Falling Stars

I don't own the Brotherhood or the X-Men and hope to God Marvel is nice to people who play in their playground…

Yes another Victor Creed fic…he's still living in my brain….

She sat there, watching the television, shock running through her entire body, the little stick in her hand almost forgotten as she saw his face; his name and the words presumed dead…she wanted to collapse in a dead faint. He couldn't die. He was her savior, her salvation, her lover – there was no way he could die…

She sat there, the news running over and over, the pictures of that horrible wave of energy, the explosion from the top of the statue, a large body falling from the top and through a boat and into the water. She knew it had been him, and she wanted to throw up every time they ran the amateur footage someone captured from a cell phone.

She looked at the little stick in her hand…the time was up, her time was up, it was positive, and he was dead. What was she going to do now? She sat there staring at the television, she couldn't stop watching it, and it was like a train wreck. The train wreck of her life.

The tears just kept flowing. He had been so sweet, walking her home from work so she didn't have to walk through Central Park alone at night, paying for a cab when he couldn't walk her home. She didn't really know when she wanted more, but after two months of him being there, leaving her at the door to her building, she finally invited him up. He didn't stay the night, he never did, but he didn't disappear either. He was right there, the next evening to walk her home. He came up when invited, sometimes he would ask, most of the time he didn't have to.

He was always gone before morning, he never went to sleep, but he didn't leave right after sex either. They would talk, he would hold her, but he would always make sure to leave before she went to sleep, as if he didn't want her to wake up and him not be there.

He had told her he had to go out of town for work that had been a month ago, he had called a couple times, to let her know he was thinking of her, but it had always been from a restaurant or truck stop, not his personal cell phone. She had called that a couple times, and left him a message, but mostly to hear his voice on the phone.

Now he was gone…dead, and a Mutant, capital M…she didn't care so much about that, but what they were saying on the news, that they had been trying to wipe out New York City, she couldn't believe he would have done that, not without warning her first, trying to get her out. Would he really want her dead? Did she mean that little? When had she fallen in love with him? Why did he have to DIE for her to realize it?

She sat looking at the white plastic stick in her hand. She was carrying his child, something of him, his…she didn't care that the baby was probably a mutant; all she cared about was that it was his. Maybe it would have his eyes, his chin, and his beautiful hair. She drifted off in thought, imagining the child she was carrying.

There was a light tapping on one of her windows. Damned pigeons again, she ignored it. It grew louder and more insistent. Finally she turned and looked for the sound. It was coming from the kitchen window, where the fire escape was. She turned and looked and nearly fainted again. He was looking in the window; tapping on it with a long…talon was the only word she could think of. His long hair was plastered to his head and covered in dirt and twigs from the river bottom. She could see his clothing was soaked, and she ran to open the window. The only thought going through her mind was 'He's alive…He's ALIVE!'

He climbed in the window, shucking his waterlogged overcoat onto the small table. It groaned under the weight of the soaked leather. He didn't even look at her, just seemed to sniff the air, then went straight into the bedroom and grabbed a bag, something small enough to carry but big enough for a couple changes of clothing. She followed him as he opened the drawers and pulled out jeans, t shirts, underwear, and a set of sweats, a couple extra sweat tops, and heavy socks. He stuffed them all in the bag, and he still hadn't said a word.

"Do you have a heavy coat?" He finally asked.

She just stared at him. He finally looked over at her, she had never seen his eyes like this, completely black, no whites, pure black.

"A COAT!" He growled at her, trying to keep his voice down. She nodded and pointed at the entry closet. "Grab it."

She trembled and did what he said, grabbing her heaviest coat from the closet. He took it and looped it through the straps of the bag, before putting his arms through the straps. He headed back to the kitchen and started to put on the overcoat.

"GET SOME SHOES ON!! Heavy ones." She ran back into her room and pulled on an old pair of hiking boots she wore when she went on weekend hikes in the country. She walked back into the living room. She was wearing a jeans and T-shirt she had put on after work today. She didn't know what he was going to do.

"Out the window, let's go." He helped her gently onto the fire escape and then climbed out behind her. He stood up and looked down at her. "Put your arms around my neck and hang on, I am going straight up the wall."

He climbed the wall with her between him and it, she almost slipped once, but he stopped, one leg between hers holding her up until she could get a new grip. They were almost ten stories in the air, and he was still climbing. Finally they reached the roof, and he led her across the rooftops, carrying her when he had to jump, not letting her fall. She trusted him, she didn't care what he had done, he was the man she loved and she trusted him.

Finally they reached a small helipad on the top of one of the buildings. There was a small helicopter there, and he climbed in and started warming it up.

"Get in."

She climbed into the seat next to him. He handed her a set of ear covers and she put them on. The chopper started to warm up, but he sat there and waited. They waited over half an hour before he finally revved up the blades and took off. She saw a brief look of sadness cross his face, and then the stone that he had been all evening.

She couldn't hear a sound over the blades of the helicopter, and she wasn't sure he would answer her if she spoke to him anyway. She watched the city, and then the smaller towns and countryside pass under them, as they flew further and further north.

She didn't want to bother him, but she was having a bad cramping down low in her abdomen. She was afraid…afraid to tell him she was pregnant, and afraid to tell him she might be losing it. He kept glancing her way, not saying a word. She just kept looking at her hands in her lap.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

DAMN! Today had been rough. First the whole shit at the train station, and then having to be Mags' errand boy, 'fetch the girl,' 'put her in the machine,' 'sit,' 'stay,' he was Sabretooth not some God damned dog. The whole fight at the top of the statue had at least been fun, well until the damned kid got his damned glasses back and shot him straight to the bottom of the river. By the time he had managed to swim to shore, the police, harbor patrol, and FBI had been all over the island. He had looked for the frog boy for a few minutes, then took off for Naomi's apartment.

He hadn't planned on going in, or even letting her know anything. Somehow, and he still didn't understand how or why, he felt responsible for her, for her safety, for making sure she was alright. Her pacing in her apartment, trying not to pull her hair out, tears streaming down her face had been like the Runt's claws through the chest, only without healing up right away. He had tapped on the window, just to get her attention, to let her know he was alive. He hadn't planned on going, hadn't planned any of this.

She had opened the window and the scent had hit him like a ton of bricks. A cub, HIS cub, there was no way in hell he was leaving them where someone could remember that he walked her home from work. He packed her clothes, made her get a coat and some shoes on, and then took off for the fallback location. He had nearly dropped her at one point, nearly ripping his claws out of his hands, to cling to the wall while she got a better grip.

He could smell blood coming from her, shit! She was losing the damned cub. It had to have been the stress, he had been very careful not to drop her, not to make her move faster than she was capable of, and she was still spotting at least. He needed to get her to a doctor, but he needed to get them to safety first. He kept glancing over at her, worried. She was his, his frail, and no one better try to fucking with her.

He remembered the first time he saw her, his first thought, as he looked through the trees, scoping out spots to photograph the statue, his first thought had been DAMN! Nice legs. His second had been What the fuck is she doing going into Central Park at NIGHT! He had stopped her, given her a lecture on going into the park at night.

She had given him a dazzling smile, and assured him she made the walk every day, and then walked off. He had followed, making sure she made it through, and she had smiled and thanked him at her building door. The second day it had been the same thing, and he would be damned if he was going to let her get hurt while he was in the park. Two months he had been there, walking her home, getting to know her as they walked through the park together.

She had invited him up to her apartment, cooked him dinner, and he would be damned if she hadn't invited him to stay the night. He knew he couldn't stay all night, he needed to report back to Mags and Mystique, but he had defiantly taken her up on her offer. He found that her apartment also had an excellent view of the statue and Ellis Island and he was able to get some good shots from there.

He had stayed every night for three months, leaving around two in the morning to report back to Magneto. He had even taken her on his scouting trip to the statue, she had never been and it gave him an excuse to get inside and take pictures. Mystique had given him a hard time about the normal in a couple of the shots, but as soon as he threatened to delete the shots so she wouldn't have to look at a normal she backed down. They had been good tactical shots.

He made sure they didn't know about his normal, his frail. He didn't want anyone able to use her against him. He wasn't really sure when she became his, but it was before the first night in her apartment, but after he started walking her through the park. The last month had been difficult, he had been out of town, and only able to call her from public places since he had no cell phone service waiting on the damned mutant to show up. His heart had lurched when he got back in service range and saw the number of messages. She had called to hear his voice on his message, not to bother him. He had wanted to go straight to her, to let her know he was ok, but Mags had other plans.

Well, it didn't matter, she was his, she was with him, and as soon as he could get her to a doctor, they would try to save the cub. He had a fucking family and didn't know what to do about it. Even in the dark he could see the small cabin tucked into the clearing, but he flew back over it, down to the small town below the mountain. He had an old friend, drinking buddy, poker buddy, who was also a doctor. He landed behind his house and shut down the chopper. There was enough fuel to make it back up to his cabin, but he was going to have to find a way to fuel up the chopper soon.

She had dozed off, and he reached over and shook her, to wake her up, dawn's light creeping into the cabin of the helicopter.

XXXXXXXXX

His hand shook her awake. She didn't know when she had dozed off but she knew as soon as she woke up that something was wrong. Her stomach was cramping hard. He had turned of the engine of the helicopter and walked around to her side. He opened the door, and wouldn't let her walk; he carried her toward a building rapidly becoming visible in the dawn light. It was a small house in a small town; somehow she didn't think it was where they would be staying.

"Ed open the door…" He pounded on it with his foot.

A light came on and an older man came to the back door. She was half awake and not really aware of what was being said over her head.

He carried her into a small examination room, and laid her on the table. He sat near her head, stroking her hair, and she dozed off again, the pain wasn't as bad lying down. The older man injected her in the arm with something and she slipped into unconsciousness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He watched her, her eyes closed and she was unaware of what was going on around her.

"Ed…do what you can."

"It would help if I knew what was wrong, Vic?"

"She's pregnant. Been cramping and spotting the entire time in the chopper."

"How long was the flight."

"Long."

"I can't promise miracles." He situated the unconscious woman to examine her.

"Do you know how far along she is?"

"Can't be more than six weeks, but no less than four." He told the doctor.

"Victor, She's bleeding heavily. Do you know when this started?"

"No…I couldn't tell you exactly."

He paced the floor, and at the heavy scent of blood and death he knew the cub was gone. He wanted to howl, wanted to scream. If he had known this was going to happen he wouldn't have dragged her out here, he wouldn't have put her or the cub at risk like this.

Ed looked at him in sympathy. He never could bluff the old doctor, and had actually lost quite a bit of money to him over the years playing poker.

"I gave her some morphine for the pain, her body should clean out like a regular cycle, and I would give her a month or two to get back on regular ovulatory cycles before trying again."

Try again. What the fuck? It wasn't like he had planned this. If he had anything to say about it, cubs were out of the question now. He had her, she was his, and he would keep the frail, the cabin was a good safe place, she'd have to learn to live out here, but she'd adapt, and if not, well she was a frail, he'd miss her a few months after she died and then move on.

He paced the room, waiting for her to wake up. He could smell snow in the wind and wanted to get to the cabin before they were snowed in. He knew there were repairs that were going to need to be made to live in it. While he was waiting, Ed helped him load some things they were going to need into the chopper, blankets, food, matches, tarps in case the roof needed repaired, and bottles of water. The well was probably frozen, and he still hadn't put in an electric pump and generator so they would either have to haul water from the stream or buy it in town.

By the time she started to stir, the chopper was loaded with enough to get them through the storm. He paced by the bed, waiting for her to wake up.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. Her head was pounding and she was aching down low in her gut. She was lying on a narrow bed in an exam room. He was pacing the floor impatiently next to the bed.

"You're awake."

"What happened?" His face was so fierce, not at all the man he had been the last few months. She was almost afraid to ask him, but she had to know.

"The doc can explain it, but we don't have a lot of time. Snow's comin and I want to get to the cabin before it hits." He had a clean set of clothes on, and a heavy coat. Her coat was lying on the chair next to the bed.

"Cabin? Doc? Snow?" It all came in garbled. All she wanted to know was what had happened.

"You need to get dressed, we need to get to the cabin before the snows hit."

"I…why did you bring me here?" She was afraid of the answer. It was obviously a doctor's office.

"You…needed a doc."

"Why?"

"We don't have time for this…we need to go soon."

"I don't want to go anywhere until I know what is going on."

"You…the cub…the baby…we don't have time for this."

"Oh God…NO!" She was sitting there half in shock. "Oh please, no, please…I won't bother you, I will be out of the way, I will take care of it, do everything, please…please don't do this." Tears were flowing down her cheeks. Maybe she was in time, maybe the doctor hadn't performed the procedure. She hadn't had much to do on the flight but think, and there was one thing she was certain of, she wanted this baby.

"I brought you to a doc I can trust. The..you…Hell! The cub…it…" He picked up her clothes and handed them to her. It was then she realized she was in one of those hospital gowns. She blushed and started trying to get dressed, the meaning of what he wasn't saying becoming starkly clear. The baby was gone. She had just found out, and now it was gone.

Had he done it, or rather had it done? Was it just not meant to be? What the hell had happened?

"We don't have time for this." He snarled again. Where was the man she had known in New York? Who was this man…this creature? No, he was still a man, she had to believe that. In there, somewhere was the man who had protected her through the park for months on end. She shook her head as she pulled the last of her clothes on. He wouldn't have done it, not without discussing it with her. She kept telling herself that, silently, as she followed him out to the helicopter.

"I'll see about getting those supplies ordered for you, Vic, and get them up to the cabin. Here's the key, you might need it, door was still locked last time I was up there. You want me to see about getting some aircraft fuel as well?"

"Yea, Ed, if you don't mind. I kinda want ta keep the helio if I can."

They climbed into the warmed up chopper and he flew them up the mountain to a small cabin in a clearing. She didn't even see a trail through the woods for a truck to reach it. He landed the bird near the house and switched it off.

"You are going ta have ta help unload some of this stuff. Doc wants ya off your feet for a few days, so as soon as I get a bed set up, you are goin in it."

She just nodded. She still didn't know what was going on, entirely, but somehow she knew he would take care of her. He handed her the light stuff, blankets, light groceries and he carried the rest.

The cabin wasn't in bad shape; the door was still hanging, and still locked. He dropped the load he was carrying and fished in a pocket for the key Ed had given him. The front room was relatively clean. The roof was whole and there were dust covers over the furniture. He yanked one off a couch in front of a huge stone fireplace and gestured her over.

"Sit, I'll take care of the rest." She sat down, and while he was gone back to the chopper she let the tears start to fall. She heard him make several trips to the porch, and behind her, taking things into other rooms. She tried not to let him know she was crying. She was a little afraid of him right now, there was too much she didn't know.

"Shit…" She heard him say behind her. She didn't know what he was upset about so she tried to sink lower into the couch. "Omi…" He gave a deep growl and turned and stormed out the door again.

He came in with an armload of snow covered wood from a pile on the end of the porch. He built a fire, using paper from some of the bags they had brought with them to get the flames started. He wrapped a blanket around her shoulders before going back out the door to finish bringing in the supplies.

He slammed the door, as he carried in the last of the supplies.

"The chopper is tied down - wind is picking up." He said as he carried his load past the couch. She heard him in one of the other rooms of the cabin, putting things away. She stood up and followed the sounds.

"Omi get back ta the couch. I'll get dinner in a minute. I want ta get this shit put away." She picked up a box of dried pasta and looked around the small kitchen.

"I can help, Victor." She said quietly.

He turned and pulled her against his chest. She felt him shaking, but he wouldn't let her look up at him. "Please, Omi, go sit down. Doc wants you off your feet." He whispered against her hair.

"Victor, you are exhausted. Let me help." She said, her voice muffled against his shirt…the same shirt that he had worn when he dragged her out of her apartment, the same shirt that was still damp from the fall into the river…

"Omi, sit the fuck down, I will take care of this. I just fell off a fucking statue; you lost a baby for fucking crying out loud. GO SIT YOUR ASS DOWN!" He growled the last at her. She turned and ran from the room. She heard him start to follow her and then slam something down on the table.

She went back to the couch and sat down, wrapping the blanket around her. She sat and stared into the fire. Why was he doing this? Why was she even here? It wasn't like they were in some committed relationship or something. Ok, they had been seeing each other fairly regularly but he had never slept over, never left any of his things at her place, never invited her to his place – of course she thought she might understand that one now – and never a word, not even a gesture, that he might care more about her than sex.

It wasn't like she hadn't been okay with that, at first, well to be honest, until she saw that damned footage on the news. Maybe she hadn't been exactly gushing over him either. She had been casual about the sex, mostly because she hadn't wanted to scare him away, and well frankly, she really had enjoyed it. There had been no strings, well until that little white stick said positive…and she was back to where she had been at the doctor's house. Did he have the doctor do something? He had said she lost the baby, was that true?

She was smelling food in the kitchen. There was no electricity in the place the only light now was coming from the fireplace in front of her, and from a lantern he had lit in the kitchen. She didn't know how long she had been staring into the flames, her thoughts twisting along the same path. She heard him behind her, and a plate came down over her head, some kind of hash with potatoes and meat on it. She picked up the fork that was lying on the plate and started eating. He sat down on the other end of the couch, his own plate heaped high. He never said a word, just finished his dinner and waited for her to finish hers.

He took both of their plates back to the kitchen and then she heard him move to one of the back rooms. The shadows in the room changed directions and she realized he had taken the lantern with him. She heard the sound of more covers being pulled off of furniture, the sound of a mattress being flipped over and sheets being put on. He came back into the room.

"Omi you need rest. Doc said lots of sleep. I have a bed made up." He was standing behind her, she felt his hand gently on the top of her head, threading through her hair. She leaned her head back. It didn't seem like much, but it was enough for her, enough to know he had to care at least a little bit. She stood up, and started walking toward the back of the cabin. She was shaky on her feet, and he swooped in behind her and picked her up. She was tired, so tired she was asleep before he even put her on the bed.