"Absolutely not!" Francois shouted, slamming his fist against his desk. Pierre filled his pipe with tobacco and packed it carefully, lighting it with a match. He was clearly unimpressed with his son's tantrum. "I will not help her because she is not part of this pack! Charlotte has made her choice and now refuses to live with the consequences."

"Francois." Pierre growled. He raised his voice to a threatening growl as he stood from the armchair in his study. "Charlotte is and always will be part of this pack. Her child—your grandchild—is in danger from her mate." He took two steps toward his son, holding his gaze carefully. "You will send our scouts to find Roxanne or I will remove you from the position of Alpha of this pack."

Francois paled and swallowed hard. "You cannot do that. This is my right and I've earned it."

"Then you best send our scouts." Pierre took a puff of his pipe as he exited the study, chuckling to himself when he closed the door behind him. He was eager to meet his great granddaughter and he could only do so if she was alive. Whether Victor was a willing participant or not, he didn't trust the man any farther than he could spit. With the help of their scouts, Roxanne would be in her mother's arms soon. Hopefully.

-0-

Phoenix picked up a bullet from the box sitting in front of her, a smile on her lips. Thanks to one of the military scientists Roxie had infected, she could now kill Charlie with little fuss. She called Victor into her room and handed him the box, keeping the individual bullet in her hand.

"What the hell are these?" Victor asked, examining the bullets.

"These are the answer to our problem." Phoenix replied. When Victor clearly didn't understand, she clarified. "This little beauty will cause cancerous tumors to expand in Charlie's brain. Much faster than her healing factor will allow. She'll be dead before her body has a chance to heal itself. All you have to do is shoot her in the head."

Victor growled noncommitally and took the box then left the room. He tossed the box into his room then escaped to the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror. He looked nothing like the man Charlie had accepted as her mate so long ago and now he was putting her in danger. Deciding that change begets change, Victor found a pair of automatic shears and turned it on. He pulled his hair free of the ponytail it was kept in and ran the shears through his hair, effectively buzzing it and leaving a quarter inch of dark hair on his head. Next he had to fix his eyebrows. At some point in the last several years they had grown practically into his hair. Half an hour later, he looked like his old self.

A knock on the door didn't surprise him. He heard Phoenix approach a second ago. "Victor, I'm going out. Keep an eye on Roxie until I get back."

"Sure." Victor didn't speak much to Phoenix. At least not more than necessary. He opened the door and she looked surprised at his new appearance. "Might take the kid to the park for a little bit. She likes running around."

"Keep her happy." Phoenix said. "If she's happy, then there's less chance for a mistake."

"Yep." Victor wiped shaving cream off his hands and tossed the towel in the sink. Phoenix gave Roxie a kiss on the top of her head before leaving and Victor joined his daughter in the living room where she was coloring quietly.

"Hi, daddy." She smiled up at him when she finally noticed him. "I like your haircut."

"Thanks." Victor sat on the couch behind her and looked at the picture she was drawing. "What are you drawin'?"

Roxie put down her crayon and picked up the paper before climbing into Victor's lap. "It's you, me, and Mommy."

Sure enough, she had drawn three figures. A smaller one between two tall ones, holding hands with both of them. Roxie was in no way a modern Van Gogh but it was clear by the skirt she had drawn on Charlie and the long blonde hair on Victor that she thought they were her family. Victor pressed a kiss to her temple and put her down. "I gotta make a call then we're going to go to the park, okay?"

"Can we get ice cream too?" Roxie asked.

"Sure, kid."

Victor went to his room and closed the door. He didn't like asking for help. Victor Creed didn't ask for help but this wasn't for him. Roxie deserved to be with her mom and he wasn't going to let Phoenix ruin his daughter. Picking up the phone, he dialed a number of a man who would be less than happy to hear from him but could get Roxie home. It rang twice before a French accented voice said, "Hello?"

"Pierre, it's Creed." Victor sighed.

"I understand you have my great granddaughter and calling me would be suicide. So, what can I do for you, Mr. Creed?" Pierre asked carefully.

"I'll give you the kid but you have to come get her. You've got two hours before the window is closed."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Just get here before time's up." Victor gave him the address of the park and hung up, going out to rejoin Roxie. "Somebody's going to come get you soon. He's gonna take you back to your Mom. Okay?"

"What about you, Daddy?" Roxie asked.

"I'm gonna have to stay here." Victor smoothed her ponytails.

"I don't want to go without you!" She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. "Please stay with us!"

"It's complicated," Victor patted her back awkwardly. "I can't go."

"But I love you, Daddy." Roxie looked up at him and he tried to stay strong against her tears and quivering chin but damn if his daughter didn't have him wrapped around her finger. "I want us to be a family."

She cried for a few more minutes before Victor finally said, "Don't cry, kid. I'll go with you."

A/N: Short chapter I know. I'm sorry. This weekend was kind of hectic and the last few days have been quiet and not very writing friendly. Anyway, leave a review on your way out and tell me what you think! While views/follows/favorites are absolutely fantastic and I love them, reviews are the only way to tell me what you think of the story. I don't bruise easily either. Any thoughts on the Rogue/Christien pairing?