Thanks for the reviews. The rest of the chapters are going to be hard to write. This one was.


CHAPTER 12

Victor walked into his room. Ron's scent was still hanging in the air. He went into the bathroom and looked around. Her scent was the strongest in here. It was either a perfume or body wash scent. He looked around and found a perfume bottle that was still full on the counter. He smelled it. Smelled like cherries. That's what some of Ron's scent smelled like. Victor stripped and turned on the shower. There was shampoo and body wash on the plastic shelf. He washed his hair and stood in the shower for a few more minutes then stepped out. He wrapped a towel around his waist and went back into the bedroom as he dried his hair with another smaller towel. He found a pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt on the foot of his bed. Logan's scent was in the air.

"Thanks, Jimmy." Victor turned around and saw Logan standing by the door.

Logan nodded his head. "They're the only ones that are big enough. The rest are smaller."

"Gonna have ta go into town tomorrow and get some clothes," Victor said.

"Best have someone go with ya," Logan said. "Don't want any of the Brotherhood after ya."

Victor nodded his head. "Yeah."


The next morning Logan walked to Victor's room, knocked and opened the door. He saw his brother was still sleeping and. . .purring in his sleep? Logan walked up to the foot of the bed. Yup, he was purring in his sleep. Logan chuckled and looked at his watch. 11:00. Logan went over to him and shook him awake.

"What?!" Victor growled, half asleep.

"It's 11:00 in the morning," Logan said. "You need to get some clothes, remember?"

"Can't I get them later?"

"No," Logan said. "Get up!"

Victor growled and got up. "Can I get a shower first, dad?"

Logan growled back. "Make it quick."

Victor went into the bathroom, stripped, and gave his hair a quick wash and hopped out. He dried his hair with the towel he used the previous day and wrapped it around his waist. He then walked out and got dressed into the sweats and his boots. Then Logan and Victor headed to the garage. They hopped in a truck and headed to the mall. Logan parked the truck and they headed in. As Victor entered all the scents hit him head on like a big wave crashing into a boat. It overwhelmed his senses and he took a step back. Logan was used to all the smells.

"You'll get used to it," Logan said.

"What is he doing here?!"

Logan and Victor turned around. Ron was standing in the doorway.

"You told me you wanted to go shopping with me!" Ron said. "You lied to me!"

"If I told ya your father was comin', you would have never come," Logan said. "You do want to go shop don't you?"

"Yeah." Ron turned to Victor. "Don't talk to me!"

Victor only nodded, sadness in his eyes. Logan's brows furrowed.

"Vic, there's a clothing store right ahead that you might like." Logan pointed to a Faded Glory store right ahead of them. "We'll catch up."

Victor nodded and headed to the store.

Once Victor was in the store Logan turned to Ron.

"Ronnie, you have to stop this," Logan said. "You haven't talked with your father at all since you got out of the hospital!"

"I don't want to talk with him!" Ron said. "He abandoned me!"

"You said I abandoned you," Logan said, "and you finally believed me and realized I didn't. It's the same with your father. He only saw you once on your birthday, then he was forced to leave. He didn't get to see you ever. He didn't abandon you, Ronnie. You need to talk with him. You could help him with clothes."

Ron nodded and they headed to the Faded Glory store. They found Victor by a jeans rack. He pulled out light blue ones and seemed to like them. Ron walked up to him.

"Go try them on," she said.

He went into the changing room and stepped out a minute later. Ron walked up to him and circled him. She crossed her arms and went over to a shirt rack. She looked through them and pulled out three shirts. She put a green one up to his chest, then a red, then a white. She shook her head and put them back. She looked again and came up with a black sleeveless. She put that up to his chest and smiled.

"Now put this one on and this white flannel," Ron said.

He did and came back out. Ron smiled and nodded. She took a hair elastic out of her pocket and handed it to her father.

"Now, put your hair up."

He pulled his long mane back and Ron grinned.

"It's PERFECT!" she said. "Now, I'll find a few more jeans and shirts while you change back into your clothes!"

Ron went over to a different jeans rack on the other side of the store. Logan came up to Victor.

"Do you like what she picked out?" Logan asked once Victor came back out in his sweats and boots.

"Yeah. Glad she's talkin' to me," Victor said.

"She's probably gonna take you to a hair salon or somethin' for that mane of yours," Logan said and started laughing.

"Like hell she is," Victor said. Victor still had his hair pulled back.

"C'mon, Father dear, let's pay for your clothes."

They did and left the store with only a bag in her hand. She then dragged her father and uncle into Hot Topic. She loved this store. She gave her uncle the bag and disappeared into the somewhat noisy store. Victor and Logan looked around a little in the front of the store. Vic, saw a lot of different kinds of shirts. Some he saw were Batman and Harry Potter. Soon Ron walked back to them with a big bag in her hand. An hour later they all got some pizza from the food court. They sat at a table away from everyone else.

"How is your nose?" Logan asked Victor.

"Okay." Victor bit a piece of the greasy pizza. "Overwhelmin' with all the scents. Kinda makin' me feel sick."

"Did the same to me before, too. Jubilee keeps on draggin' me here, so I'm used to it," Logan said biting into his slice. "Damn, this thing is really greasy. What do you think, Ronnie?"

"I think I'm gonna go hide under the table," she said and hid under it.

"Why?"

"That's why." Victor pointed to the other side of the food court. "Stryker."

"Shit," Logan said. "He's comin' this way. Stay under there, Ronnie."

"Okay," she said.

"Jimmy, he'll recognize you and me," Victor said as Stryker came closer.

"I know." Logan pulled his cowboy hat down over his eyes. "Let's hope he just walks by without looking at this table."

Victor pulled the hood on his sweatshirt. "How does he know we're here?"

"I don't know."

They went back to eating and Stryker got closer and closer. Stryker glanced down at their table as he went by. He stopped two tables away and walked back to them.

"Shit," Victor whispered. "He's comin' back."

"Stay cool," Logan said.

Stryker stopped in front of their table. "You two look like some people I know."

"Ya must be mistaken, bub," Logan said.

"No, I'm quite sure," he said.

"Look, we don't know you," Victor said.

"Actually," he swiped Logan's cowboy hat off, "you do. I'd know your voices anywhere. So Logan, Victor," he said as Victor took of his hood, "where is the girl?"

"Don't know," Victor glared at him. "I haven't seen my daughter since you took her away from me," he tried to lie.

"I think you have seen her," Stryker said. "I think you know where she is. You don't want to tell me? Fine. I'll find her again. Even if it means going after her at your school."

He walked off and all his men left. Once out of sight, Ron sat back up in her seat.

"Oh, crap, he found me," she said. "He's attacked the school before hasn't he?"

"Yeah," Logan said. "Back in '06. But I don't get how the hell the facility and him survived the flood. Let's head home and tell Charles about this."


Ron and Victor nodded and the three of them left. Soon they got to the mansion and were in Charles' office.

"Charles, we got a problem," Logan said. "Stryker found us at the mall. Ronnie hid under the table and he didn't see her and he wants her back. I think he is gonna try to attack the school to try and find her."

"He said that he'd find her again," Victor said.

"What are we going to to?" Ron asked. "You heard what Stryker said. He's gonna find me and take me away. He did it before. He can do it again."

"Which is why we are leavin'," Victor said.

Ron and Logan's jaws dropped to the floor. "What?!" they said.

"We can't leave, Father, we can't!" Ron said.

"We can and we are, Veronica. I can't risk you getting kidnapped by Stryker!"

"Victor, surely Ron will be in greater danger if you two are to leave," Charles said.

"I got safe houses all over the place. Stryker won't be able to find us."

"What about Eric, Victor? He will find you and Veronica. You both will be in greater danger."

"I'll take my chances."

"You can't make me go with you, Father." Ron turned to her father. "I'm an adult. I can make my own choices."

"Kid, I'm around 150 years old. You are about 30. You are a toddler compared to my age and you will do as you are told, got it?"

Ron growled and nodded.

"Good, we'll be leavin' sometime tomorrow."

Ron walked out of Charles' office, slamming the door has hard as she could without breaking it. She walked and walked and walked until she found herself on the roof. She walked over to the front edge and sat Indian style, closing her eyes and began to meditate, trying to clear her mind and think. Maybe he's right, Ron thought, Maybe we should leave.

But wouldn't we be in greater danger if we did leave? Her mind argued.

Father has safe houses all over the place.

But Stryker would find me. He did at that cabin.

We both have the same powers. Stryker won't be able to take us down.

But his team took down Father back at that cabin.

Ron stopped arguing with herself once she got to that memory of Stryker taking her away from the cabin. She sighed and opened her eyes. Meditating wouldn't work right now. She sniffed the air and said without looking behind her, "What do you want, Father?"

Victor walked the rest of the way and sat next to his daughter. "To talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." Ron got up and jumped off the roof, landing gracefully on her feet. She looked where her father was sitting, three stories high. "Don't even think about following me. I want to be alone," she said to him and walked behind the school to the edge of the cliff.

Victor stood up and sighed. He took one last look at where she was walking to and turned away, heading to Charles office. He knocked on the door and Charles let him in. Victor stopped short and saw the whole team was there. A growled rumbled in his chest. Logan walked over to his side.

"Victor, I was just about to start tell the rest of the team the news," Logan said.

"What news?" Kurt asked.

"Veronica and I are leavin' tomorrow," Victor said.

"What?!" Everyone but Charles and Logan said.

"You're leaving?" Kurt asked. "When?"

Victor nodded. "Tomorrow mornin'."

"Tomorrow morning?!"

Victor nodded again. "Yeah. Listen, can I speak with Charles, Storm, and Logan alone?"

"Whatever you have to say to him can be said to the rest of the team," Scott said.

"It's about Eric Lensherr," Victor said. "I ain't gonna talk about with the rest of ya in here 'cause it has nothin' to do with you, so shove off."

They did as ordered and left. Victor walked to Charles' desk and collapsed into one of the leather chairs in front of it, leaning forward and put his head in his hands.

"I dunno what to do," he said. "I've never had experience with kids at all. I dunno how to be a father."

"Do you think that leaving is really the answer?" Charles asked.

"It's what I've always done. Just go to one of my safe houses to get away for awhile," Victor said. "Nobody ever found me."

"Ron has a choice in this," Storm said. "She is an adult. She can make her own choice of leaving with you or not."

"She's practically a baby compared to how old I am," Victor said. "I don't see an adult. I see a child. My child."

"How old will she be until she isn't a 'child'?"

Victor shrugged. "A really long time."

"Logan?" Storm turned to Victor's brother.

"I have to agree with him, Storm," Logan said. "I see Ronnie as a child still, too, so she can say all she wants, but she doesn't get to decide. Victor gets to."

Storm just nodded and backed off.

"Look, we'll leave for a while. Y'know, try it on our own and if things don't work out we'll come back," Victor said.

"We should still have those sessions," Charles said. "Are any of the safe houses near here?"

Victor nodded. "'Bout half an hour from here, but that won't work."

Charles nodded. "If--when--Eric looks for you, you will be found easily if you stay in the state of New York. Where ever you go, give us a phone number, so we can keep in touch and so we can do those sessions over the phone."

"Will do," Victor said. "She hates me so much. Everythin' was goin' fine earlier."

"Veronica will come around, Victor," Charles said. "Once you two are alone and away from everyone, she should come around."

"Hopefully," Victor said.

"Where is she?" Storm asked.

"At the edge of the cliff in back of the house," Victor said. "Told me not to follow her. I tried talking with her, but she said that there was nothing to talk 'bout. I can't help her any. I don't really know what Stryker did to her."

"Victor, all you need to do is talk with her," Charles said.

Victor nodded. "Hopefully she will talk to me."


Ron was sitting at the edge of the cliff with her legs hanging. She had been sitting there all day staring at nothing. The wind picked up some, blowing the scents from the school to her nose. She smelled her father and snorted in disgust. She loathed him right now for making her leave her only other family. She had liked the blue kid, named Kurt. Liked him a lot. He was her best friend. She growled and chucked a rock she was playing with in anger. It didn't go far and it hit the water hard. She growled again, glaring down the drop off. Ron picked up a familiar scent.

"What do you want?" she asked her without turning to him.

"To talk with ya." He sat down next to her.

"Why?" Ron asked Logan.

"Can't I talk and say goodbye to my only other family before she leaves?"

"I guess."

"You guess?"

Ron glared at him. "Talk about what?"

"I'm just wondering how everythin' is with you?"

"Everything is fine."

"Really? Sure didn't look like it back with your father."

Ron looked away, growling.

"Ya need to speak with him, okay? Ya also need to get away from this place and I think going with yer father is the right thing to do. Once ya are away from this place there will be less stress and it'll make it easier for you to talk with Victor."

"You really think so?"

"I don't think. I know. C'mon, let's get inside and spend what time we have left together."

Logan stood up. Ron looked up at him and also stood. She smiled at him and they headed inside. They spent the rest of the evening together. Logan wanted to take Ron out into the city for as long as possible, but he was afraid of Stryker finding them, so he tried to make the best of their time left together. They decided to watch a few movies, Reign Over Me and The Pursuit of Happyness. No one of the team bothered to tell them to come to dinner. Charles said to let them have their time together. Ron was curled up against Logan with her head on Logan's chest, listening to his heart beat as she watched the Adam Sandler movie. Tears ran down her face at parts in Reign Over Me. It was sad during some parts. It was a really good movie. Logan had his arm around his niece as they watched the movies. She moved around and laid her head on his shoulder, still curled up. She really liked the Adam Sandler movie. Logan laid his head on top of hers as they now watched Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith.

They didn't noticed that Victor was peeking at them in the door way of the rec room. He thought they didn't notice. His scowl deepened when his brother laid his head on Ron's. He bared his teeth. He was jealous. Jealous of the attention and love his runt brother was getting from his daughter. From HIS cub. He would never admit that he was jealous. He continued watching. He had been watching them the entire time they had been together. Victor took one last look and left as the movie ended. Logan turned his head to the door way and he frowned. He could smell Victor's scent.

Ron looked up at her uncle as the. "What is it?"

"Thought I smelled someone," Logan said.

They watched three more movies and Logan decided to quit for the night. Ron didn't want to stop.

"One more movie, please?" she asked.

"It's midnight, Ronnie," Logan yawned. "I'm tired. Not sure if I last through another movie."

Ron sighed. "Alright."

They stood up and headed out. They hugged and Logan kissed her forehead goodnight. She headed to her room. Logan sniffed and followed his brother's scent to the kitchen. Victor was drinking his fifth beer at the island and looked up at his brother, scowling at him.

"What are you scowling at?" Logan asked.

Victor shrugged.

"I smelled your scent back at the rec room. Why were you spying on me and Ron?"

"Curious of what you were doing," Victor said.

"Right. Why were you there?"

"Ain't any of yer business."

"Are you jealous of Ron spending more time with me than you?"

Victor scowl deepened. "I am not jealous."

"Yer scent says otherwise. Why are you jealous?"

"I ain't tellin' you nothin', little brother." Victor stood up and started for the door way, but Logan blocked his way. "Out of my way, Jimmy."

"Not until you tell me why you are jealous."

"Like that's gonna happen."

"It's gonna happen," Logan extracted his claws, "even I have to force it outta you."

Victor grinned and extracted his own claws. "Bring it on, Jimmy. I'd like to see you try."

Logan looked at his brother. He didn't really want to fight him of something small and maybe a little stupid. "I don't want to fight you."

"You can't stop what you started, Jimmy. You picked a fight. You got one."

Logan growled at him. "Fine."

Logan retracted his claws and swung a punch at Victor's jaw. Victor caught the fist and swung his own claws at Logan's face, shredding the runt's cheek to ribbons. Logan snarled as the skin knitted back together. It stung. He extracted the set of claws in his caught fist. They went through Victor's hand, blooding flowing from the wounds. That stung bad. He threw a punch to Logan's jaw as hard as he could and his brother only backed off a few steps from the blow. Victor growled at the punch having no more effects than that. Logan used to land on his ass from a blow like that from his brother. Not anymore since the adamantium. Victor growled again, throwing more punches. Logan blocked most of them. Why the hell did I have to start all this? He thought and threw a roundhouse kick. Victor grabbed the leg swinging it and Logan body around, slamming him hard against the island. The next thing he knew, he was airborne, slamming into the fridge upside down from the flip he received. He slid down it and then was again slammed against the fridge by his brother. Logan drove his claws into his brother's chest and through the fridge door, pinning him there.

"Are you going going to finish what you started?" Victor asked him.

Logan retracted his claws and punched Victor in the jaw and Victor yelped, landing hard on his ass. He held his dislocated jaw. "I just did. Just admit that you are jealous, Victor. You lie to me and I can't lie to you."

"Ya know how to fix a dislocated jaw?" Victor asked.

"I did that."

"No, shit, Sherlock. Can you fix it?"

"I don't know how to relocate a jaw. So, tell me."

"A little. That's it--"

"What is going on here?!"

Logan and Victor turned to the kitchen entrance. Charles and Scott were there in their nightwear.

"What is going on here?" Scott repeated. "Why is there a dent in the island is why are there dents and holes in the fridge?"

"Got into an argument," Logan simply said.

Charles moved his chair in some in Victor's direction. "Are you alright, Victor?"

"Yeah. Probably got a few bruises and my lower jaw is dislocated," Victor said.

"I'll take you to the infirmary," Charles said. "Hank should still be in his lab."

Victor nodded and stood up, wincing and followed Charles. Logan and Scott followed too. They entered and found Hank slumped over a book and Hank looked up as they entered.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Victor had some. . .difficulties with Logan," Charles said.

Hank looked over at Victor and Logan. Logan had blood on his cheek. Victor's shirt was torn and bloody, his hand was covered with blood, looked to be in some pain, and he was holding his jaw. "I see. You and Scott can go back to bed, Charles. I'll take care of these two."

Charles and Scott nodded and left.

"Sit down on those tables," Hank said.

Logan and Victor did as ordered. Logan's back was hurting since he was slammed into the island and now the pain was finally ceasing. Hank came up to him.

"I'm fine, Hank, just check on my brother," Logan said.

"You look like you are in pain," Hank said.

"Victor slammed me into the kitchen island and my back is hurting. The pain is almost gone."

"Alright." Hank went over to Victor. Victor growled at him. Hank growled back. "I need to check you over to make sure nothing is broken."

"You ain't touching me," Victor growled, still holding his jaw.

"What happened to your jaw?"

"Jimmy dislocated it."

"When you were fighting?"

"It was arguing," Logan said.

"Right. Look, Victor, do you want me to relocate it or do you want to continue holding your jaw for a really long time?"

Victor glared at him. "Fine."

"Alright, now hold still and relax your jaw."

Victor did and Hank placed it right. Victor now continued holding his jaw until it healed. It only took a few minutes to heal and Victor let go of his jaw. "Thanks."

"Your welcome. Now is there anything else that is hurt?"

"No. I probably have a lot of bruises but they're probably healed now."

"What was it you were arguing about?"

"It's a family problem. None of your business."

"Aright. If you need anything else let me know."

Logan and Victor nodded.


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