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

No Place Like Home
by Dizi

Chapter 2: The Fire

He lay in agony all night, knowing Jessie was on the other side of a thin wall which he could tear down without breathing hard. He could smell her everywhere. What was special about her? If someone had asked him he couldn't have said why he hadn't killed the whole family years ago. He just... hadn't felt like it. Instinct said 'don't do it' and he was all about his instincts. They were all he trusted.

They were giving him mixed signals about Jessie though. One minute 'take her, she's yours' and the next 'nope, not for you'. He both wanted to leave and he didn't. It was hell.

When she'd brought his clothes, he'd pretended to be asleep when she opened the door, but had slitted his eyes open at her gasp. He'd been lying on the bed naked and she'd looked at him like he was a gift from God. She'd looked funny as hell.

He hated this nice guy shit. He should be screwing her brains out and reveling in her screams. Instead he was lying awake all night trying to figure out what to do about her with a hard-on that wouldn't quit. 'Hell, I am getting soft.' he thought to himself. 'And, dammit, jacking off didn't even help, I have a goddamn healing-factor!' It wasn't always good to be able to heal anything.

Victor was finally starting to drift off to sleep when he smelled smoke.

His eyes flew open and he swore as he yelled, "Jessie! Grab some clothes! We gotta get outta here!" He threw his clothes on and ran into the hall, seeing smoke come up the stairwell at the other end as he went next door. The fire was spreading fast.

He slammed her door open and then slammed it shut again. Jessica was sitting on the edge of the bed rubbing sleep from her eyes wearing a long old fashioned cotton nightgown that covered her from head to toe.

"Hurry up!" he snapped. "Grab some clothes, you don't have time to get dressed. The house is on fire!" He watched her go to the closet and pull out one those frilly dresses she usually wore. "Pants, woman! We gotta run!"

He could smell the smoke getting stronger and grabbed a blanket from the bed and shoved it up against the bottom of the door. Looking up, he saw she had her clothes and - God help him - her purse bundled in her arms and was waiting to be told what to do next. Nodding approval, he grabbed a high-backed wooden chair from the corner of the room and used it to knock out the window.

Turning back to her, he held out his arms, "You said you trusted me. Now, you gotta prove it. C'mon."

Her eyes shining with fear, she ran to him. He picked her up in his arms and held her tightly to his chest.

And jumped out the window to the ground below.

Jessica didn't let out a sound, holding her breath until they landed then letting it out in a rush. Standing, Victor carefully set her on her feet. "Are you okay?"

Staring at the flames engulfing her home, she nodded, tears running down her face. A sudden thought struck her and she started to run towards the barn. "We have to get Pete and my rabbits."

He overtook her easily. "No, Jessie, stop."

"But we have to save Pete-" she tried to make him understand.

He pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "Their already gone, Jessie."

"The barn's not on fire yet." She struggled to get away and his arms tightened.

"They did it this evenin' when they came then." He had intended to kill them for it anyway, but now... "Put your shoes on, time to get goin'. They might still be around." The smoke was overwhelming his sense of smell, and he couldn't be sure but he'd bet there was someone.

"I got a jeep due east through them trees." He pointed the way. "You go on and I'll catch up in a bit. Be dressed when I get there." Victor intended to make sure there was no one to follow them. Jessica walked swiftly in the direction he'd indicated, periodically looking back over her shoulder at him.

Victor waited until she was hidden by the trees before searching for the man who would have been left behind to watch for survivors. That's what he would do, what he did regularly, and if they didn't - well that didn't matter anyway cause he was going to kill them all.

He found the point where the fire was and there were his prey's tracks. It didn't take long. These were obviously amateurs. Anybody else would have known who he was by now and run. This guy pumps bullets into him and ruins his nice clean clothes after scaring his girl. Okay, maybe not his, but she was with him and no sane man, and very few insane ones, would take that chance.

By the time he got to the jeep, Jessie was buttoning her shirt and he got a glimpse of cleavage. Which brought back the problem from the beginning of the night full circle. He sighed in resignation as he changed his shirt, grateful she couldn't see him clearly in the dark and missed the blood. "I'll get you to a motel and then I got some things to take care of." Prey to hunt down, he thought to himself.

Jessica looked at him with desperation in her eyes. "Y-you're not going to leave me, are you?"

"I'll be back, just got something to do." And he said before he could stop himself. "I promise."

He saw the relieved look cross her innocent face and marveled at the feelings it inspired inside him, not sure if he liked them or not.

At the cheap little motel he found, there was only one room available, but that didn't matter because he wasn't staying. It was just a place to stash her while he went hunting. Twice was two times too many and they wouldn't live to hurt his Jessie again.

Jessica watched Victor leave with a heavy heart. She knew he'd be back but that wasn't what she'd really wanted to know. She wanted to stay with him forever, which was crazy as he was for all intents and purposes a stranger. But she couldn't help feeling she belonged with him.

She'd met men before, though not many, and knew he was different. He'd saved her life twice and acted embarrassed about it. What kind of person would be embarrassed instead of proud? She didn't know much about men, but it seemed more unusual than normal man-type stuff.

And when she went to give him his clothes last night... He hadn't been wearing anything! No underwear, no blankets, nothing! She'd felt so strange inside.

She felt tears prick her eyes. There was no way she'd ever find out about those feelings. He didn't want her to stay with him. She wanted to be with him. Besides, she had nowhere else to go.

The tears started falling in earnest as the events of the night caught up with her and she fell asleep crying. She dreamed of Victor and felt safe even in her sleep.

When Victor came back three hours later, she was curled up in a ball in the middle of the bed. The only bed in the only available room and it had a blond haired angel in it and he'd had a hard-on all damn night.

She stirred as he closed the door. "Victor?"

"Yeah, it's me. Go on back to sleep." Again he found himself grateful for the dark so she couldn't see the blood all over him.

Jessica snuggled back down, murmuring sleepily, "Glad your home."

He sat in the chair and watched her sleep for over an hour wondering what to do with her, before finally taking a shower to wash off the blood.

When Jessica woke, she was disoriented being in a strange room. As she got up and started to look for Victor she tripped over him lying on the floor. She fell across his bare chest, her hands splaying on it. His hands came up automatically to steady her.

Her wide blue eyes met his green ones and she couldn't look away. "Um, hi."

His mouth quirked at her and his eyes darkened as her fingers started petting the thick hair on his chest. He had to force himself not to purr and instead growled softly, "You don't wanna be doing that."

"What?" she asked softly back.

"I ain't a pet. If you don't watch it, you'll get a quick lesson in men you ain't ready for." He spoke in hard voice trying to sound menacing and warn her off. He must not have put enough into it, because her eyes lit up.

"Really?" She'd spoken in a voice filled with hope, almost making him groan.

He growled, trying again, "That ain't supposed to make you happy!"

"But it does!" Jessica was excited. "If that's what you want then I-"

"You don't know what I want or you wouldn't say that." And how was he supposed to make her understand that now?He had been nice, dammit, apparently too nice.

"But I want to know, I want to be with you. And you've been so nice to me-"

"Don't say that!" He had definitely lost control of the situation. "I ain't nice! I ain't what you think!"

"You've been coming to the farm for years and you never hurt us." Jessica scoffed. "Please, Victor? I can't imagine being with anyone else but you. Please, even if it's just once..." She tried to kiss him but he turned his head and she caught only the corner of his mouth.

"You don't know what you're asking for, Jessie." he growled. He sat up, intending to push her away from him before he gave in. She was supposed to be innocent and naive, where was this coming from? He hissed as her breasts pressed against him and his hands tightened involuntarily.

Sensing victory, Jessie -she liked that he called her that -wrapped her arms around his neck. "I don't care. I never wanted anything before now, not really. And what I want is you and whatever this is..." She'd been raised on a farm and knew what sex was, but had never before wanted to try it. Now she did and she needed... something.

Victor pulled her against him and kissed her roughly, trying to warn her away, and she melted against him. He knew he was lost, but had to try one last time before he completely lost control. "This is your last chance, Jessie. Take it while you can." he growled.

She cupped his face in both ofher hands. "No matter what, this is what I want, Victor. You."

Giving in, he kissed her again. The way he'd wanted to since he'd seen her naked when she was sixteen-years-old.

Afterwards, she lay cuddled against him, eyes closed, and a satisfied look on her sleeping face. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She was so small and delicate, he'd been terrified he would hurt her, but she had been wild and enthusiastic. Again he found himself wondering what it was about her that drew him to her. Whatever it was didn't matter anymore.

She wasn't for someone like him, but she belonged to him now and he wasn't letting her go.

to be continued.

note:
malefiscen- Thank you! (psst! I like Vic too, please don't tell Wolvie.)
Elizabeth Robbins- Um, did I say she was human? Did I say she was a mutant? sing-song voice I'm not telling.
Rogue14- Here ya go!
draelynn- You have revealed yourself to be a... (dum dum dum)... a JENNY fan! And you never reviewed! Jessie is stronger than most will realize. I don't believe it will actually show until the end but its a quiet strength.
TricaLee- Wow, you thought the exact same thing? I don't know whether I should be scared or excited.

Next chapter skips ahead one year and you can see how their relationship has gone. Now it starts really getting fun - not that it hasn't been already.

Thanks for reading and the support,
Dizi