Auld Lang Zine
A/N This will not be super long guys, but this is another of my "where did Victor turn ugly stories. This one will be multiple chapters, and for those lemon lovers out there, not only will there be dual viewpoints on the romp in the woods, but plenty of flash backs to another time. Lemons will abound in this one, I promise.
Chapter 1
She stared at the computer screen, but not really seeing it. She never should have let Susan and Terry talk her into going camping. Camping on a blind date was generally a bad idea anyway, but ad in the fact that she had an unpredictable temper, and the guy they'd tried to set her up with had a complete mutant fetish, and wouldn't stop touching her made the whole situation explosive at best.
Going off on the hike by herself had probably not been the smartest move either, although it had been the lesser of two evils, and she doubted David or Ralph would have helped her hide the little putz' body.
She never should have taken the trail marked private property, either, but she'd wanted to get as far away from the camp for some peace.
The screen flashed and she looked up.
"Miss Welch, are you feeling okay this afternoon?". She glanced up at Martha, her supervisor. The smug look on her face had Melinda biting back a growl and forcing herself to keep her claws sheathed.
"I'm fine." Melinda answered.
"You seem a little distracted."
"I have a lot on my mind."
"Well, leave it at home. Consider this a warning, either shape up, or you can take a few days at home without pay to think about it."
Melinda just nodded. The woman was a bitch, and part of her wanted to ensure Martha never reproduced, the same part that landed her in the trouble she was in now.
Melinda took a deep breath, and held it until Martha was out of sight among the cubicles. She picked up her phone and buzzed Susan two rows over.
"Bathroom break, now." She said and hung up. By God, if she had to deal with this so did Susan and David.
She logged off her computer, and walked to the women's room. She was splashing cold water on her face when Susan came in, and after checking all the stalls, leaned against the sink counter.
"So? What's up?"
Melinda pulled a plastic bag with wadded up paper towels inside. She opened the bag and pulled out the three offending plastic sticks.
"That's what's up." She said as she laid them on the counter, the offending little windows with their oh so clear results practically glowing in the bathroom lights.
"Shit...how did...are you kidding...Shit?" Susan just stared at the sticks. "Okay, I think we can rule out a beam of light through the ear, because you are no Virgin Mary. Seriously, how the hell did this happen?"
"Remember the camping trip?" Melinda looked in the mirror, she actually had dark circled under her eyes from not sleeping.
"Yeah, you didn't let that creep..." Susan started.
"No, the hike I took." Melinda was looking at the small bandage on her left ring finger.
"Yeah, listen we don't have all day here so spill already."
"I came across a trail marked private." Melinda turned and leaned back against the counter. "There was a guy camping up there, and no I'm not giving details, but things went from polite chit chat to hot and physical really quick. I swear it was my damned mutation acting out."
"This guy, did you get a name?" Melinda could see how the news was tying Susan up in knots.
"uhh no." Miranda said as the door opened and Terry came in.
"Neither of you were at your desks, and Martha's on a war path." Terry said as she checked the stalls again.
Melinda gathered up the evidence and quickly stuffed it in her pocket.
"My place, after work." She said as she slipped back to her desk. Her friends nodded, and she watched them exchange concerned looks.
She did her level best to concentrate on work, but her mind kept going to those three little sticks in her pocket and the very frightening prospect of having to track down the one person in the world she wished she could avoid.
Later that evening, curled up with hot cocoa and her warm footies she tried to remember every moment that led up to this mess. The problem was, all she really could remember was a haze of pure pleasure and the taste of his blood in her mouth.
She heard the buzz for the outer door of her building and walked to the door to hit the response button.
"Flowers for Miss Melinda Welch." She groaned, but buzzed the florist in. If they were from that jerk from the camping trip again she was going to drop them out the window. She was waiting at the door. Behind the delivery guy Susan and Terry were grinning like loons. Melinda could see why, there must be four dozen roses in that vase. The girls helped her get it in the door and on a table.
She yanked the card out of Susan's hand.
"We need to talk, Victor" was all the front said, the back had a cell phone number on it.
"So, who's Victor?" Susan asked with a dramatic whoosh of air as she dropped onto the couch. Melinda just glared at her.
"I'm assuming you've filled Terry in?" Melinda said as she sat back down in her favorite chair, dropping the card on the table next to her.
"Oh yeah, how the hell did you, of all people, get knocked up?" Terry was looking at her in awe. Terry knew just how much Melinda wanted a child of her own, to the expense of in-vitro fertilization about three years ago, a complete and utter failure. Of course that was why she really needed to keep this stupid job now. She'd spent probably thirty years of savings, just trying to get pregnant.
"It was very hard, I just had to find some random guy in the bushes and jump his bones for three hours." She quipped back, at least her sense of humor was coming back.
"Alright, so finish." Susan said throwing a pillow at her.
"Well, I took that hike, met this guy camping on a private trail, and one thing led to another."
"That had to be some campsite. Knowing you, it was super primitive, without a single luxury, and I bet he was too."
"Alright, enough. You're not here to criticize my taste in men or campsites. I need help. What the hell am I going to do?"
"What do you mean, what are you going to do?" Susan glared at her. Melinda glared back.
"My healing's all wonky. I burned my hand yesterday, and it's still blistered. I'm scared to death. I've never had my healing fail on me before."
"I thought you were talking about the baby? How the hell do we know what's wrong with your mutation?" Terry said.
"Well the mutation thing is kind of going to dictate how I deal with the baby." Melinda said, sipping from her cocoa.
"How's that?" Susan asked.
"Well, if my factor's wonky, I don't think telling the father is a good idea, at least not until the kid is born, he wasn't exactly honorable Abe the park ranger."
"Who the hell is he?" Terry and Susan shouted.
"I don't know." Melinda said, sounding much calmer than she felt.
"You mean you had sex with some guy and didn't get his name or phone number.'" Susan said.
"Yep that would be me, Miss Irresponsible."
"So who's Victor?"
Melinda just looked at Terry and blinked several times. She wasn't sure who Victor was, herself, how was she supposed to tell them.
"I have no clue who Victor is." This time it was Melinda who threw the pillow at Terry. "And my sex life is not up for discussion here." She said.
"Well, you are knocked up, so it does factor in somewhere." Susan said with a smirk.
"Shut up." Melinda said. "What the hell am I going to do."
"Well right now you're going to pick up that phone and call this Victor guy." Terry said, with a determined voice.
"What the hell does he have to do with any of this?"
"For all you know, he's the guy." Terry said.
"No, I mean, that's a three hundred dollar bouquet of flowers, the guy I met, well my guess is he's some drifter or something." Melinda said
"You won't know until you call him." Terry said.
"Okay, call him, set up a meeting in a public place, that way if it is the guy you can tell him where he won't make a scene, and if it isn't, well you've got a chance to meet a guy that throws three hundred dollars away on dead plants." Susan said.
"Shit." Melinda looked at the card. If it was him, how the hell did he track her down. Why would he say they needed to talk. Her fingers strayed to the other reminder of that afternoon, a scar on her left shoulder, where he'd bitten her. She never scarred but this had. So had the one she'd given him. It puzzled her, but right now that wasn't as important as finding out who the father of her child was, and telling him.
"Mel, its not like you don't want the baby, shit you've been trying for a long time. You were going to go anonymous at the fertility clinic, why not pass this one off as a fertility treatment and forget the guy." Terry said.
Melinda jumped at a muffled noise from her bedroom. "Guys, I don't think we're alone."
Susan jumped up and grabbed the aluminum bat from by the front door, Terry grabbed the vase of flowers and stood on top of a chair to one side of the door to Melinda's bedroom. Melinda reached into the table next to her chair and pulled out her .38.
"Who's there?" Melinda yelled.
Susan walked over, and pulled the door open suddenly. The intruder hissed and jumped back. It was Angel, Melinda's cat.
"Whew." They all said at once.
"Okay, I'm really on edge." Melinda said. She sat down and the cat jumped into her lap. She looked at the card on the table and picked up her cell phone. "You guys don't go anywhere."
They both glared at her while she dialed the number.
"Hello." She cringed, it was him, she'd recognize that voice anywhere.
"It's Melinda. Thanks for the flowers." She glared at Terry who was miming putting her finger down her throat.
"You're welcome. We need to talk."
"Yeah, that's what the card said. How did you find me?"
He chuckled. "I checked with the park, there was only one group up by my place, and of the three frails in the group you were the only one that didn't share a last name with one of the males. I looked up all the Melinda Welches in New York, and picked the one that had been leasing her apartment the longest."
"Damn, nice detective work." She said, kicking herself for wanting to stay in one place.
"So, talk?"
"Umm, can I buy you a cup of coffee."
"You can open the damned door." She could hear a snarl in his voice.
"Terry, open the front door." She said.
"Not that door." He said on the phone.
"Then what door?"
"Front closet."
"WHAT!" She stood up, hung up the phone, and walked to her coat closet and threw the door open. She could see why he needed her to open the door, the door handle only worked on the outside.
"You've been here the whole time."
"I've been in and out for the better part of two weeks." He said as he stepped out and straightened his suit jacket.
"That's just a little stalkerish, don't you think?" She said. Susan had the bat raised to hit him.
"Stand down girls, I think if he was going to hurt us, he would have already."
"Nice call." He walked over and sat down on her couch. "I'll take that coffee, now."
"Wha..." Melinda just looked at him in shock. Terry put the gun she was holding down, and walked to the kitchen.
"I've been trying to find you to tell you about the scar thing." He said. "After I found you and I picked up your scent, I didn't want anyone hurting the mother of my cub."
"Cub?"
"And that reminds me, do you not know how to look both ways before crossing a street, they're called crosswalks for a reason. And who the hell told you knives didn't have to be sharp to work, I swear, frail, this place is practically a death trap." He was growling.
"Excuse me." Now she was getting pissed. "Just who the hell do you think you are, barging into my home, going through my things, and trying to tell me how to cross a fucking street. There's the door, leave your name and number and I'll have an attorney contact you about child support." She shouted.
"No, not gonna happen." He said, standing slowly. Something about the way he moved made her instincts scream danger. "You're carrying my cub, that makes you mine to protect and control."
He moved so fast she didn't have time to react. He grabbed her throat, and she could feel his claw tips pressing against her skin as he lifted her off the floor and almost gently slammed her head against the wall.
"This is how things are going to work. You're going to pack a bag, we're going to my penthouse, where I'm seriously considering bubble wrap for the next seven to eight months, at which point we will decide what's best for the cub. You are going to quit your job, and only leave the building with an escort. I am NOT having the mother of my cub in danger again. Am I clear." She was glaring at him, wondering if she had enough strength for a good kick to his groin.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You have two options. You can get your ass in there and pack, or these two friends of yours are going to be the six o'clock news because I'll throw their dead and desiccated corpses into the street."
"Like hell."
"I don't want to do this the hard way, frail. I've had enough." He turned his head and glared at Susan who was pounding on his back with the ball bat. "And you, can you move that a little lower, I haven't had a good massage lately, and you're missing the knot in my lower back."
Melinda was stunned by the predatory grin on his face.
"Give me a real reason to go with you." She said. Surprisingly he wasn't cutting off her air, but if she hung there much longer she was going to pass out from the pain.
What shocked her was the look that crossed his face, it wasn't anger, but pain and grief. He cut it off just as quickly as it happened, but she caught it.
"My wife was murdered while she was pregnant, I wasn't able to protect them." She felt his arm relax as she was lowered softly to the floor. She just nodded.
"Okay, give me time to pack."
"What?"
"I'm reasonable. If you give me a reason for something, I'll probably agree to it, unless it goes against something I believe in strongly." She said. "Besides, you're the baby's father. You should have some say in things."
Her two friends stood there slack jawed.
"You two better get home. I'll call you later."
"Mel...have you lost your mind?"
"No, go home I'll call you later."
It took ten minutes of him glaring and her cajoling but they finally left.
"I don't suppose I get to know your name?" She asked, after closing the door behind Terry.
"Victor Creed. Some people call me Sabretooth."
She gulped for a second. This was a bigger mess than she thought it was.