Trials and Tribulations

I don't own them, Bronwyn Tillman and Daniel Varden are all mine. Most of the rest belong to Marvel Comics – and if there are any that don't – and don't belong to anyone else, I guess they are mine too.

A/N Ok at one point I realized that Victor Creed has to have some way of laundering all that money he makes on illegal assassination and terrorism, and since the comics have him shown in a more traditional business environment on several occasions, I concocted this whole 'alternate universe' of him in a business world. As far as I know Creed Industries doesn't exist in the Marvel Universe but I think it should.

A/N I didn't plan on doing a sequel but something about Daniel and Bronwyn struck me as needing more – along with Bronwyn and Victor, so here it is the sequel to Dictation.

A/N This isn't exactly the end – I have to bring Victor full circle, so look for the sequel soon.

Chapter 9

She stared out the window in her office. He'd been distant since the dinner, like he was after Daniel's death and she was afraid she was losing him to the animal again. Daniel would kill her if she lost him, but she just couldn't bring herself to let him replace Daniel in her heart. She'd known for years how he felt, but as long as he kept things professional, she did too. He'd said it would keep them honest, and it had.

She'd known since the limo, since that first fund raiser. She'd been afraid, then, of his feelings, of what he'd made her feel. He'd been Sabretooth, the enemy of her friends, her boss, and nothing more. She hadn't wanted him to be anything more, she'd just wanted the job, and nothing else had mattered at the time.

She'd figured he'd get over it, and when he and Daniel left that first time, she'd pretended she hadn't felt it at all. By the time she felt it again, the day he'd shaken her hand after accepting Daniel's proposal, she had been afraid. She loved Daniel, and she knew if she acknowledged how Victor felt, it would create a wedge between them, so she'd kept her silence, and her distance.

The next time she'd felt it had been in the penthouse, when he was shaking her, she'd felt him fighting the animal then, and his feelings for her had been what made the man win. She'd been in so much pain herself she'd just filed it away. She'd avoided touching him, not ready to deal with it. Then the pain, that night, before the dinner, she hated that she was the cause of so much pain.

She wouldn't blame him if he ran, if he gave it all up and went back to what he was. She'd hurt him enough, she almost wished he would, because knowing she was the cause of his pain was tearing her up. She cared about him, more now than before; he was Daniel's best friend, something she hadn't realized at the time, but she didn't think she was in love with him. She kept telling herself she wasn't in love with him. What she felt for him was nothing like what she'd felt for Daniel.

Daniel had been safe; he'd been solid, dependable, and secure. Victor was NONE of those things. What she felt for Daniel was gentle, peaceful, without strife or pain. It was something you could build a life on, something you could raise a family on, something that would see you to old age and beyond. What she felt for Victor wasn't any of those things. It was hard, demanding, it ripped through her and left her bleeding it its wake. It was destructive, painful, and overwhelming.

She had never denied the physical connection between them, if he hadn't been her boss, and she hadn't been so scared that first time, she might have followed it, seen where it would go, but now, with so much baggage she was afraid, afraid of losing him for good. Her therapist said she needed to examine her feelings closely, that she relied on him, and cared about him in a way that went beyond friendship.

She'd come to depend on him, on his strength, his drive, his raw need to get her through the day, sometimes through the hour, at first. He had been the one to make her smile, the one to make her angry, to force her to use that to keep going, She was getting better, healing, putting Daniel behind her, day by day, but now with this, the one person she depended on, the one who could talk to her about him, make her laugh with remembered stories, was pulling further and further away.

She started as the phone rang, pulling her out of her musings.

"Bronwyn Tillman." She said into the phone.

"Hey Bron, its Jubes. You busy?"

"Not really." She laughed at her former secretary. She'd done it to piss Victor off, to show him that she meant business, and Jubes had agreed, for a couple days until she could find a real secretary. The woman she had now was competent, quiet and certainly no temptation for Victor.

"Man have I got a scoop for you."

"Jubes, what's going on?"

"You knew Kitty and Peter Parker broke up, right?"

"Yeah – I remember something about his ex and Kitty not getting along."

"Well – she moved back into the mansion. None of us thought anything about it you know, until Pete got back from Russia, now they are like – I don't know – joined at the hip or something, literally since Kitty just found out she's preggers."

"Kitty's pregnant?"

"Yep – what with little Maddie Howlett, Jean and Scott expecting, and now Kitty, it's turning into a regular nursery around here. Now they are giving me fits about when I'm gonna settle down and have a kid." Jubilee groaned.

"Don't rush, Jubes." Bron said, but she was fighting a lump in her throat, and a fist clenching her heart.

"Are you alright, chica?"

"Yeah – I'm fine." Jubilee filled her in on all the rest of the gossip from the mansion before hanging up with a "Catch ya later, Chica."

She held it in. She didn't know if Victor was back from his morning meeting and she didn't want to upset him with her tears. She made it to lunch, went down to the cafeteria and brought it back to her office. She'd seen him leave with Jimmy, so she knew she was safe.

She let the tears fall; Daniel had been dead almost eight months. She had been hoping, about this time to have news like that of her own, and now she didn't think she would ever get the chance. She bit her knuckle to muffle the sobs so her secretary wouldn't hear. She had to pull herself together before…

XXXXXXXXX

He could smell her – hear her muffled sobs. He'd gone down with Jimmy but realized he'd left some papers on his desk. He'd told the kid to go on to lunch he'd meet him after, and headed back up. At first he thought she was gone, but then he caught the scent of her lunch and knew she was eating at her desk – again. She was worse than he was, never left the office; she practically lived here, only going home to sleep.

He'd grabbed the papers and was heading out the door when the scent of her tears hit him, and the muffled sobs. He wasn't going to take this. Something was wrong, and by God she was going to talk to him about it. He stormed out of his office and into hers without even glancing at her secretary for permission.

"What the hell is wrong now?" He demanded. He knew it was probably the wrong approach, but he had to keep her at a distance, had to keep the anger between them or he would break, and he honestly didn't think he could survive this time. He was on the edge, holding onto his humanity by the tips of his claws, and they were slipping a bit every day. Sabretooth was winning, and he didn't ever want to let that animal out around her.

"Nothing; Jubilee called this morning."

He dropped into the chair in front of her desk. "What did the firecracker want?" He growled.

"Just to catch me up on gossip." She tried to smile, but it just didn't work.

"And that set you off?"

"Kitty's pregnant."

"ShadowCat is pregnant? By WHO!? I thought she was dating Parker?"

"She was, they broke up, and she moved back to the mansion and she and Pete got back together and now she's pregnant." She couldn't believe she was gossiping about the X-Men with him.

"Wow – ShadowCat and Colossus, parents, that's weird." He chuckled.

"Yeah."

"So what's with the waterworks?"

She glared at him – not sure she wanted to discuss something so personal with him, and realized, she didn't have anyone else she'd rather discuss it with.

"I just had hoped I'd be the one with that news about now." She said softly.

"Oh – damn – Bron…"

"It's nothing, I'll be fine."

"I had no idea you wanted a baby."

"I told Marie – the night…that night, before you got there, that I wanted it all, the house in the Hamptons, the two point five kids, and all the headaches that went with it. I got the house, but I don't have the rest." She whispered, and closed her eyes.

He couldn't stand it anymore. He walked around the desk and roughly pulled her into his arms. He felt her shoulders shake, her body tremble, and knew he would be changing his shirt before his afternoon meeting. He patted her awkwardly on the back, and then just started rubbing lazy circles through her shirt, and was rewarded by her relaxing against him, her fingers slipping from their grip in his shirt to just lay against his chest.

"Bronwyn." He whispered against her hair. "Your life isn't over. You can still find someone, still have it all."

"I don't want to find someone – I have…" She stopped herself.

"You have?" He froze. She'd found someone. He felt his claws slipping just a little more. He felt her backbone stiffen, and knew she was about to tell him something he didn't want to hear.

"I have someone, he's just an idiot." She whispered against his shirt.

"Want me to kick his ass for you – make him wise up?" He said, half meaning it. If she'd fallen in love again, and the guy was jerking her around, he'd kill him.

"That would be kinda hard to do." She laughed.

"He can't be that tough." Victor said, letting his hands slip down to her waist as he prepared to push her away from him. This hadn't hurt, until now, and now the pain was almost more than he could bear.

"Well – he's probably more than you can handle." She said looking up at him. "You seem to be losing."

"What?"

"Victor – I love you." His world just stopped. He couldn't breathe, and he felt those claws get a good grip, and start climbing back up that cliff.

"What?"

"I love you."

"Bronwyn, don't…don't try to replace Daniel with me." He said it softly; afraid that was what she was doing.

"Hey, you know this empathy of mine – it goes both ways, but you have to let me in." She said, and he realized exactly what she was saying. She wanted to show him exactly how she felt, and he was terrified.

"No – I don't need that, I love you. I guess I am an idiot, but I'm not stupid. This is too soon, for either of us, but…"

"But?"

"I'm not going to break my word to Daniel, I said I'd take care of you, and I will."

"Victor."

"You want a baby – well, I'm not saying no."

She laughed. "I didn't mean right this second, jerk."

"I know, I just, when you're ready, I'd like to…"

"To what."

"Book a church, maybe get you knocked up, not necessarily in that order, and maybe even settle down in the Hamptons."

"That is the WORST proposal I've ever heard." She laughed.

"What the fuck did you expect?"

"I have NO idea."

"Is that a yes?"

'It's an I'll think about it. Don't you have a meeting this afternoon – go change your shirt? Who needs a kid – I have you to raise?"

He grinned at her, and his heart didn't ache for the first time in a long time. She'd think about it. He couldn't ask for much more.

XXXXXXXXXXX

He slipped out of her office, a stupid grin on his face. She couldn't believe him, he'd actually proposed, probably the absolute worst proposal she'd ever heard of, short of Logan's 'Wipe the blood off and put it on, damn it' when he'd asked Marie to marry him.

She looked out the window, a smile on her face. She loved him; her therapist would be pleased she'd finally admitted it. She just didn't know if she could marry him. He was Victor Creed, pure confidence, violence, and raw energy bottled up in one very big package, and she just didn't know if she had the strength to live with that day in and day out.

Not that she wasn't, practically, but…she'd think about it. She wasn't jumping into anything, especially not with Sabretooth lurking in the shadows.

The next few months went by quietly. He didn't press, didn't push, much, for him.

"Made up your mind yet?" He'd say every evening before he left, and she'd laugh and say "Still thinking."

It became a joke, one they both laughed about, in spite of the very serious issue at the heart of the question. He was getting stronger, day by day, with fewer outbursts, less darkness glaring out of his eyes. He was almost back to where he was before Daniel died, almost had the beast in the box again.

One evening he didn't stick his head in. She got worried.

"Jimmy – where's Victor?"

"He had a meeting with Tony Stark this afternoon, hasn't made it back yet."

"Was it at Mr. Stark's office, or his house?"

"Office I think, let me check…yeah, office."

"Alright, I'm going over there to check on him." She said, a cold fist gripping her chest. The elevator dinged just as she got there, and he stepped out. He was a little ruffled, and she spotted a few drops of blood on his shirt.

"IN MY OFFICE, NOW!" She shouted at him.

"What?

"I SAID NOW!" He just glared at her and walked into her office.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He snapped.

"Blood? You are WORKING again, aren't you? Sabretooth is loose?"

"NO! Bron it's not what you think. I went to meet Tony and he challenged me to a boxing match. He was trying out one of his new 'inventions' and wanted to test it against me. The blood's mine."

"If I call Tony he'll confirm this?"

"Yes. Why the fuck do you care anyway?"

"Because I'm NOT marrying Sabretooth!" She shouted back.

"What?"

"You have to promise me – the animal won't mess things up for us. I don't want to sit up at night worrying; I don't want to turn into my mother." She said quietly.

"That's what's been holding you back?"

"Yes."

"You have my word. Sabretooth is buried – deep. I'm retired, and I don't want to go back to that, not if I have a chance at a life with you."

"I have your word."

"Yes."

"Then you have mine."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes you idiot."

She watched the grin spread across his face, before being swept up into his arms. He spun her around, before kissing her deeply.

"So – can we get started on that kid?" He whispered.

"Are you coming home for dinner?"

"Home?"

"I already have the house in the Hamptons."

"Yeah – I'm coming home."