CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

Settling the Family

AN: 5:05 in the morning.

Can't sleep.

'Nough said.

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NICK FURYS HELLICARRIER

VICTOR CREED/SABRETOOTH

Worry about his mate gnawed on him until he was almost ready to jump ship, take the Blackbird and head back to the mansion. Instead, he growled at Fury. "Get me connected to Xavier."

Nick Fury raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

Victor growled louder. "Did I stutter?"

" , it's one in the morning," Steve Rogers felt the need to point out. "Xaviers an old man—"

"Not as old as you" Tony injected, but was ignored.

"—he needs his sleep."

Victor shot him a heated stare. "And I need to check on my frail and the cubs."

The Sabretooth could have kicked himself at that moment, not that he showed it.

Natasha Romanov raised a delicately sculpted eyebrow. "Cubs?"

Victor gritted his teeth. "Just patch me through, Fury. NOW."

Nick Fury rolled his eyes, but turned back to the holo-screens. His crews night-shift had taken over and he gave the orders; "Get Xavier on the vid-screen. Now."

Some buttons were pushed, some calls made, and a very groggy and extremely grumpy Xavier was on the 'phone' so to speak. "Ah, Nick Fury. To what do I owe this extremely late—or should I say early—pleasure?"

Victor stepped forward. "It's me, cue-ball. Get Jimmy on the phone."

"Ah, Victor. I see you made it there in one piece."

"And dashed all yer hopes, too, I bet." Victor grunted.

"Perish the thought." Xavier replied, but Victor could see the annoyance in his eyes. "I believe Logan should be asleep." The Professors eyes became slightly distant in a way that let Victor know he was using his telepathic powers. "Ah…..I suppose not." He frowned. "It seems that he, Miss. Jubilee, Miss. Darkholm, Miss. Clarisse, Miss. Andrews, Jonesy, Roddy, they're all still awake."

Victor let out an annoyed growl that matched the expression on Xaviers face.

"What the hell are they all still doin' up!?" he demanded. Cubs needed sleep. Surely his brother knew this! "Just get Jimmy on the phone."

"I'll start up a vid-screen in that dorm room immediately." Then another screen flickered up, showing the dorm room where Logan and the others were crammed together like sardines in a can.

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XAVIERS SCHOOL FOR GIFTED CHILDREN

THE DORM ROOM

When the blue vid screen suddenly appeared in mid-air, Cassies eyes went huge and she jumped a little, tightening her hold on Roddy. "GAH!"

Logan looked at the screen where he still held Rogue in his arms and arched an eyebrow when he saw Nick Fury, the Avengers, and his scowling older brother on the screen.

"YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXCUSE FOR WHY THEY'RE ALL STILL UP, JIMMY!" the Victor on the screen roared.

Cassie gulped.

He. Was. Pissed.

Logan growled back, but he looked a little abashed too. "Things came up." He mentioned.

Victor addressed his mate. "Frail, what are you still doin' awake!? Get under the covers and take Roddy with ya. Lay down." It was an order given in the manner of a drill Sargent and Cassie half-heartedly glared at him as she started to push back the covers of Rogues bed.

"What's with the Star-Trek technology?" Cassie asked as she began to work the covers down the bed then frowned. "Wait, this is Rogues bed. If I take her bed, where will she sleep?"

Victor pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jimmy, can't ya grab some mattresses from the store room."

The Wolverine actually looked abashed and coughed to cover his embarrassment. "Uh, yeah."

"Then get to it!" Victor ordered. "And how's the Firecrackers head?"

"Not even a bump." Logan reported, letting his arms fall from around Rogue.

That's when Steve Rogers decided to add his own thoughts, and the Captain America was NOT looking too happy. "Soldier, how old is that young lady?"

Logan looked to Rogue then back at the screen then to Rogue again. Marie, suddenly extremely uncomfortable with the scrutiny, bit her lower lip.

"Ya mean me?" she asked tentatively.

"What's it to ya, bub?" Logan growled.

Steve Rogers was very stern. "You should not be in her sleeping quarters! The children I can understand—"

Victor actually gave an imperious hand gesture, stopping the old-fashioned man. "This is MY family business, Cap, and you stay out of it!"

Jubilee bounded up to the screen in her canary yellow pajamas. "Wow, is that Captain America!?"

"You should be in bed, young lady." Steve Rogers scolded the girl on the vid-screen.

Victors voice came through low and deadly, causing everyone to tense. "I'm only tellin' ya this one more time, Cap, you stay out of my family business." He then looked back at the screen. "Get into bed, Firecracker. You share with Clarisse, there. Rogue and Jonesy take the other bed. Runt, hurry up and get a mattress for my mate and cub."

"Interesting." Clint Barton said quietly, meandering over to Natashas side, a smirk on his face. "I never figured the Sabretooth as a family-kind of guy."

"I know." Natasha answered just as quietly. "It seems as though 'The Butcher' has found a pride."

Tony was simply gaping at the whole scenario until he started to crack up laughing.

"Is that Tony Stark!?" Jubilee gaped, star struck.

Rogue buried her face in her hands. "Oh mah….."

"BED JUBILEE." Both Logan and Victor ordered at the same time. The pixie haired firecracker 'eeped' and practically dived into the bed where Clarisse was already laying, looking groggy but amused.

"Right." Victor growled. "Rogue, Jonesy, take the other bed. Have a seat, mate, Jimmy should have a bed fer ya soon." He glared at his younger brother. "Won't ya, Jimmy?"

"On it." Logan grumbled, leaving the room.

Victor used the ensuing silence to take in his mate. She looked tired but otherwise unharmed, no missing limbs or cuts or bruises that he could see. And she was breathing. His cub looked both sleepy and grumpy, but also unharmed. How he wanted to be there holding the two of them. They should be in his arms, safe and protected, sleeping soundly. He wanted to be lying next to her with one hand on her chest to regulate her breathing.

He grunted to bring her attention back to him. "How's yer breathin', mate?"

Cassie rolled her eyes and blushed. "Just fine. I already told you it was just a panic attack."

"Panic attack?" both Steve and Nick Fury asked at the same time.

Cassie simply blinked at them. "Uh, who are these guys?"

"Don't worry about it, mate." Victor ordered and Cassie raised an eyebrow at him, unamused.

"Is one of them that Fury fellow who's missing the whatchamacallit?" she asked. "Thee….uh….infinity serum?"

Now it was Nicks turn to look extremely exasperated. "It's nice to see how top-secret information seems to be known by a roomful of school-children."

Cassie gave him a cool glance. "I'll have you know I'm twenty." She decided not to mention how many people told her she was practically her own inner-child.

"And I'm seventy-five." Fury countered.

Cassie blinked at him. "Wow, you really age well."

Tony sniggered again. "And the irony continues."

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TIME PASS

There was more silence until Logan returned with the mattress and some sheets and pillows and a bed was made up for Roddy and Cassie who were promptly ordered to climb in.

"Right, things are at least move'n along over here, runt." Victor told his younger brother. "Make sure you get that list done and start up a purr. I'm hope'n ta get this wrapped up pretty quick."

"Right." Logan grumbled, eyeing the Avengers and Fury through the vid-screen.

"Night Vic." Cassie called from the mattress.

"Night Pa." Roddy echoed and Victor felt that warmth creeping up his body, though he showed none of it outwardly.

"Night mate. Night cub. Now you listen to yer Ma and Uncle Logan, ya hear?"

"Yeah." Roddy responded sleepily.

Even Jubilee, Clarisse and Rogue added their own 'good-nights' before Logan started up his purr and they all drifted off.

Fury shut down the vid-screen and turned to simply look at 'The Butcher'. The 'El Tigre'. The feral who supposedly had no conscience, who had just finished getting his make-shift family into bed.

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VOCABULARY:

MEANDERING: (v) 1. To proceed by or take a winding or indirect course.

2. To wander aimlessly; ramble

ENSUING: following

CITATIONS:

"meandering." Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 24 Sep. 2013. browse/meandering.