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 12: Epilogue

He hadn't been here in six months. Wasn't supposed to have been here then, wasn't supposed to be here now. That was just too damn bad, wasn't it?

The satellite feeds weren't enough to tide him over. They didn't give him anything but an image. He needed more. He needed to touch her, hold her, be with her. He settled for waiting in the shadows to catch her scent and listening to her voice from a distance.

Victor watched his son walk, but missed his first steps. He had heard him crying in the night while teething, but had never seen his teeth. He had heard his laughter and seen his smiles from a distance, but would never have them be for him. Billy would never know him.

He knew everything about the house they lived in. The layout, the furniture, how often they cleaned, all the agents who lived there, what they ate regularly. Everything that happened in the house was known to him, but it would never be his home.

Yet, it was. Jessie was there. It was where his family lived. His Jessie raised their son there. It was where he belonged and where he wanted to be, but he would never enter the house. He would never sleep in the large bed with her, never sit down to dinner, never spend a quiet evening with his family.

Oh, he could go in. There was no one who could stop him if he tried, but he wouldn't. It was the price he paid to keep them safe and he didn't regret it.

No, that wasn't true. He did regret it, but would continue this path and never waiver from it. Because no matter his pain and longing, he wanted them safe more than he wanted to be part of their lives.

He had only these few days or hours when he could slip away to watch them, smell them, dream of them, and the satellite feeds he watched constantly whenever he had a spare moment.

Nick Fury kept him as busy as he could and at the same time fully informed, but wouldn't be happy to know he was here. Again. But today was special. He had to be here today and had worked hard to make sure he would be able to be.

Whether they knew he was here or not, he was spending today with his family.

Jessie knew he was there. She always knew. She felt him watching them and could feel the yearning pouring from him.

She yearned too. She yearned to feel his arms around her in the night, to hear his voice, to tell him everything that happened each day, to share their son, to be with him. It was all she'd ever wanted.

But today was a special day and they would be together, even if it was from a distance.

"Mary?" Jessie called to the agent who was with them for only another month. They changed every four months but they were always female and always called 'Mary'. She didn't know their real names and didn't want to know. "We'll be outside for a while. Billy and I are going to have a picnic."

The sturdy three-year-old walked outside on his own, excited by the outing. Billy loved the outdoors and felt more at home there than in his room with all his toys. He had a lot of toys. Some were given to him by his favorite uncle, Logan, and some came to the house in boxes with no return address on the label. Though he didn't understand that, he only understood that when the big brown truck arrived he got new toys. He didn't always like it though because sometimes his mother would cry.

His blond curls bounced and his green eyes shone with happy laughter. Picnics meant they would be outside a long time and he would get to spend time with the doggies and kitties and bunnies and all their friends. They were allowed in the house but they liked it better outside, and so did he. Billy liked it outside all the time. He felt like he belonged there.

After they ate their lunch, Jessie let Billy run around. He looked so much like Victor he was a constant reminder of him. She knew he would be just like Victor, she could tell. Jessie thought Logan knew too. So far, just like with Victor, she just... knew what Billy needed. How much of that was being a mother and how much was that part of her child that had not really developed but she could feel, she didn't know. Jessie didn't worry about it, she knew who to call if there was a problem. Logan had promised to be there for them in Victor's place if he was needed.

She didn't want Logan to be in his place. Jessie wanted Victor there. Perhaps someday, when Billy was older, she would call that number that she had. The one that would let her hear his voice and she would take back the man she loved. If it hadn't been for Billy she would never have agreed to let him go. But today wasn't that day.

Today she was going to talk to him, but she wouldn't get a reply.

Jessie felt him get a little closer and hoped he was close enough. She had a lot to tell him. It had been six months since he was last here.

She started chattering and pretended he was sitting beside her listening as he had before.

Feeling the phone in his pocket vibrate, Victor swore under his breath. "What?" he growled, knowing who it was.

"Goddammit, Creed, what are you doing there?" came Fury's angry voice.

"Don't get all worked up. I ain't made contact."

"That's not the point, Vic, and you know it." And he did, but he couldn't make Fury understand. He needed at least this. "You're not supposed to be there."

"Did something come up?" It better not have, he'd checked everything to make sure there wouldn't be any interference with his day.

"No, nothing's changed. You had better be back before something does." Nick Fury's voice was exasperated, but he had just about given up on the idea of trying to stop Creed from going on these little jaunts. He always came back in more control than before he disappeared.

"Then don't bother me again unless the situation changes. It's my anniversary." Victor hung up without waiting for an answer.

He went back to straining to hear every word, every sound Jessie and Billy made. It was a balm to his soul and he drank it up greedily. While it played havoc with his body just to hear her, he wouldn't give it up for anything.

It was too bad he hadn't understood his what his instincts had been telling him so long ago. They had known and tried to warn him. He just hadn't understood that although he and Jessie fit together like pieces of a puzzle, they had no way to live the life she deserved. He was all about his instincts, he should have gotten the message.

He wasn't good enough for her, never had been, never would be. If there was a way to fix it so their bond would be completely broken, he'd do it. Not because he wanted to be free, but because she deserved a better life than this. She deserved better than him and always had.

He was Sabretooth, a viscious killing machine. That hadn't changed and never would. Jessie wasn't for him and never should have been his.

He should never have touched her, but would always be grateful for the time he had been given with his Jessie.

The End.

note:
Beany- I hope so too. Just not here. It's not that I don't like him, but you see the symbolic irony, right?
draelynn- Good for you! You caught on quick. He's basically taking the chance of sacrificing his sanity for those he loves, as sacrificing his body means nothing and he's not afraid to die.
Elizabeth Robbins- I don't know about deserves better, I mean psychotic sociopath, but he is definitely a rule breaker so who knows?
Captain Tish- Um, its on my bio. I'm sorry but I always keep stuff on my bio about whats going on with the stories. For the first two chapters, I actually had a spoiler that Jessie was a mutant.
Irbis- They're not broken up! They're bonded so they're um... uh... permanently separated? Broken up implies they had a fight or something which could simply never happen. Right?
Jinxeh- "Moulin Rouge"? Never touch the stuff since Nicole Kidman broke my Tommy's heart and seems to have driven him insane. And hey, I never promised nothing bad would happen! Look what I did to Jenny. Of course, that was in her past but still...
MissMidajah- Um, isn't death threats a little extreme? looking around nervously I hope this one made it a little better.
Rogue14- Thank you for understanding! That's exactly it.
GothikStrawberry- Sorry about your comp, hope it was a nice funeral. Its nice to read them all together, huh?

As a reminder, for those who are interested, Elizabeth Robbins has written a story using Jessie and Vic along with Wolvie and Jubes. Its in the same setting as this one but is kinda a 'what if' on Jubes and Jessie being pregnant and going into labor at the same time! Very funny.

It is FINISHED now! Was it everything I promised? (Not that I really promised anything, but you know.) I really enjoyed Jessie, she was lots of fun, and strangely enoughtrusts Vic implicitly. How often do you see that? In a normal relationship even, much less with Sabretooth. She showed him what life could be and he gave it up for her and his child. I find that completely beautiful, and feel that its probably the best thing that could happen to him, making him learn to care about someone and their happiness and safety before himself and his wants. Enough to do what's best for them and let them go if thatIS what's best.

Thank you so very much for reading my first foray into Sabretooth and pleasepleaseplease tell me what you think of it. Good or bad. New or just new to you. Remember, I always want to know. If you don't feel comfortable reviewing there is an email address listed on my bio (which I sincerely try to keep updated as to what I'm doing writing wise - and personal stuff that potentially interferes with said writing).

Thanks for reading and the support,
Dizi