DATE: 9/5/2013
1:14 am: Okay guys. It's one in the morning and I can't sleep. So here's another chapter. LOL.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
Pinch And Talk
[ WHERE WE LEFT OFF: Victor gave probably the most emotional speech he's even given and, to his horror, Cassie suddenly seems to have trouble breathing. He rushes her to Hank who confirms that there's nothing wrong that he can find. ;
CASSIE
"Not if...not if bein' with me makes you stop live'n, Cassie. I'd die first."
How could any woman compete with that?
How could any woman say no to that?
"Let's just go to bed, Vic. Suddenly, I'm tired."
...and now onto the story.
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Even though she was safely in his arms in their bed, Victor couldn't relax. He at least had had the presence of mind to collect Roddy from a VERYdisgruntled Logan who suddenly seemed to have pink bows in his spiky hair and finger-paint on his face.
On any other day, Victor would have hounded his brother mercilessly, but on thisday, he had only given the younger feral a second glance before instructing Roddy to climb up on his shoulders as he had Roddys 'Ma' in his arms curled up against his chest.
This had been an immediate red-flag to Logan who had instantly asked what was going on, but Victor had only told him to watch the cubs and get them settled down, never mind lessons. There was NO WAYhis mate was going to be doing any teaching, not when her lungs seemed faulty.
The blue furball (Hank) had assured him that he could find nothing wrong with his mates system of respiration, telling him that he believed it to be a case of nerves. Still, he had taken some blood samples just in case and told Victor he would run some tests and give him the results immediately.
Now Victor lay with both his mate and cub in his arms, keeping up a constant purr to keep them calm, one large muscular hand splayed over his mates chest to feel its rise and fall as she breathed. At the first sign of no breathing he was ready to push air into her lungs and rush her back down to the med-lab. Indeed, he had even thought of them sleeping there, but their room was more comfortable and familiar, and he had Beast on a 'speed-dial' so to speak, in the way of a panic button the blue-furred feral had given him.
"Just press that the instant something happens" Hank had told him, "and I'll come running."
The device now lay on an end-table by the bed in easy reach of Sabretooths long arm.
His cub, Roddy, had seemed to sense that something bad had happened. He was tense and unwilling to fall asleep. It had taken a lot of purring and nuzzling and cuddling to get the cub to finally drift off.
Victor Creed was not used to fear.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. He was quite used to INSPIRINGfear, but, he realized, it was another thing entirely to be the one FEELINGthe fear, and he didn't like it.
This wasn't like some tangible threat to his mate that he could instantly take care of, like the Mountain Lion he had ripped apart with his claws. This wasn't a crazed scientist or a revenge attack from some other mutant. What was a man supposed to do when HEwas the one who was causing the problem?
The thought tore him up inside. It even made it harder for him to keep up the purr and THAT had never happened before. He was her MATE, the one who was supposed to protect her, provide for her, keep her safe, and she, in turn, was supposed to look after him and their cubs (in this case, Roddy). NOWHEREin that plan was her being so terrified she stopped breathing.
"I'm sorry."
Her voice was soft and quiet and made his eyebrows hitch up then narrow. He changed his purr to a soft, commanding growl. "Yer supposed ta be sleepin', frail." he ran a clawed hand gently over her long hair and she let out a soft, contented sound that warmed his heart.
"I didn't mean to scare you like that. Really." she continued.
He pulled her tighter up against his chest. "What part of sleepin' do ya not understand?"
She shook her head. "We have to talk about this, Victor. I can tell you're torn up."
Victor growled again. As far as he was concerned, he had used up his 'emotional quota' for the next couple of centuries. "I'm fine, mate."
Then she did something no-one, NO-ONE, had EVERdared to do to him (except maybe Jimmy when he was a little runt, but he had never done it again, he had made sure of that)...she pinched him. She actually reached around behind herself to get ahold of the skin on his arm and PINCHEDhim.
He jumped about a millimeter. It was a good thing her back was up against his chest, otherwise she would see his eyes which, he was pretty sure, had to be about as big as dinner plates.
"No lies." she commanded grumpily. "Just listen. I didn't mean to scare you. Really. What you said outside was some of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me."
Victor scoffed. "Yeah. Sweet enough that it made you stop breath'n." There was a wealth of self-torture in his voice. So much so that she actually let go of Roddy and squirmed around till she was lying facing him.
"Victor," she looked him straight in the eyes and he fought off the instinctive urge to make her submit. "It's not YOUthat had me panicking. It was ME." she looked away, biting her lower lip and struggling for words. Her hands went up to play with his furs, petting and stroking. "What I felt for you...what I feelfor you, it's...it's not natural. It's not normal to lo-like someone this much after they kidnap you."
Victor rolled his eyes. "Kidnap nothin', I was taking care of ya, mate, and you know it."
She looked back up into his eyes. "I do believe that now, that you were taking care of me, I mean...In your own way... But, if I was any kind of sane, I would have run for it the instant Uncle Steve and Bunny showed up. I mean, there was a phone, I could have called the cops or something, tried to run away, I don't know, done something more...but I didn't...
Then you go and say things like you did and I realized I don't WANTto run anymore. Maybe I even knew this subconsciously before and that's why I didn't try harder to get out. THAT'Swhy I panicked. I'm acting out of character, Vic. I hardly feel like I know myself, not that I did much before all this either." she grumbled the last bit to herself.
Victor took hold of her chin and gently lifted it so that she was looking him in the eyes again. He tried to put his feelings into the look, stamping down the instinct that looking into someone else's eyes meant a challenge.
"So we take our time, mate. I'm new at this too, ya know." That, at least, made her smile a little. "Maybe we could have a date next time that DOESN'Tend with you not breath'n."
She giggled at that and reached up to kiss his whiskery cheek. "Deal."
That was when their bedroom door swung open quietly, and there stood Steve Aswell looking as cool as ever.
"Sorry to intrude." he said quietly, though even Cassie could tell that he wasn't sorry at all. "But we have a situation."
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AN: There we go folks! Review please! The next chapter already has two paragraphs written.
VOCABULARY:
RESPIRATION: Breathing
SPLAYED: spread out