Disclaimer: I don't' own Sabertooth, or Wolverine, or anything else that Fox or Marvel own.

Chapter Three: Sabertooth and James

It wasn't even nine o'clock, but Victor had already left the hedge clippers and ladder abandoned by the edge of the apple orchard. The birds that'd distracted him had long since fled and he'd now taken their place up in the branches of one of the bigger apple trees. A cautiously nibbled green apple lay cast aside on the ground below and Victor ignored the growling noises from his stomach, as he sat looking over the pleasant sight of the green summer foliage. He was keeping a cat-like eye on the skies, daring any bird to venture into the orchard and didn't notice when someone trespassed in on the ground below.

"Hello Victor!" The cheerful voice caught the teenager off guard and he slipped. Thankfully, he managed to grab the branch and swing down, landing in front of the young child below, as if he'd meant to come down and greet him.

The young boy smiled, looking impressed by the teenager's agility. "I saw your ladder down here. I was hoping I'd find you."

Pushing his hat back, Victor glanced at his abandoned work guiltily. "Yeah?" he asked then looked back at the kid, "Why?"

"Because," answered the boy innocently then pulled an egg keish from the pocket of his blue coat. "I didn't like my breakfast," he explained with a slight grimace, "You want it?"

Victor hesitated, but, when his stomach moaned again, he hastily took the keish and plopped down at the base of the apple tree to eat it. "I thought you had lessons?" he asked once he swallowed the first two big bites.

"Professor Carney was talking to Father about the tiger again and since Nurse was in bed with a headache, I was able to slip outside without anyone noticing," the boy explained with a self-satisfied grin of mischief.

Victor surveyed this as he took another bite, "I thought yeh get sick in the fresh air o' something, James." he mumbled around a mouthful of keish.

The look of disappointment, on the boy's face appeared so betrayed and upset that Victor hastily shrugged his comment off and said, "But that's nonsense." He laughed, "How could such a beautiful day be bad for yeh?" Finishing off the keish, Victor stood up. "Come on I need te trim the hedges, but I'll let yeh help."

"Really!" exclaimed James excitedly.

"Sure," said Victor, "If you bring me something to eat for lunch, I'll let yeh trim the whole hedge yurself."

"Wow! You mean it! Lets go!" James ran over toward the hedge and, smirking, Victor followed suit, sticking his hands into his pockets, as he took long strides behind the boy.

It took a while for Victor to show James how to hold and use the hedge shears and the boy's work was hardly perfection, but Victor didn't care. It was pleasant to idly stand around, holding the ladder steady now and then and listening to James' childish jabber, while the kid did his work for him.

".. and Father says I should be a doctor when I grow up, but I think I'd rather be a veterinarian, so I can have a dog. See, Father won't let me have one now, 'cuz it might make me sick," explained James and cut off another hunk of hedge.

Where he was standing at the base of the ladder, hands in his pockets, Victor looked up incredulously. "Hel-... I mean, um…Yeh could be a doctor and still have a dog, James. Yeh could be anything and have a dog."

"Well, I want to be able to take care of it properly," clarified James seriously, "And veterinarians take care dogs and all animals."

"Hrm, I see," Victor shrugged, "Yeh finished with the top there?"

James gave some final digging chops and nodded, "Yeah I'm all done. I'm coming down now."

Victor held the ladder steady and James smiled at him, as he came down. "This is way more fun than French lessons," he said, "Thanks for letting me help you."

Victor smiled widely back, "Any time! Just don't tell anyone alright?"

James hesitated, looking at his friend. "Victor?" he asked curiously, "Why do you have big teeth like that? I haven't seen anyone else with teeth like yours."

Victor's smile vanished, as he hastily coved his fangs with his lips and scowled. "My teeth aint big," he growled.

"Yes they are," the boy pressed, "Big and sharp, like the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, or a Sabertooth Tiger."

"A what?" asked Victor still scowling, as James jumped off the ladder and let the large shears drop into the grass.

"A Sabertooth Tiger. There used to be lots of them around here, but they all died and you and Logan found one in that cave. Don't you remember?"

"We found a bunch of damn bones is all," sulked Victor, "They weren't no tiger."

"Yes they were. It was extinct," insisted James, "No human being has ever seen a live one." His blue eyes were wide and very serious with excitement, "But they've made drawings of them! Father showed me one in a book. Sabertooth tigers were huge!" he spread his thin arms wide to illustrate, "And they didn't have stripes like other tigers. Instead, they had great big teeth, like you." He smiled widely and laughed a little, "I wish I had teeth like that. Wait I know!"

Victor watched with amused curiosity, as James searched the sheared bits of hedge, picking out two small sticks and striping them of their leaves. "There!" the boy celebrated, as he stuck them under his upper lip so they stuck out like two long wooden teeth. Holding them place, he smiled. "Now I'm like you!"

Victor smiled slightly, but it quickly faded and he bent to pick up the shears and move on down the hedge, "Yeh aint like me James," he said darkly, "No one is."

James pulled the sticks out of his mouth, his black hair rippling slightly in a breeze laden with the summer smells of pollen and flowers. "Don't be sad," he said then sneezed twice, before following Victor, down the hedgerow. "Father says God made everyone special. Everyone's got a unique gift, maybe yours is big teeth."

Victor chuckled a little, "Big teeth eh?" he said, looking over at James, as he set the ladder up again, "What's yur gift then?" he teased, "Getting sick all the time?"

James sneezed again, coughing slightly, as the wind blew by again, "Maybe," he chuckle a little breathlessly, "But Mother says I'm pretty as an angel and that's my gift."

Victor scoffed, "Well Angel Boy, I think I'd rather have big teeth than something as God damned girly as that!"

James nodded through watery eyes "Yeah, me too…" he suddenly broke into a fit of gasping coughs, clutching his chest.

"James!" exclaimed Victor alarmed, as the coughing became louder and more panicked. Then, as James fell down, Victor lunged to his side in concern. "James! Are yeh all right!"

Eyes wide and frightened, James desperately clutched Victor's coat. Obviously he was not all right.

"James hold on! I'll get help. Just hold on!" Scampering hurriedly to his feet, Victor dashed away down the hedgerow, using both his hands and feet to run, as he turned a corner. The first person he saw was Elizabeth Howlett, coming out of the forest and then his father striding after her. They appeared to be arguing, but Victor didn't wait to think about it, as he ran over, sliding to a halt in front of them. "Hurry, James is choking, or having a fit, or something. He needs help!"

"What! WHERE!" Victor only had time to register his surprise that his father looked as alarmed as Mrs. Howlett, before Tom grabbed him by the coat and shook him. "Where Boy!' his father shouted.

"Apple orchard!" gasped Victor, "Hurry."

Mrs. Howlett had already dashed toward the orchard and Tom threw Victor roughly to the ground, before running after her.

Tom quickly overtook Elizabeth and rounded the hedge first. Seeing the small form of James coughing on the ground by the ladder, he dashed over and knelt by the boy, looking down at him and pushing sweaty hair from his blue face. "James, son? Oh my God boy, breath! Damn it!" He made to pick James up in his arms, but Elizabeth came running up and shoved him back.

"Get away from him!" she shouted fiercely, "Don't you touch him!" Dropping beside her son, she gathered him onto her arms. "James! Oh God! I'm here. Mother's here."

"He needs te be taken to the house!" shouted Tom, as Victor ran up panting.

Elizabeth ignored Tom, as she struggled to stand up still holding James, who suddenly didn't look so small.

"M- Mother!" gasped James, heaving and coughing, as he clung to her neck, nearly dragging her back down.

"Lizzy, fer God's sake let me carry him!" yelled Tom pushing forward.

"GET AWAY!" she screeched, not sounding at all ladylike, or charming, but succeeding in stopping Tom in his tracks, so she could turn and stumbled toward the house as quickly as she could, with James clinging to her neck.

"You," she gasped, her dark, frantic eyes landing on Victor standing by, "Go get Mr. Howlett! Quickly! And tell him to call the doctor!"

Victor nodded and dash on ahead. By the time he followed John Howlett and a half-dozen other servants out the door a minute later, Elizabeth had nearly made it to the house. Her husband quickly took James from her arms and the boy was rushed inside, Elizabeth still clinging to his hand.

Victor and Tom were left alone on the lawn, both looking toward the house with concerned expressions and gritted teeth. They looked more alike than either of them would have guessed, as each of them clasped their old hats in their fists.

"He'll get better, right?" Victor finally asked, looking up at Tom nervously.

Tom pulled his stormy eyes off the manor windows and stabbed Victor with a fierce glare. "He better recover, fer your sake, Boy!" he raged, "What de hell were yeh doing with him outside!"

Victor stepped back surprised at the red rage flaring up in his father. Tom wasn't even drunk and since when had he cared about James Howlett? "He was just talk'n te me," Victor protested fearfully. "I think he gets lonely and…"

Before he said another word, Tom grabbed him by the back of the coat and dragged him with angry strides toward their cabin. "Ah told yeh to work. Monsters like you shouldn't even be 'round the likes o' him!"

Tom dragged Victor up the cabin porch and shoved him inside, before going in himself. He slammed the door behind him with so much force, it freighted a family of blackbirds out of a nearby tree, with a fluttering swoosh.

AN: Hope you liked this chapter. Please review.