Chapter 2 - Journeys

She huddled under the blanket, shivering in the back seat. The last few days had been nice, but the weather had turned unseasonably cold. Kate was in the back seat, under the broken window. She'd found a sheet of plastic and taped it to the ceiling of the car and put Maggie to sleep in the front seat where it was warmer.

"Mom." She could hear the tired whine in Maggie's voice. "I can't sleep its too cold and I'm hungry." Maggie had Kate's good heavy coat and any blankets she could scrounge covering her.

"Please try, honey. I can give you my blanket if it would help, and we'll hit Pensylvania tomorrow. McDonalds for breakfast in the morning." She sat up and started to lift the plastic to pass the threadbare blanket she'd claimed for herself to the front seat. A sudden tapping on the window startled her.

"Again?" Kate winced at the whine, ignoring what was probably a bird.

Kate jumped as the tapping came again, on the passenger side rear window. She rolled it down slowly, grateful not to have power windows.

"Can I help you?" She asked, it was probably a highway patrol officer doing a wellness check. They'd stopped the last two nights at rest stops like this one. It had been empty when they stopped but now there were two big rigs and a pick-up with a camper.

"I've got a heater in the camper." A rough male voice said. She couldn't tell much about him in the dark.

"We'll be fine." She said, starting to roll up the window.

"Lady, you're messin up my one good deed for the century. It's supposed ta get below freezing tonight and that clunker is a rolling ice box. I'll sleep in the truck cab, you two can have the bunks in the back. I'll even give you the keys so I can't drive off." He sounded sincere and a little annoyed, and something told her to trust him.

"Okay, and thank you." She opened the door and climbed out. She was wearing just about everything she'd packed, so her bag and the ragged blanket was a light load. Maggie looked like a walking snowman in all the clothes she was wearing, plus the heavy coat Kate packed. Kate grabbed her bag and the other blankets and carried them to the camper. It was one of the 'over the cab' type with a full sized bed over the cab and a fold out bed in the kitchen area. It was nice and clean inside and she turned to thank her host again.

He was standing in the light of the open door, his dark silver eyes seeming to glow for a moment in a trick of the light. He wore a short hair style that didn't let you get a judge of his hair color, what she considered a military cut. He was a lot bigger than her first impression led her to believe, and the old fashioned facial hair reminded her of the seventies for some reason. She hadn't seen sideburns like that since the night she got pregnant.

"Thank you again.". She said softly. He held out a hand, the keys dangling from a long claw on the end of his finger. She took them and set them on the small counter near the back of the camper. He was smiling when she turned back, one that reached his eyes, and she realized he wasn't that bad to look at, even with the fangs.

"There's the keys, if you're hungry, there's leftovers from dinner in the fridge. I got paid on a job tonight and I kinda over did the celebration."

"We managed McDonalds earlier, but thank you." She said as Maggie opened the fridge, Kate glared at her.

"What, I'm sick of Mickie D's." Maggie said. "There's plenty here mom."

She heard a deep chuckle behind her.

"I don't mind, enjoy it." He closed the door and she was grateful there was a lock on the inside. He was right it was much warmer in here. There was even a microwave, he must have plugged into the power for the heat. She warmed up the first non-fast-food she'd eaten in almost four days and curled up in the little fold out bed in the kitchen. Maggie yawned and climbed up into the over cab bed.

They were warm at least and could get back on the road tomorrow. One more day, and the little bit of money she'd saved, she hoped would pay for any admittance fees for the school. She drifted off to sleep with the strange thought. Her host looked a lot like Maggie's father, it had to be a coincidence.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

He pulled out of the parking lot, alone, again. He just couldn't find enough pain or blood to make him forget, and he couldn't find a woman to make him forget. Ro's words haunted him. Had he really destroyed their friendship this time. Naaa, she had Ice Prick, it had just been an experiment gone too far. Ro was full of shit.

But he just couldn't get the scent of her tears, the sounds of her sobs, or the taste of her lips out of his mind. And that led to a memory, not one of the lost ones, although it should have been.

It was a good one, the memory of the redhead from Marlow, as he thought of her. She was another one he'd run away to get the taste of her off his lips. Marie deserved better than some cage fighter, even a mutant one, and he wasn't ready to settle down yet.

Yet? Where did that thought come from. He was the Wolverine, and by God he didn't settle down. He bit into his cigar, and looked at the sign in front of him. 500 miles to the US border. He growled and gunned the bike. He could be home in a week, if he stopped and fought along the way. He wanted to save back enough cash.

He wouldn't admit to himself what he was saving for, but in the back of his mind was a ring he'd seen her looking at with the Firecracker at the mall on one of those damned shopping trips they'd roped him into.

"Ooooo...Roguie look."

"Yeah its pretty...but not the kinda thing anyone'll ever buy for me."

"Whatdaya mean...its gorgeous." Jubilee was practically drooling.

"Its an engagement ring, stupid. Who's gonna want ta marry a girl they can't touch." Rogue walked to the benches in the mall and sat down. "Ah ain't in the mood ta look at jewelry, Jubes, Ah'll just wait for ya here."

She had no idea how much he wanted to buy her that ring. She was his best friend, the woman he lusted after in his heart, even when he shouldn't, the only one to keep the nightmares away and the only one he wanted to wake up next to in the mornings. Who the hell was he trying to fool. He loved her, now he just had to find a way to make things right. Ro's words echoed again " You are going to have to face what you've done and realize you may have destroyed your friendship for good this time."

There was no way in hell. She was his girl, and he was just gonna have to prove it to her. He had probably three more fights before he could afford the ring. Three more nights before he could really consider going home and claiming what was his.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Bobby, stop." She pushed him away.

"I thought you wanted this. I thought this was what the 'cure' was all about." Bobby said as he sat up on her bed.

"No, Ah did it ta be able ta touch. Ah didn't do it for you." She got up off the bed and walked to the wall to lean on it. "Leave."

"God, Rogue, you're being such a damned cock tease." Bobby slammed the door on his way out.

She looked out the window, crying silently. It just didn't feel the same, when Bobby kissed her. When it was Logan, she lost all track of everything but how it felt. With Bobby it felt like a chore.

How could he have left. She'd gone back, after slapping him to apologize and he was gone. Ro told her he had to go fight, to forget kissing her. She was so disgusting to him that he had to go back to the cages to forget her. She looked down and saw Ro and Hank having a quiet moment on the yard.

She smiled through her tears. At least they'd finally stopped dancing around the issue. Ro loved him, had for years, but he'd let the blue fur get in the way for so long. They were taking it slow, but Rogue knew they were moving in the right direction. Maybe she'd take Hank on a shopping trip and show him a certain ring.

She wiped her eyes. She was going to have to break up with Bobby, she cared about him but wasn't in love with him, as tonight proved, again. She was going to stay until Logan got back, apologize to him and then take off on her own. She needed to get away from the stares and glares and whispers of 'traitor' behind her back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

He growled as he tried to get comfortable on the front seat of the truck.

"You had to be the nice guy. You had to let the frails sleep in your comfortable bed. You just had to offer to sleep in the cab." He rolled one more time.

"Mister, thank you again." He heard the kid's voice. How the fuck had she heard him. Her scent had been bothering him since he pulled into the rest stop. He growled again and rolled onto his back.

"You're welcome now go ta sleep, kid." He said. Now he'd have to keep his muttering inside his head, damn it. He'd gotten so used to being alone he talked to himself, but if the kid could hear him he was going to have to keep it low key.

The kid was bugging him big time. Her scent was familiar but not, and he knew he should be able to place it but just couldn't. He wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight, not with the puzzle running around in his head. How did he know a kid he'd never seen, why was her scent so damned familiar.

He knew both of them were mutants. That bugged him too. They were obviously mother and daughter and he'd never in his life seen a second generation mutant. All the ones he knew with the possible exception of the damned weather-witch came from human parents, with the X gene coming from the father's side. He'd only had one experience with two powerful mutants having a child and it turned out human - and a royal pain in his ass.

He heard soft breathing from the camper and pulled the blanket tighter over him. The heater warmed both compartments so he wasn't really cold. He had no idea what he was going to do with them, now that he had them...kill them was one option, but somehow he didn't think that would be a good idea. He could take them to Magneto, who was working on rebuilding as his powers returned, but somehow the idea of a kid in the Brotherhood camps without someone to protect her made his stomach churn. The frail wasn't bad to look at, and could be fun for a few times if he played it right...but again the kid. Maybe he'd just let them go - his one good deed this century and leave it at that.

He dozed off, still rolling ideas around in his head.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kate stretched, for the first time in almost a week she'd slept, and hard. She could hear Magpie stirring and sat up. She heard a thump and a curse from the cab and winced. He couldn't have been comfortable up there. She heard the door open and his footfalls walking away from the camper. That sounded like a good idea, her bladder felt like it was going to burst.

She stood up and unlocked the camper door. Maggie jumped down behind her.

"I gotta go, Mom." She squirmed.

"Me to. Race ya." They climbed out of the camper and sprinted to the bathrooms.

"Beat ya." Maggie said as she ran inside. Kate followed behind her, always keeping a watchful ear on her even as she took care of her own need. She quickly bundled back up, the metal seats were almost freezing and she wanted to get warm again as soon as possible.

He was climbing out of the back of the camper when they walked out. He was holding a bundle in his hands.

"Gonna go change." He said as they got closer. She felt a wash of guilt about taking over his personal space.

"We'll get our stuff and go back to the car." She said.

"Well, frankly - I figure I'm stuck with ya..." He pointed at her car.

She looked over and let out a groan. The rear windshield had finally collapsed in the night, and it looked like a pool of something was under the front end.

"I saw it when I got up this morning and went to look. It looks like your ruptured a coolant line, there's nothing left in the radiator, and did you now the oil pump was going out, you've got a huge oil leak too."

"Shit. SHIT. SHIT!" she grabbed a handful of hair. She had about eleven hundred dollars left out of the money they'd brought with them, and she wanted to use most of that to get Maggie into the school."

"I can go into town and get the parts to fix it." He said, "but the windshield is going to be expensive."

"I honestly can't afford it."

"I kinda figured. Where're ya headin'?"

"New York, a school for..." She stopped.

"Yeah, I know the place. Xavier's School for Gifted Youth." He nodded.

"Yes. How did...?

"Kid could hear me talkin' ta myself in the cab last night, and I mutter quiet." She just nodded. Maggie's hearing had been getting stronger the last few months. "Besides, ya both smell like mutants."

She gave him a puzzled look.

"Enhanced senses, claws and somethin' called a healing factor." He said. "You had to have noticed, at least the physical stuff."

"Yeah."

"I figured, if it didn't bother you, either you were a hell of a lot more generous than any other human I've ever met, or one of us."

"Yeah." She didn't elaborate.

"So...I'm headin' north anyway, gotta meet up with some friends in Maine, so I'm goin' through New York anyway, and Westchester isn't off my route. I can drop you two off, if you'd like." He ran a clawed hand through his hair.

"Please, Mom!" Maggie said from the camper. The idea of traveling warm, and without the fear of the car breaking down any second certainly had an appeal.

"Fine, but let me pay you for gas." She said.

"No can do...I'm on a mileage reimbursement thing with my client...if ya pay me I'd have ta claim it, and I don't want him knowin' I picked up hitchhikers...bad for business" He grinned at her.

"What do you do, Mr..."

"Creed...contracting, construction and security at the moment." He said.

"Kate, and yes we'll take you up on that. Let me get anything else out of the car, and I guess we'll be ready to go." She was glad the car was still registered in the name of Dave, the diner owner, he'd get the ticket for abandoning it. She figured it was a small payback for being run out of town.

She grabbed the books Maggie left in the front seat, and any personal identification out of the glove box and console. She opened the trunk and grabbed her emergency kit and the extra backpack she always left packed in the back of a car; clothes for her and Maggie, food, and usually blankets, but they'd used those last night.

He helped her stow the stuff in the back of the camper, and they climbed into the cab. Maggie sat in the middle, and he unplugged the electrical cord and started the truck.

"Breakfast first?" He asked.

"Sounds good."

"No McDonalds...real food." He growled, and she nodded. Without paying for gas she'd be able to buy a nice breakfast for them.

XXXXXXXXXXX

He watched her at the diner. She started to order a cheap breakfast for her and the kid and he yanked the menu out of her hands.

"Three eggs, over medium, three bacon, three sausage, and don't burn it, biscuits and gravy, and cottage fries all around." The waitress looked at her, and he let out a low growl. He'd taken responsibility for them, at least until Xavier's by God she was going to let him feed them. She nodded quickly.

"I ain't playin' Kate. You and the kid need ta eat. You were both damned close to hypothermia last night, healin factors or not."

"I really can't..."

"Fuck...I'm buyin now shut up and eat." Maggie actually gigged and gave her the 'puppy dog' eyes that she could almost never refuse.

"Fine...but I want to know more about you, if you're buying us food." He wanted to reach across the table and strangle her...or kiss her. Where the fuck did that thought come from. She was a frail for God's sake. He'd never kissed a frail in his life and wasn't about to start now. She just stared at him, expectantly.

"Name's Victor Creed, am former military, currently an independent contractor and I like my life simple with no complications."

"Any family?"

"A brother I don't speak to, that's it."

"Wow, pretty lonely, huh?" The kid asked.

He glared at the kid. What the fuck did she know?

"Na, I like being alone."

"Doesn't sound - or smell like it." The kid said.

"Keep your ears and your nose to yourself, Kid." He growled as breakfast was dropped in front of them.

"Can't." The kid actually grinned at him. What the fuck was it about this kid that made him want to ruffle her hair instead of rip her head off.

"So...your turn." He said as he cut the eggs up and poured ketchup on everything. He liked it, it reminded him of blood.

"Kate Rains, my daughter Maggie. Maggie was kicked out of school for fighting and being a mutant, but the principal gave me this brochure about the place in New York. The town wasn't really happy about a mutant living there, so we escaped just ahead of the mob. They're the ones that broke the window."

"Shit, humans fucking suck." He growled.

"Sometimes." Kate said. He liked the name. Short, sweet, and rolled off the tongue well.

"What about the kid's father?"

She looked at the kid, and Maggie just shrugged. He figured the father wasn't in the picture.

"A guy I met at a bar thirteen years ago. I didn't even get his name." She actually blushed as she said it.

"Yeah well, we all make mistakes." He watched her as she dipped her toast into the yokes of her eggs. "And I guess his was takin' off. Seems like you got it together, Kate, if a little rocky right now. He missed out on a good thing."

"I don't know about that..." she was still blushing.

"Well, any idiot who's not careful about leaving his damned sperm laying around, is a fucking idiot. And any idiot who'd leave without getting your name is a bigger one."

She was really red now.

"Don't get a lot of compliments do ya?" He grinned at her.

"Not the backhanded kind." She laughed.

"That's all I got." He laughed too, hell even the kid laughed. He hadn't been this relaxed in years - not since he and Jimmy...no he wasn't going there. He didn't need anyone. She stopped laughing and looked at her plate and he realized she must have seen something in his face.

"I'm sorry." She said softly.

"For what?" He growled.

"Bringing up a bad memory?"

"Just my stupid brother...not your problem."

She just nodded and they finished breakfast in silence.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two more fights, although maybe only one. The pot was nice last night. He turned the bike south. Just a few more days and he'd be home. Home to his Marie.