Pre-Note: The bulk of this story takes place after 'Waiting' and there are references to it, though it is not especially necessary to read it to understand this one. In fact, if you are not a W&J romance fan, please don't. (Okay, I didn't mean that! Please, please, read and review it!) This is not an actual sequel to 'Waiting' but takes place after and the X-men will be here. Promise!

disclaimer: All characters are owned by Marvel and I expect to make no money off them. Damn it.

No Place Like Home
by Dizi

Chapter 1: The Farm

He hadn't been there in more than two years. The place had changed.

When he'd first found the farm it had been thriving and full of life. The old man had let him stay in the barn as long as he didn't bother his family. Almost gutted him, but the point was to hide not draw attention to his location. Very protective, that old man was. Course, couldn't blame him. Wife was old but pretty, cute kid, nice home, who wouldn't feel that way?

Well, he never had, never wanted the home and family thing. He'd found himself watching them through the windows. You could see it was a loving family. Kisses on the cheek, ruffling the kid's hair, squeals of laughter, deep chuckles, and pot roast for dinner. After they ate, the old man read the newspaper, the wife knitted, and the kid did homework. They were quiet and content together, but he could tell the kid was a pip. Jessica, he'd heard the wife call her.

He came back many times over the years. Wasn't sure why, but he liked watching them. Sometimes the old man knew and sometimes he didn't. When he did, he'd bring food out for him. That was unusual. Most people were just happy to live through their meetings with him.

The kid kept drawing his eyes to her. She was cute and always seemed to have a pet around her. When Jessie, as he thought of her, came into the barn all the animals went towards her and he felt himself wanting to do the same. She'd pet them all, laugh, and talk to them. They lapped it up and couldn't get close enough. She was a kid. Why did he want her to pet him too?

When she was sixteen, he saw her change clothes through the window and wanted her to pet something else. From then on, when he came all he did was watch her. He knew she wasn't for him. She was a girly, naive, little farm girl. Someday, she'd get married and have lots of babies and run the farm with her husband.

And him? He was Sabretooth, a vicious killing machine, and he liked it that way. She wasn't for him.

But he kept going back anyway. He saw her grief when the old man died. Saw the old woman start clinging to Jessie and saw her start working the farm by herself, instead of with the husband she should have looked for after High School. He saw her hide herself away and work herself to the bone.

After that he stayed away. He'd been going every three to five months for years but couldn't stick around to see what happened next. She would either kill herself working so hard or run off to find herself a man, and he didn't want to see either one.

He couldn't believe the change in the place. There were weeds everywhere, the house and barn looked real run down. He saw deterioration everywhere he looked and thought the place was deserted until he went to the barn.

Jessica was sitting on the floor of the barn with her against a post. She was cuddling a rabbit and the old horse was lipping her hair. There had once been several horses and some cows and who knows what all else. He found himself wondering what had happened to them all and quickly pushed the thought away. He didn't care and didn't want to know.

She reached up to pat the horse's neck. "I'm sorry you're all alone now. I couldn't get anyone to take you. Don't worry, I won't leave you by yourself. You're my friend." Jessica sighed. "I'll try again tomorrow. I just can't take care of you. I can make enough to provide for myself but not all of you. I'd keep you with me if I could."

Standing she put down the bunny and walked to the barn door. Pausing to look around, she said, "I miss all our friends and Mama and Daddy."

Victor watched her go to the house from the shadow by the barn. So the old woman was dead too. If she was all alone, why did she stay here? Because of her 'friends'? They were just animals. Of course, so was he.

He sunk deeper into the shadows as a truck pulled up the road and came towards the house. As three men got out, he heard one say, "Take care of the barn." Maybe she did have help, but he'd keep an eye on them anyway.

The other two men walked up the steps to the porch and knocked on the door. When, Jessica answered she had a wary look on her face that immediately put Victor's back up. She was scared of them.

The one in charge pushed his way inside. "What, not gonna invite us in, Miss Priss? That's bad manners, thought your mama taught you better than that."

"I-I'd really like you to leave. I told you I'm not ready to sell. This is my home." Victor edged closer to get a better look at what was going on. Her voice had sounded real nervous.

The man grabbed her by the hair suddenly and she cried out. "But you're gonna. My boss wants this place and he gets what he wants." His hands went to the collar of her dress and ripped it down the front making Jessica scream. "We think you just need a man to show you who's boss. Either that or you'll sell to get out. Don't care which, my jobs just to make you sell."

With a snarl, Victor leapt over the porch rail, intending to rip out the bastard's throat. He jerked the man away from Jessie and slammed him against the wall. Hearing her sob, he held back from killing them so as not to scare her further and gut punched the one who had been hurting his Jessie. When the other came for him, he slammed his fist into his jaw and he went out without a sound.

"Pansies." he growled. He dragged them outside by the hair and threw them in the back of the truck.

He turned back to see Jessica standing in the doorway holding her dress together with both hands a look of wonder on her face. "Y-you saved me."

"Yeah, well, don't make nothin' of it." Forgetting the third man, he pushed her inside. "You should go change your clothes. Don't worry 'bout them. I'll take care of 'em."

She looked at him with trusting eyes and nodded. "Okay."

He watched her go up the stairs and wondered what he was going to do about her. Jessie wasn't for him but he just couldn't leave her. She needed someone and he was the only one there. Course, she hadn't run screaming from him. Who knows...

The truck peeling out of the yard interrupted his thoughts and he swore loudly, remembering the third man. He ran out to the barn and swore again. 'Take care of the barn' the guy had said. He'd been referring to the animals. The old horse had been gutted, its entrails spread across the floor, and the rabbits had been cut to pieces and was everywhere. He couldn't let Jessie see them, it'd break her heart. He'd have to keep her away from the barn and take care of it later.

"Damn, must be getting soft." he muttered to himself.

Jessica came back downstairs as he started going through the house, making sure it was as secure as he could make it.

"Are you hungry? I was going to make dinner." she ducked her head when he looked at her, shy of the stranger who had saved her. She'd never been around men much, her parents had been over-protective and she felt awkward.

He grunted. She took that for a 'yes' and almost ran to the kitchen. She didn't have a lot and from the size of him, he could probably really eat. She opened the big freezer and got out a roast. She didn't eat meat anymore but still had some from before she stopped. One day she just couldn't make herself eat it. All her friends were the farm animals and she couldn't bring herself to eat meat anymore. She hoped he liked pot roast.

Victor could smell the food cooking and thought she'd taken after her mother. He had fond memories of the roast the old man had left for him. He wandered the house looking around at everything. He'd never thought he'd ever be inside. He could have done it any time he wanted to, they couldn't have stopped him, but something had made him feel he shouldn't. Like he would ruin it or something just by looking.

Ending his tour of the house at the kitchen, he stood in the doorway and watched her work. This was where she belonged. In a home, with a husband and a bunch of brats. She wasn't for him and he had to keep reminding himself of that. She deserved better.

Jessica looked up to find him staring at her and started to fidget nervously. "Um, dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. I need to go feed my rabbits and-"

"I'll do that." he interrupted. "Figured ta sleep in the barn anyway. So I'll do it when I go out."

"Oh, you don't have to do that anymore. I have a room you can use." Jessica smiled at him.

He scowled at her. "You knew I was here before?"

"Were you hiding? I could tell by the way the animals acted that someone was there and asked my Daddy. He said you stayed in the barn sometimes." She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Was it a secret? I never told anyone but Daddy."

"Weren't a secret. Just didn't know anyone knew I was there." He wondered if she'd known he was outside when she was sixteen and he'd seen her naked. "I'll take care of the animals."

She wasn't sure why he was upset with her, but she didn't understand anything about men. "I'll get the room ready and put out towels for you to take a shower later, if you want."

Her words conjured up images in his mind of them in the shower together and he quickly pushed them away. She was not for him. "Sure." and he abruptly went out the backdoor to the barn.

Jessica watched him go thinking men were very strange.

When Victor came out of the promised shower two hours later, he found his clothes gone. The towels were on the small side and wouldn't fit around him. He had to search for something to put on and all he could find was a frilly pink robe. He wrapped it around his waist and tried to ignore her scent coming off it.

"Jessie!" he roared, storming down the stairs. He needed his clothes.

Her eyes widened at the sight of him barely covered by her robe held in place with one hand. She'd never seen a man's naked chest before except her Daddy's and Victor looked nothing like her Daddy. Neither did his legs...

"Um, is something wrong?" she asked hesitantly.

"Where's my clothes?" he demanded. Damn, he could smell she was turned on and he couldn't find his clothes and light out of there.

"I put them in the wash." Jessica swallowed at the look he gave her. "You didn't have anything else with you and I thought you'd need clean clothes... "

She blanched when he swore and he held onto his temper by the teeth. "And what am I supposed to wear until they're clean? Don't need clothes to sleep," her eyes went wide and he had to fight to keep from grinning at her expression, "but I'm gonna need something 'til then."

She thought quickly. Her father's old clothes wouldn't fit him. Looking at Victor holding onto the robe which slipped down to reveal his bare hip, she finally said staring, "Maybe a clothes-pin?"

He gave her an exasperated look.

"Maybe?" she asked, a little hopefully.

"Fine." he growled, thinking being nice was going to kill him. He would never have thought a good girl like her would stare at him like that and his body was reacting to it. As she ran to get the offered clothespin, he followed slowly, considering.

She pulled them out of a drawer in the kitchen and held them out to him. He grabbed her with his free hand and pulled her against his body, trying to ignore how good she felt. "If you don't keep them eyes to yourself, frail, ya might find me taking up where that son of a bitch left off earlier." he whispered in her ear, making her shiver.

She asked in a small doubtful voice, a frown on her face, "You'd hurt me?"

He let her go and took the clothespins. "Do you want to take the chance?" Looking into her wide, innocent eyes, he wished he'd never come here all those years ago.

"I trust you, Victor," she said quietly, seriously.

"Ya don't know what your sayin', frail." he shook his head. "Where's my cigars?" She pointed to the cabinet and he grabbed the pile of things she'd taken from his clothes. "I'm going to my room. Bring my clothes when they're done."

She watched him go up the stairs and again thought how strange men were.

to be continued.

note:
Are you confused? Give it a chance! There's more to come but it will be at least a week as I have a couple more Jenny shorts I want to post first. Well, maybe a week and a half. I have actually 4 more shorts for 'Jenny and the X-men' (five if you count 'Fantasies and Nightmares') and will do two of them at least before I post chapter 2. Then probably the next two before I post chapter 3.

I've been a busy little bee, haven't I?

Thanks for reading, please tell me what you think of it.
Dizi