Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Go to notes and disclaimers Part I

"Hear this Agent Mulder. Listen very carefully, because what I'm telling you is deadly serious. There is a war raging and unless you pull your head out of the sand, you and I and about five billion other people are going to go the way of the dinosaur."

Alex Krycek—1998.

"I was sent by a man, a man who knows as I do that resistance is in our grasp."

Alex Krycek—1998.

"Now that we're established," Walter Skinner said to the people sitting around the large table. "We have to find a way to eliminate the invaders globally. We can't be sure if anyone else has survived. But if we are to live our selves, then we must take matters into our own hands and assume that we are the only ones." He noted the pained expression that passed briefly over Dana Scully's face. Her mother had not been heard from since before the invasion. "Therefore, " Skinner said, "We need to come up with a plan that can work here at home, then world wide." He took a sip of his coffee and said "Mulder" as he sat.

Fox Mulder stood up and walked to the head of the table. "I have it on good information that there is a large rebel ship hidden in Baltimore." He glanced quickly at the three lone gunmen seated around the table. They were of course, the source of his good information.
"I think we need to send in a team in and do a little reconnaissance work. We should check the ship out, just to find out what, if anything, there is to see on board. Maybe there's something on it that might help us."

"What are you looking for?" Asked Kim, Skinners former secretary.

Mulder looked at her directly and replied, "I'm hoping to find either the virus in its pure form or a mutated version of it. Anything that might help us. You see..." He explained, "Scully and I know from experience, "

Scully blanched at the word experience. Mulder didn't notice but Skinner did.

"That most of the aliens are connected to their mother ship by a large... er... umbilicus for lack of a better word. If we introduce a virus of our own, say a derivative of the original cure, then I think we might just have a real good shot at wiping them out. Maybe we will find the original vaccine or maybe we will find something else to lead us to... "

"You think those hostiles are going to have a substance that can kill them all just laying around?" Asked Bill Waters, a former agent with the FBI. He snorted his disbelief and then said skeptically, "Get real Mulder!"

Mulder frowned at Waters briefly. "We had the small pox virus bottled up and sitting at the CDC in Atlanta didn't we?" He said reasonably. "Maybe they would keep the vaccine for the same reasons we hung onto the small pox." He picked up his coffee mug that was full of water and drank. "That's not the point anyway."

"What is the point?" Waters asked.

"My point is let's just go in and check it out. We might find something, we might not, but at least it's a place to start."

Skinner stood as Mulder took his seat between Scully and Frohicke.

"I think we should send a team in. Unless anyone else has a better idea?" He looked into the faces of the seated people one by one, he saw no dissension so he said, "So were agreed. We send out a re-con squad." He looked to Mulder, "Mulder, you'll lead. It's your command. Scully, Waters and Davis will back you up." The other three agents mentioned nodded their agreement.

In the old days, no one would have followed Mulder anywhere, let alone listen to his orders, but it was the dawn of a new era and Mulder's talk of Aliens amongst us had, in the end, turned out to be true.
Fox Mulder was just that, plain Fox Mulder. No longer was the word 'spooky' mentioned in the same sentence as his name.

"Good. Gear up and be at the main portal in one hour." Skinner instructed. The people around the table stood and slowly filed out of the counsel room. The people who were not involved in the mission would go back to their own jobs that they performed in order to sustain life in the dark, damp shelters. From there, they would inform the others in their own work areas what was going on.

The Rebel Ship
Baltimore MD

Scully pocketed three vials of an amber liquid, hoping that she had stolen the right stuff. Only tests would tell for sure though. She walked past a wall of photographs, stopped, thought for a second and then went back to look at the wall. She stood and studied several photographs that were posted to the wall. They were of a human arm in what looked to be like various stages of growth. She gave a little shiver at the thought.

Mulder came up behind her and said into her ear, "I think I've got everything we need..."

His sudden appearance behind her made Scully start with fright. "Jesus Mulder." She said in a high voice, covering her racing heart with her left hand. "I think I just peed my pants. Don't sneak up on me while I'm standing in an alien ship." She joked.

"Well it's a good thing were in bio-hazard suits then." Mulder quipped back cheekily. Just as he finished his sentence, a loud scream, wracked with pain and full of anguish echoed down the deserted hallway; stopping both of the agents dead in their tracks. They spun their head in the direction that the cries of pain had come from. The high pitched screams echoed continuously.

"That's a human voice." Scully said. Concerned at what could be happening to make a person scream in such a manner.

All of a sudden, all of the hair on Mulder's neck stood up and the skin on his forearms raised with goose bumps. He recognized the voice. He concentrated and quickly scanned the screaming man's thoughts. His suspicions were confirmed. "Come on Scully, we've got to go! Those screams belong to Alex! Hurry!" He implored as he ran out the door, not giving Scully a chance to answer him.

"Alex?" She said to herself, "Alex who?" She pushed the question aside and followed Mulder. Who was now standing next to Bill Waters just outside the door in the hall. Agent Davis was not in the ship, but covering the main entrance for them.

"MY GOD! What's going on?" Waters said to Mulder over the loud shrieks.

"Come on. Lets go in and get him." Was all Mulder said as he ran down the deserted corridor toward theories.

"I'm with ya Mulder." Waters replied shakily and then ran after him.

Scully hesitated for only a second before following the men. She came to a stand still behind them; her gun already pulled and cocked.

Both Waters and Scully stood silently, waiting to follow Mulder's lead inside.

The screams were coming wave after wave from a behind a closed steel door. The door had a small, porthole size window in it and Mulder quickly peered through the thick, clear glass, saw what he needed to then pulled his head aside before the lone alien in the lab, could discover him.
When Mulder had peeked inside, he had seen Alex Krycek naked and strapped down to an operating table. The Russian was screaming for all he was worth as the shape shifter ran the thin beam of a blue laser through the top layer of his epidermis of his right thigh.
The alien was so intent on his task that he did not hear Mulder as he silently entered the room. The faceless scientist did not have time to defend himself either when Mulder pumped three bullets into his heart. As soon as the large being hit the floor, Mulder ran over and expertly stuck the steel blade of a knife that he had been carrying into the base of its neck.
Killing it silently and killing it instantly.
Noxious fumes poured out of the carcass along with a great deal of green ooze, but the vapor could not penetrate the bio-hazard suits that the trio were wearing.

Scully wondered briefly why Krycek seemed unaffected by the airborne poison but she pushed the thought aside for the time being while she watched silently as her partner hurried over to Krycek's side. Scully was more than a little shocked by Mulder's behavior toward the Russian killer.

"Alex." He said gently, his voice not betraying to Alex that he was really frightened by all of the blood oozing from the thigh wound.
"Scully," He said firmly, "... check his leg out. We gotta get him out of here and fast!" As he ordered his partner around, Bill Waters stood guard at the door, watching for more intruders.

Scully frowned. "Mulder." She said not making a move toward the double agent.

Mulder did not acknowledge that he had even heard Scully speak his name.

Krycek looked up into Mulder's face, his eyes were wide with pain and he looked totally wrung out. "Mulder." He whispered weakly. "Is that really you?"

"Yes Alex. It's me." Mulder replied. His gaze swept over the exhausted man, and what he saw turned his stomach. Both of Alex's wrists and ankles were raw and bleeding, made so by his struggles to escape the pain of the torturous shape-shifter's laser.

"Good. Then you must be here to kill me. Please put me out of my misery Mulder." He was on the verge of passing out. "Pl... please." He said again, his voice completely worn out from screaming.

"I'm not here to kill you Krycek, I'm here to help you." Mulder said. The familiar phrase rolling easily off of his tongue as he began to cut away the restraints.

Alex smiled then, and Mulder stopped what he was doing to stare longingly at the young Russian. He thought that he had never seen anything so sweet as Krycek's smile at that moment. His dark green eyes peeked through his veiled lids, as if keeping them open halfway was the best that he could do. Mulder thought that under the circumstances, it probably was the best that he could do .

"You'd be happier if you just kill me." Krycek said, then his eyes rolled back into his head showing Mulder nothing but the whites. The dark fringe of the lashes slowly lowered—reminding Mulder of a theatre curtain—and Alex Krycek was mercifully rendered unconscious.

"Alex!" Mulder shouted slapping the double agent's cheek softly despite knowing that he had no doubt passed out from the pain. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder at Scully and was genuinely surprised to see that she had not even started patching Krycek's leg, making the limp man ready for transport. "Scully?" He said simply.

"Mulder. That's Alex Krycek on the table. Liar, murderer and betrayer of men. Are you sure you want to do this?" She said, unsettled by Mulder's attitude.

Now it was Mulder's turn to frown at his partner. "Yes!" He replied adamantly. Still Scully made no motion to help Krycek. Frustrated by he inactivity, he said to her, "Fine! I'll do it myself then." Then he reached into one of the deep pockets on the outside of the bio-suit and pulled out a small portable first-aid kit.

Waters, still watching the corridor hissed quietly, "Somebody hurry up and do something, we got to get out of here before more spooks show up!"

Mulder grabbed a small plastic bottle of antiseptic, that held a single dose, out of the kit and bit the top off of it. He spit the plastic stopper aside and squeezed all of the clear liquid contents directly into the bleeding wound.

Alex thrashed a bit and moaned, but otherwise he did not wake up.

As Mulder fumbled to find the right field dressing, Scully finally clucked her tongue and said to Mulder just as frustrated with him as he had been with her, "Fine!" She snatched the bandage from Mulder's grip and quickly covered up the wound.

"Would you two hurry up over there." Waters said urgently. "I think E.T. knows were home!" He followed up his comments by firing his silenced gun twice. "Come on, let's go before it gets up!"

"Grab that nightie." Mulder said as he hoisted Krycek's naked form over the back of his shoulders. Scully did as Mulder asked and snatched a plain white hospital gown and a pair of matching pajama bottoms from a nearby table. Waters started firing again as he stepped into the hall to hold off the two Aliens who were approaching the lab. The three of them beat a hasty retreat out of the ship, with Waters and Scully watching both Mulder's and Krycek's back; much to Scully's chagrin.

FBI Bomb Shelter

Scully banged out the signal and the hidden steal door that led to the bunker opened. The guard on duty stepped aside to admit the returning team. Mulder pushed his way through and went straight to his private quarters with the still unconscious Alex over his shoulders.
It had taken just under one full day to make their way back from the rebel ship to the shelter, and Krycek, in all that time had not woken up to a fully conscious level. Mulder managed to rouse him just enough to accept a drink of water and twice Alex came around, just barely, to relieve himself.

Mulder lay Krycek down on his double bed as gently as he could, but the transitional jolt from firm shoulders to the soft bed made the patient finally wake up. Krycek opened his eyes and groaned at the bright light, and for a few seconds he thought that he had only dreamed that Mulder had rescued him. That he really was not free, but still strapped down with his leg amputated.
But then the apparition before him spoke and he knew that things had a chance of turning out okay.

"Alex, can you hear me?" Mulder asked when he saw Krycek's eyes flutter open. For a few seconds Krycek stared blankly at him. But once he had spoken though, Mulder saw recognition register with the bloodshot and emerald gaze.

Swallowing hard Alex answered with a raspy voice. "Yes."

Mulder audibly sighed his relief. "Good." He said.
Without thinking about what he was doing, he gently pushed back Alex's long bangs from his eyes, and felt the exposed forehead. Alex's brow was both hot and sweaty.
"You're safe now." Mulder said as he picked up Krycek's left hand and rubbed the back of it with the fingertips of his other hand. He slowly drew the backs of his fingers up the length of the long limb, stopping at the band of crinkly scar tissue that ringed the biceps muscle. "What happened Alex? Did the aliens do this?" He asked, amazed to see the arm back.

Alex smiled weakly, he liked it when Mulder used his first name, though he doubted that Mulder even realized that he was using it instead of 'Krycek'... "Yes." He answered honestly.
"I've been on that ship for over a year. That's how long it took them to grow my arm back. That faceless rebel you killed was in the process of removing my leg to see if the regrowth cycle could be duplicated.
Krycek groaned. "Jesus Christ, my head hurts. How long have I been out of it?" He asked. Then he said, "I need some water. I'm so thirsty."

Mulder let go of Alex's arm and went into his tiny kitchen. He pulled a bottle of cold water out from his small half fridge and padded back to the bedroom. He opened the water up and put the plastic to Krycek's dry and cracked lips. Alex drank down the refreshing liquid greedily, until finally, Mulder pulled the bottle away and said, "That's enough... for now. To answer your question, you've been out of it for just under twenty-four hours."

Alex fell back against the soft pillows, "Where am I?" He asked, his thirst still not completely slaked.

Picking up Alex's left hand again, Mulder replied, "Under the Hoover Building, in the bowels of a nuclear bomb shelter that was built especially for J. Edger. There is forty of us living down here. Forty-one now."
Mulder linked his fingers through Alex's, there were many questions that he wanted to ask Alex about the aliens and the ship. But all that could wait for later, he had to know the answers to some other questions first. "That night Alex. In my apartment..." He looked down, directly into Krycek's dark green eyes, whose pupils were large and his eyes glassy from the fevered heat. Mulder recognized the what he saw in Krycek's eyes and he silently wished that Scully would hurry up and come to his room. "You tried to warn me about all of this." He swept his other arm in a wide circle.

"Tried and failed." Krycek said, he knew that he must be sicker than he thought, because now he could see that his saving angel Mulder was sitting on the edge of the bed right next to him holding his hand lovingly. Not to mention that the agent had a soft white glow outlining his form, making the agents lithe body appear unearthly in Alex's glazed eyes.

Mulder squeezed his hand in a reassuring manner. "It's not your fault Alex. One man alone is no match for an entire race of life forms. The Englishman told me that it was you who brought him the cure for Scully, way back when she was captured.

Alex laughed softly. "Ahhh, Fox..." He said as he raised his right hand and gently cupped Mulder's face. "You always did try to see the best in people." He let his hand drop. "But it was my fault. If I hadn't been so duplicitous and traitorous in the past..." Suddenly he turned his head to side, away from Mulder. He was unwilling to let the agent see the single tear that had slipped out of the corner of his eye and was now cascading down over his cheek. "...You might have believed me." He said softly, finishing his sentence.

Mulder kissed the back of Krycek's smooth, new left hand softly. He had seen the fat drop of saline escape and as much as he longed to reach out and wipe it away for Alex, he resisted the impulse. "I believed you. Scully and I went to Weikamp, but before I could help the rebel, he was taken and I was mind-wiped. I had to be regressed to remember what I had seen."

Alex turned his head back, the tear was gone now leaving a small splat of moisture on the soft cotton pillowcase. "You did?" He asked. His leg was throbbing in time to his heartbeat but he ignored the pain. Mulder had believed in him when it really counted and at the moment, that's all that mattered to Alex.

"Yes. You were most convincing, especially after you kissed me." Mulder leaned down and began to kiss Krycek gently on the lips. Uncaring that the man laying prone before him was supposed to be his enemy. He had wanted Alex Krycek from the very beginning and he knew that Alex had wanted him too; the 'green agent' act aside.

Every time they had met in the past, Mulder had felt a spark of attraction jolt through him like a lightening bolt. It was the same for Alex too, or why else would a trained killer allow himself to be knocked around by a fumbling FBI agent.
After Mulder found had out that Krycek's arm had been cut off in Tunguska - without the aid of anesthetic—he had hastily wiped the slate, though it still was not completely clean. Even though he knew for certain that Alex did not kill Melissa Scully, Alex had still done a lot of other very bad things; like murdering his father to name one.
Then one night, after a year long absence from his miserable life, Alex appeared at his apartment with a grave warning of impending doom and sealed the truth with one simple, body trembling, electric kiss on the cheek. Mulder had puckered his lips but did not turn his head to meet Alex's full, bottom lip, though he had really wanted too.
Alex had called him his friend albeit in Russian, just before walking out the door to do god knows what. But had Mulder committed the words to memory and later on, had them translated. The slate was starting to become a little bit cleaner now.
Mulder spent two long years pining for the renegade Russian, wondering if he was dead or alive; wishing he would just show up. Then the virus struck and began killing people and an alarming rate and suddenly Mulder had other things to worry about.
Even though Mulder could hear voices and sense the thoughts of other people deep within his cerebral cortex, he had no hint what so ever of what disaster was on the horizon. He had no idea that Alex was telling the truth. The aliens' virus had all but destroyed mankind, like an exterminator wiping out a teeming nest of termites.
As it turned out, it was only after most of the people had died, that Mulder had learn how to control the incredible gift that he suddenly found himself saddled with. Now he had the ability to shut out the many voices and emotions whispering inside his head; just like a tap, Mulder was able to turn them off and on at will.

As Mulder continued to chastely kiss the younger man, he reached out mentally and read what was inside of Alex's mind. Immediately he could sense Krycek's remorse for past events and he could clearly feel Alex's regret for not being able to stop the aliens' agenda. Then Mulder reached in a little farther and for a split second, he experienced the excruciating pain of the experiments that the aliens had performed on Alex. And even deeper still, he felt Alex's long repressed, secret love for him, Fox Mulder F.B.I.
Mulder pulled his thoughts out of Alex's mind and then shut them off all together. He sat up straighter and smiled down at the injured man. He could see the passion and ardor contained within the depths of Alex's eyes clearly. "Was that okay I did that?" Mulder asked softly, referring to the kiss.
Alex would never even realize that his deepest thoughts had been read. Especially if Mulder didn't want him to and he didn't, not yet at least. Mulder reached out gently and tucked a strand of long dirty hair behind Alex's elfin like ear.

"Yes." Came the husky reply. "That was nice."

"I want you to know Alex that everything that happened in the past, is just that. The past. Ancient news now. Your slate is washed clean as far as I'm concerned."

"But what about your father?"

"I know now that whatever you did, you were made too... that your actions were not of your own free will. Correct?"

"Yes. But..."

Mulder shook his head. "No more Alex. I want to live in the present. I'm tired of wasting time." He stared down at the younger man for a minute before whispering softly, "I love you Alex. I always have, I always will. I don't want to be your enemy anymore." It was harder for Mulder to say the words than he thought it would be.

"I love... you too... Fox." Alex blinked his eyes a few times, fighting off the emotional tears. But it was of no use, it had been a long time since he had let himself feel anything except anger. It felt good to be able to let the emotional baggage go, especially when the one person he had ever dared to let in, was telling him that he was forgiven and loved.
Alex looked into Mulder's eyes and saw that the former agent was being honest with him. He could detect no signs of hatred, in his loves beautiful green eyes; no deception written in the small wrinkles at the corners of the eyes or across his forehead.
The floodgates opened and Alex Krycek, murder, traitor, thief cried like he hadn't done since he was a small child back in the orphanage. The tears flowed and he released his guilt with them. He was loved by Mulder, that's all that mattered now. Together they would find a way to defeat the alien invaders, once and for all.

Mulder smiled again, and using a Kleenex he mopped up the wetness on Alex's prominent cheek bones. Slowly the tears dissipated.

"Oh god." Alex moaned. "I must be sicker than I thought to be lying here and crying like a baby."

Mulder leaned down and kissed Alex again, this time he gently poked his tongue into the pliant man's mouth, and Alex responded by giving Mulder a feel of his tongue. "It's okay." Mulder said, when he sat up again. "I kind of like the new sensitive you. But your right about one thing, you are sick. I wonder where Scully is? She should be here by now." Mulder glanced at his watch, he had been waiting for her to arrive for half an hour.

"Here I am." Came the emotionless response from Scully, who stood in the bedroom doorway.

Mulder let go of Alex's hand and turned around quickly to face his partner. And the expression on Mulder's face made Scully think that she had just walked in almost caught him doing something naughty.

"It's about time." He said. "Where have you been? He's really hot." Mulder could not keep the anxiety from his voice. He heard a small giggle and glanced down at Alex, who was laughing softly, about what, he didn't know but Mulder could guess.

Scully frowned at Mulder but did not answer his question, because she had been delayed because she was busy reporting Mulder's find to Skinner. Then after that, she had taken her sweet time assembling an emergency tray of supplies in order to mend Mulder's traitorous killer with.
She did not want to help Krycek in any way shape or form, in fact she contemplated letting him die. But she knew that Mulder would never forgive her if she allowed that to happen. So it was for her partner alone that she spent the next half an hour cleaning and closing the wound on Krycek's upper thigh.
The very first thing she did was start an I.V. The solution dripping slowly into Alex's arm aided him in overcoming the effects of dehydration. Then she hastily scrubbed off the scab that had started to form over the long cut and when Krycek hissed in pain, she couldn't help but feel a small twinge of vindication. To close the puss filled wound, she chose to use butterfly bandages rather than stitches to hold the infected cut together. Thinking that they would be better for drainage purposes.
When she finally looked up, Scully saw that Mulder was not pleased as she had been that Krycek was in pain again. She thought that she had better hurry and finish the job.
After he was bandaged, Scully injected Krycek's IV with a mild sedative mixed with a good strong dose of penicillin; though she was loathe to waste good medicine on such a bad seed. The healing drugs would aid in Krycek's recover immensely.
As she was cleaning up her mess, she noted that as soon as she had backed away from the bed, Mulder had replaced her immediately by sitting next to Krycek.

Slowly drifting off, Alex asked Mulder sleepily, "Will you be here when I wake up? We have a lot to talk about."

"I'll be here for you Alex." Mulder promised as the double agent's eyes closed and he fell asleep.

Scully, finished picking up, stood by the bedroom door waiting for Mulder to be done with Krycek. As she stood there, she wondered when Mulder had gone from hissing out the name Krycek to saying gently, almost lovingly Alex. Something was up between the two, that much she was positive of. She was sure that she recognized the actions of a man who was infatuated.
" After all," she reasoned to herself "...on the ship Mulder had immediately recognized Krycek's screams and had gone to great lengths to rescue him...
And when she had walked in earlier, all she had heard him say was 'where is she?' but his posture, the way he was talking and touching Krycek. All of his actions spoke of more of what he was really saying than Mulder realized he was letting on.
Scully shook her head, determined to talk to Mulder about Krycek. But she could see that now probably wasn't the best time, considering was too busy fawning and fussing over the slumbering Krycek's form, pulling up the blankets, rearranging pillows. She suddenly realized that along with her animosity toward the Russian, there was also a little bit of jealously mixed in with her emotions.

"Mulder." She said when he had finally stood up, obviously satisfied with Krycek's comfort.

"Yes." He replied.

"Let's go to the kitchen and get a coffee." She suggested.

With one last glance of longing over shoulder, Mulder reluctantly agreed and shutting out the lights, he left Alex alone to sleep in the dark room. After he closed the door behind himself, Mulder immediately went to the kitchen. He filled the kettle with water and plugged it in to boil while Scully measured out the amount of instant coffee she preferred into her mug and did the same for Mulder. Once the coffee was made, they sat at the small round table.

It was Mulder who finally broke the awkward silence between them by saying, "Do you happen to know where my mom is?" He had phoned her while waiting for the water to boil, but only got her answering machine. He thought that she was off duty from working in the gardens today.

Scully sipped her coffee, knowing her partner well enough to know that he was avoiding the pressing topic of Alex Krycek. However, she did happen to know where Mulder's mother was, so she answered his question.
"She left this morning with a team to go to the surface. She and six others are gone for the next ten days on a foraging mission. They're in search of some more seedlings among other things. Your mother is also going to try to locate some medicinal plants for me. She and I are going to start collaborating on an experiment. My penicillin and antibiotics wont' stay fresh forever..." She glanced quickly toward the closed bedroom door.

"How did you find out that she had gone? We've only been back for an hour?" Mulder asked, a little worried that his mother was gone out on a mission. Though it was not intended to be a dangerous one, it could still turn out to be. Mulder shrugged his shoulders, his mother was a grown woman and could come and go at will. He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Scully, suddenly suspicious.
"Skinner told me to tell you." Scully replied casually. "I gave the vials to the Lone gunmen. They are trying to find out the contents as we speak."

Now Mulder knew for sure that Scully's long delay wasn't in putting together a first-aid tray, or handing off the amber vials of liquid they had found to the Lone gunmen, no, she had spent most of her time reporting on him or rather on Alex to Skinner.

Scully and Mulder stared at each other, caught in a stand-off. Finally it was Scully who looked away first. She put the mug that she had been holding down and tackled the subject that they were now both avoiding.
"Mulder." She started. "Krycek is under your roof, in your bed. What are you planning to do with him once he's better? You can't trust him again you know that. Right? He's a traitor and most likely still working for the elder Spender. If that cancerous bastard is even still alive." Scully could tell by the looking at Mulder that nothing she had to say about Krycek would even penetrate him. She could also tell that she was pissing him off with her bad mouthing of the Russian.

"I've touched his mind Scully." Mulder said, controlling his anger and his voice. "He's not a traitor... anymore... he won't hurt me again. I know that for a fact... And he won't betray the people living down here." His anger dissipated, he could truly understand how Scully could hold on to her outrage. After all, it was her sister Melissa who had been killed and she was the one who had been abducted and experimented on. The aliens had stolen her ovum from her body like raiders stealing the riches from and Egyptian Tomb.

Scully studied the man sitting across from her for a few seconds more, but gave up in trying to warn him against Krycek. Mulder was a big boy, he would find out for himself that Krycek could not be trusted, regardless of whether or not he had read his thoughts.
"Well, putting my personal opinion of the man aside, I'll give you a medical one instead. Krycek..." She said Alex's name tightly, "...is likely to be out of it all of tonight and most of tomorrow. So why don't you sleep at Walt... um... Skinners' place for tonight and I'll check in on him periodically to administer the penicillin.

Mulder stood up and placed his mug in the sink. "No. I promised Alex I'd be here when he woke up." His back was to her, so he didn't notice Scully's eyebrows rise in surprise. "Listen,..." He said, turning around. " Just show me the dose of the drug and I'll put it in his I.V."

Scully thought for a minute, then knowing that this battle was lost; there was now way she could convince Mulder to Leave Krycek's side. She showed him what to do then left him alone to sit vigil over a man that she had thought—obviously wrongly—her partner had despised the most in the world.

Four Days Later

After eating breakfast together, Mulder left the vastly improving Alex in search of Scully and the lone gunmen. He was interested to find out about how their progress was going in reference to the amber filled vials they had discovered—along with Krycek—in the alien ship.

Mulder was reluctant to leave Alex alone as they had been together continuously for the last four full days. But with every passing sunrise, the Russian's health got better and Mulder ran out of excuses for not leaving him alone.
With only one bed in the small dwelling, Mulder had shared his sleeping space with Alex every night. However, their sexual contact had been limited to only kissing and holding each other tightly under the cozy covers.
Both men were becoming more than a little anxious to share much more. Each of them had fantasies that they wanted to fulfill and both knew that very soon, they would get together to experience those fantasies. But for the moment, they were content to cuddle. The two men passed the nights talking about the past, and divulging their hopes for the future; finding it easier to talk to on another in the dark.
Only once more since Alex's arrival did Mulder reach out and touch read mind. Alex had been having a nightmare and desperate to understand his terrors, Mulder closed his eyes and concentrated.
What he saw in the young Russians' dreams were enough to give him night mares. He experienced through Alex's eyes and his emotions, his left arm being cut off. With the amputation came all of the pain, as well as the trauma of seeing your limb tossed into a roaring fire for cremation by men who thought they were helping you. He saw his own self through Alex's eyes and felt the younger man's heartache at having to betray the man he loved -him, Mulder.
It was at that point that Mulder pulled out. After he had, Mulder felt a shiver run through him, and now he could truly comprehend what Alex had gone through all those years ago in the Siberian countryside.
Mulder also determined from Alex's thoughts that the young Russian was genuinely reformed; he had found his way back from the dark side... and that fact, made Mulder's heart soar... he would no longer have his doubts about his love.

Mulder kissed his lover goodbye and reluctantly left the limping man behind in the apartment, with assurances from Alex that he would be fine.

A few hours after Mulder had left him, Alex, tired of being cooped up found the courage to open the front door and step into the cool dark corridor. He looked left then right and saw not another living soul. But then, he knew from talking with Mulder that the shelter was huge. With only forty-one people inhabiting a shelter meant for hundreds, seeing another was highly unlikely.
The shelter, as Mulder aptly described it, felt 'positively cavernous' at times. Alex now could grasp what Mulder had meant by that.
As well, it didn't help that Mulder had chosen living quarters well away from the rest of the people; all of whom slept and lived in relative proximity to each other.
Alex started off down the hall. He was feeling anxious about being away from the small room for the first time and yet, he was excited about exploring his new surroundings too.
For the past year Alex had been living a very solitary life and high cement ceilings and wide-open halls of the shelter unnerved him slightly.
With those thoughts, he shuffled down the hall and turned the corner. Alex, engrossed inside his own mind, never heard the blow coming. And when the punch struck the centre of his stomach, Alex thought the fist was going to pass right through his navel.
His breath expelled out all at once and he fell to his knees, gasping and sputtering and trying desperately to suck in some precious air into his suddenly deprived lungs. At the moment, Alex's guts ached worse than his leg did, and he wasn't so sure that he wouldn't get sick to his stomach.
With his head hanging, Alex opened his eyes and saw a pair of black army boots standing directly in front of his sight line. He slowly brought his gaze up, starting at the boots and following the legs up the entire length of his assailants tall body. When he reached the top and found himself looking directly into the stern brown eyes of Walter Skinner, he grimaced
The look Skinner was giving him back was so full of hate that Alex assumed that despite Mulder's wishes, the former A.D. was going to kill him any ways. He tried to rise off of his knees, but before he could get more than half way up, Skinner clipped him in the jaw causing his bottom lip spit open on impact.
His head snapped back and blood sprayed out of his mouth leaving a large splatter pattern on the wall beside him.
Skinner's knuckles had forced the tender tissue inside of Alex's mouth over his teeth. Cutting the soft flesh into ribbons.
Though Alex fell back down to his knees, he refused to fall completely over. Instead he stared up defiantly at his former boss and his glower was greeted with another blow to the other side of his face, cutting up the insides of his mouth further. His nose squirted blood out of both nostrils.
Alex's right eye immediately began to swell and close and deep blue bruising was already visible under his eye as well as on the left side of his jaw bone.
"You done yet?" Krycek said, spitting out a mouth full of blood, trying to maintain is dignity despite still being on his knees. He had his hands cradled in his stomach as if to protect it from another blow.

Skinner squatted down in front of Alex and grabbed him by the jaw, smiling evilly when the Russian agent wince with pain, "That was for Dana's sister and Mulder's father." He hissed.

Mulder and Scully rounded the corner and had to come to a sudden stop because their path was blocked by Skinner and Krycek. "What the hell is going on?" Mulder asked Skinner angrily as he ran to Alex's side.

Skinner stood up and backed away from Krycek, who was still defiantly staring his former boss down. Though he could only glare with one large green eye, Alex still managed to look menacing. However, with his mouth and nose still bleeding he did not paint too intimidating of a picture.

Scully's went to Skinner and putting a delicate hand on his large forearm. She asked him gently, "What's going on Walter?"

Mulder pulled Alex up to his feet and gently touched his bleeding nostril. Alex flinched slightly but let Mulder touch his nose. "Are you all right Alex?" he asked.

"I'm all right." Alex replied emotionlessly. He pulled a Kleenex out from his front pocket and began to dab at his nose gingerly, frowning at the bright red blood that was rapidly soaking into the small tissue.

Mulder stared at Scully and Skinner. The fact that they stood so close and that Scully had called Skinner Walter did not slip by him unnoticed.

"Judging by the colour of his blood, We can safely deduce that he's not a shape-shifter here to kill us..." Skinner spit out.

"I could have told you that!" Mulder yelled angrily at Skinner. He moved his body over a pace and stood directly in front of Alex, as if to protect him from further abuse.

"He could be a plant Mulder." Scully said softly. "They could have brainwashed him, he might not even know it himself. Have you thought of that?"

"No, but you obviously have." He said to Scully, barely controlling his anger when talking to her.

Alex in the meantime had pulled off his T-shirt and used it to further clean himself up. He tossed the blood soaked tissue to the floor. It might have looked like he wasn't paying attention to the trio but he was listening intently to every word.

Mulder continued to glare at Scully, unwilling to believe she would take Skinner's side over his. But he studied their body language for a second and then thought to himself,
"So it's like that is it?"
Pissed off at both of them, and with his temper threatening to get away from his control, Mulder finally said, "Do I have to remind you Scully, that it was Alex lying there on the table about to get his leg lopped off." Mulder swallowed hard, "He was captured trying to steal back the E.B.E. for Christ sakes."
Both former agents continued to stare at Mulder, unconvinced. "It was Alex who brought the vaccine into the country in the first goddamned place, the very same vaccine the Englishman gave to me in order to save your life with!"

It was at that point that Alex stepped out from behind Mulder, his bloody shirt was dangling from his hand like a rag. He put a hand on Mulder's shoulder and said in a monotone, "It doesn't matter what you say to them Fox. They'll never believe anything except the worst about me. I'll never measure up."

"Oh yeah. Saint Krycek." Skinner mumbled with narrowed eyes.

Mulder ignored Skinner's biting remark.

Scully sighed heavily. She stared at Alex's thin arm and noted the scaring where it had been cut off, and grown back again. Logically, she knew that he had been through a horrific, painful ordeal, but she could not bring herself to forgive his sins. Scully shook her head softly, "Have you touched on his thoughts now that he's not in a drug haze?" She asked Mulder.

Alex looked at Mulder quizzically, he didn't know what Scully meant by that comment. He did not however, ask Mulder, he would wait for later to find out.

"Yes I have and there's no deception in them, whatsoever." Mulder stated emphatically.

Skinner looked between both men, and then came to a decision. "Fine. He can stay Mulder. But he's your responsibility. Anything he does is on you!" He turned to Scully and asked her. "Do you have a minute Dana?"

"Mulder are we done?" She asked her partner.

The two of them had been discussing some of the theories the lone gunmen had up forth about their immunity to the oil before coming across Skinner and Krycek in the corridor.

"Yeah." Mulder said, a hint of sadness creeping into his tone now. "Were done."
It sounded so final, to both his and Scully's ears. He turned away from the two people he thought he could trust and said to the person he knew he could trust, "Come on Alex. I'll help you to clean up." Then without a backwards glance at Scully or Skinner, he took Alex gently by the hand and guided the limping man back to their small apartment