. His voice was calm. His eyes were hard and unwavering. "Losing your taste is different from losing your balls. I have no doubt you could and would turn the next three people to walk into this room into hamburger and laugh while you were doing it if that was part of the contract, but I don't think the idea of it gets you off anymore? Am I close?"

Creed's eyes narrowed. "I'm feral and I'm a predator. Predatory ferals need to hunt. It's my fucking nature." He looked away.

"Not exactly the same." Joe took a swallow of the beer.

His shoulders twitched in a little shrug. "Guess not. It ain't about whether or not I can do a fucking job. I can. I just..." He took a deep breath. "The frail knows. She knows that when I leave I ain't going to a fucking insurance convention in Cedar Rapids."

Joe smiled a little. "You love her."

Creed shook his head. "I don't know what that means."

"Maybe you can't define it, but you feel it."

Creed growled again. "How the fuck do you know what I feel?"

Joe stared at him. "You look at her when she's just sitting there and she takes your breath away. When she hurts, you feel like there's a knife taking a slow trip through your sternum. Being without her is something you don't even want to imagine. Seeing her smile at you makes you warm and just seeing her makes you smile too. When she sleeps, you watch her. You lean in close and breathe the same air she breathes. There's nothing you wouldn't do for her. You've proved that in spades. You'll protect her from everyone, including yourself. Unless I miss my guess entirely, you haven't even looked at another woman since you found her. When you're with her you can be yourself, even when you're not being your best self." He leaned in a little closer. "How am I doing?"

Creed stared at Joe for a long moment, his mind was spinning. His eyebrows drew together. "Love ain't hearts and ponies and shit like that?"

Joe chuckled. "Not in the real world."

He thought about that for a long moment. "Every time I leave, I figure she's gonna sit home and think about what I'm doing and she won't be there when I get back. Why should she be? I'm an old son of a bitch with claws and fangs and more baggage than the fucking Titanic." He drained the rest of the beer.

"She loves you too." Joe said.

Creed shook his head. "The government's never gonna let me go anyway. I don't know why I'm bothering."

"Because working for the goddamn government is like making a deal with the devil. She gets that." Joe said. "If she isn't sure, I'll explain."

"So what the fuck am I supposed to do about the rest? I can't stay home all the time, that'll just drive us both nine kinds of crazy." Joe shook his head. "You don't have to. Kelly told me about the security system you built at the apartment where you've been staying." Suspicion narrowed Creed's eyes. "How much did she tell you?"

"Enough to know you covered all your bases and then some." Joe pulled a card out of his wallet. "This is a friend of mine. He still does government work from time to time, but mostly runs a company that builds high end systems all over the country for paranoid millionaires. He's looking for a few new private contractors."

Creed took the card. "You want me to sit in a fucking cubicle from nine to five?"

He shook his head. "Think I'd even make the suggestion if that's the kind of job it was? It's just an option."

Creed nodded and tucked the card into his shirt pocket. He would call and he would give it a shot. He might fuck it up, but at least he'd fuck it up honest.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The first thing Kelly did when she got back to the room was to change into one of Victor's shirts. She got her books and stretched out in the middle of the king sized bed. In between turning pages and reworking the practice exercises she nibbled on the chocolate cake. Victor came back just as she was starting to rub her eyes.

Victor's gaze swept over her and he gave the kind of fang-baring grin that made her pulse race and a heavy heat start to pool in her tummy. "Wearing anything under that, frail?"

She sat up and primly pulled the hem of the shirt down around her knees. A smile teased at her lips. "None of your business."

"None of my business? Really?" He walked to the edge of the bed and then started to crawl toward her. The same grin still on his face. "You're in my room. On my bed."

Kelly backed away. He pushed her books out of the way and kept advancing. "I sleep here too. And technically, you're on my side of the bed." Kelly's smile was wider.

"You wanna talk about technicalities? You're wearing my shirt." He moved over her and grabbed her wrist. Kelly found herself on her stomach with her hand in the small of her back before she could think. There was no force behind his touch.

Kelly lifted her hips, but otherwise she stayed still. He put his mouth next to her ear. "And you're my mate. Guess it is my fucking business after all. Ain't it frail?" The rough edge of his tongue traced the shell of her ear.