I DON'T Own them – not at all not a bit – not even an itsy bitsy bit…well except any OC's that happen to raise their heads – but I don't own them not a bit.

A/N This started as an unrelated oneshot, but I just couldn't stop wondering exactly who the wife was, exactly why Sabretooth was put away, and exactly why he decided NOW to bring it out. I have my answers, and as the third in the Dictation Trilogy – now so do you.

Victor had tamed the beast, locked it away for almost thirty years, but without the ones that grounded him – kept him human, Sabretooth was clamoring for freedom again.

Chapter 9 – Planting Seeds and Watching them Grow

He'd put up with it long enough. Three days Tad had been withdrawn, three days not speaking to anyone but Gambit or Janet, she wasn't even talking to Todd or Angel, and he was getting sick of it. It couldn't have hit her that hard, the news about Allan, and he'd thought they were making progress. He was hiding under one of the trucks, vehicle maintenance had always been a good excuse for getting away and thinking.

"Dad?" Shit, she WOULD find him out here.

"What is it, Angel, I'm kinda busy?"

"I didn't know you knew how to do that?"

"Just because your mother insisted that we have our vehicles serviced DOESN'T mean I don't know how." He growled.

"Fine…I'm worried about Tad." Double shit; he wasn't in the mood to discuss this, certainly NOT with his daughter.

"Why?" He hoped he sounded curious, not sarcastic.

"She's not talking – not since her blow up the other day."

Blow up – that was news to him. "What blow up?"

"I said something about you calling her 'my girl' and she just blew, said something about not being second anymore and told me I was guilty too."

He scooted out from under the truck. She was leaning on the side, near the toolbox.

"Hand me that wrench, the one on top." He said. She reached over and grabbed it, dropping it into his hand. "What was the problem with me calling her that?" He asked as he scooted back under the truck. The wrench beat his claw for loosening the oil plug.

"It's what you used to call Mom." Angel said softly.

"Shit, I didn't even realize it." He snarled.

"I still don't get what she said – about being second?" He scooted back out from under the truck, the oil dropping into the pan under the block. He wiped his hands on his jeans and stood up.

"Hand me that filter wrench would you?" He pointed to the strap wrench.

"Here."

"I know how she feels – about being second. There comes a point when you just don't want to do it anymore." He dangled the wrench from his hand and looked at Angel. "Baby, she's going through a rough patch, I don't know what's going on for sure, but it's bugging me too."

"What do you mean – you know how she feels. When have YOU ever been second?"

"All your life."

"What?"

"Not to you, Baby. There are a lot of things your mother and I didn't tell ya. Mostly because you were a kid and wouldn't understand, and then as you got older, they just were in the past."

"Are you saying Mom had an affair?"

"NO! Just…I wasn't her first choice."

"What? Mom LOVED you."

"Yeah – it took her a while."

"What?"

"I just sayin it took her a while…she had a lot to get over first."

"Like what?"

"The death of the man she loved."

"Did you kill him?" He looked at his daughter in shock. Three months ago she never would have even considered asking him that question.

"No – yes – sorta but not directly…it's complicated."

"Dad?"

"This is why we didn't want to tell you – we dealt with it, a long time ago. His name was Daniel Varden, he was my partner, my point man, my cleanup man, and the first and only person I ever called a true friend. He's the one that convinced me to give up the rackets, the contracts, try leading a normal life."

"How'd he die?"

"Well, we were getting things set up for full time running of Creed Industries, and we needed a secretary for a couple weeks, your mother was the temp."

"What?"

"That's how we met…all three of us. She was feisty, professional, good at her job, and the most beautiful thing I think I'd ever seen…Daniel too. There was no fight, no macho shit, I could see how much he loved her, and I stayed out of the way. And I could see how much she loved him."

"What does this have to…?"

"I'm getting there…we were on a last job, a favor for an old friend, we'd finished up, were heading back to the states – the wedding was a week off, and Daniel wanted to get home. We were walking up the steps to the plane when the airport was attacked by terrorists. He was shot in the crossfire, and died on the plane. He made me promise to take care of your mother, if anything happened to him, and I kept my word."

"Dad?"

"I never should have taken him on that last job…if I'd have made him stay, you'd be his."

"She never stopped loving him?"

"No…to the day she died, she still called out to him in her sleep."

"Oh – Dad?" He could smell her tears, and smiled.

"I loved her – I can't deny it, I loved him – as a friend, something I'd never had, to that point. I would have stayed in the background, let them have their life together. Now they're together. I buried her next to him."

"Dad?"

"I just can see where Tad's coming from, not wanting to be second anymore. I don't either."

"Dad – you were never second with Mom?"

"Oh yes I was…I knew it. I gave her everything I had, but I know she always held something back. I have no regrets, Angel, but I always knew where I stood."

"And you think Tad feels that way?"

"Yeah…I can see it, from what you and other sources have said, her father's a real piece of work, there was no way in hell she would ever be good enough for him, then whatever the issue with Xavier was, there was no way she was winning brownie points there, Allan was kinda the nail in the coffin. She NEEDS to be important to someone, and all the people she cares about, well she's not number one with…not even you."

"She's my best friend."

"I know – but think about it, you married HER best friend…and you two, just by the nature of the relationship are more important to each other. I think she's feeling a little betrayed at the moment. I'm not quite sure why she's pissed at ME! I haven't done anything."

"I have…"

"ANGEL!"

"Well – she's a feral, and not related, so…I kinda have been trying to fix you two up…"

"DAMN IT!"

"You're not interested?"

"That's not the point…" He snarled at his daughter, wondering if her healing factor would protect the baby if he wrung her neck.

"So you are interested?"

"That's not the POINT!"

"Dad…I'm worried about her – and about you…you both need someone to depend on. I thought you might be able to…what with the healing factors and the age thing not being that big a deal…" He was beginning not to care if her healing factor would protect the baby…Todd could just knock her up again.

"ANGELA DIANE CREED!" He roared.

"Okay – maybe a bad idea – in actuality, but it looked good on paper."

"Getting out of my sight right now would be a good thing – if you want to keep breathing." He watched her face blanch, and he realized he must have let the beast loose.

"Angel…" She ran into the main part of the building. "SHIT!"

He debated going after her or finishing the oil change. He decided to finish the job; he needed time to cool off.

XXXXXXXXXX

She slipped through the hall trying to avoid anyone. She wasn't in the mood to watch Angela and Todd play newlyweds, and she didn't know what to do about Victor. She liked him – okay her over active imagination had already been way down that path that Angel started trying to lead her down, but he was her best friend's FATHER for crying out loud. He was old enough to be her father…scratch that GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER…of course he didn't look it which made it even worse…and when he was wearing tight jeans and a ripped grease covered T-shirt he looked like sin incarnate. She shook her head and tried to slip past his open door without him noticing.

"Tad, I need your help."

"I'm kinda busy."

"It won't take a minute. I need someplace to put this." He was holding the darkened glass case in his hand. "I don't want to tell anyone else about it, but…"

She stepped into his room and glanced around. It was somewhat bare, but there was a hutch on the top of the dresser that could be moved forward. She pointed to it.

"Hang it behind that."

"I thought of that, the hutch's connected."

"Pull it out."

"It won't come out…its stuck."

"Well maybe if you move it around a little it will come unstuck."

"I don't think that will work."

"Well – it is awfully big…maybe if we both move it at the same time…"

"I don't WANT to know what you two are talking about – but you better BOTH be dressed, I'm coming in." Mystique said from the doorway. Victor quickly hid the case under the bed as the door opened.

"We're trying to move the hutch and dresser." Tad snapped at the blue mutant.

"Thank GOD!" The blue woman laughed. "I thought I was missing all the fun." Tad blushed.

"Tad…MYST! Help us move this thing. I don't like where it is." He snarled.

The three of them grabbed the dresser and pulled it out from the wall about an inch before it stuck on the floor again.

"GAHHHGGG, these floors are crap. We need to lift it." Victor snarled.

"Not on MY back. I spent enough time with you there…thanks. Get your new girlfriend to help you there." Mystique said as she walked out the door.

"She's gone…and I think that's far enough to slip it behind." Tad said.

"Yeah and thanks…and sorry about Myst, her mind's usually in the gutter."

"Yeah – I've noticed." She walked out the door, trying to ignore the eyes she could feel boring into the back of her head. She just didn't know what to think. One minute he was just Angel's Dad, and then the next she was getting all hot under the collar because of his jeans and shirt, and she KNEW he could smell it. That he wasn't saying anything, or acting on it, or not acting on it was just freaking her out.

She grabbed her backpack from her room and dashed for the stairs before anyone else could catch her. She was tired of waiting for something to happen. Victor seemed content to just work on the cars that Remy managed to steal and get them in shape, and work on training the Purgatory kids to take care of themselves. He wasn't doing anything about the weapon, or Sinister or Candice or anything.

People were in danger because of her, and Tad was tired of sitting around and not doing anything about it. She hated waiting in the first place, even if her impatience had gotten her into trouble more than once. She ducked out the front door and started down the long driveway. Somehow it reminded her of her banishment from Xavier's and she almost turned around and went back, but she wasn't someone else's responsibility, and hated feeling like she was.

She made it to the gate, when the sound of the bike engine coming down the drive sent her ducking into the overgrown hedges.

"Come out, Tad, you ain't goin anywhere." He said from the back of the bike. She slunk deeper into the hedges hoping he would just give up and go back to the building. "Kid, I'm not in the mood to play games right now, get your ass back to the house, or I'm dragging you back by your hair."

He chose that moment to look right where she was hiding and she didn't doubt for a second he'd do what he threatened. She stepped out of the hedge and started walking back up the drive.

"You know you don't have to walk." He said, glaring at her.

"No thanks." She snarled.

"And I thought I was in a mood…" He muttered, before pulling a cigar out of his jacket pocket and lighting it. "Your choice, kid, but it'll be faster if I drive ya."

She just kept walking. She heard him muttering behind her.

"…picks now to grow a damned backbone." She heard before the engine on the bike roared to life again. She stepped to the side of the drive so he could pass by, but his arm snaked out and dragged her belly first across the gas tank of the bike. "I aught ta spank your ass too." He growled.

Tad just closed her eyes against the speeding ground just inches from her nose. Her hair was dragging along the gravel drive and she didn't dare struggle, she knew she'd heal from any injuries from a crash – and so would he, but they'd hurt like a son of a bitch. He kept his hand on the small of her back as he pulled into the garage, and then yanked her off the bike, and over his shoulder.

"If you're gonna act like a damned teenager, then I'm gonna treat ya like one. You're GROUNDED!" He roared as he carried her up the stairs and dropped her onto her bed. "You're just lucky I'm not in a GOOD mood, or I WOULD spank your ass." He shouted as he slammed the door – and locked it. She was trying to decide if ripping the window out was worth it when he slammed the door open again.

"And for the RECORD I did NOT put my daughter up to anything." He shouted and slammed the door again. She sat there in shock for a second, and then went back to thinking about the window; as the door slammed open a second time.

"HELL!" He crossed the room in three strides and yanked her up off the bed.