Disclaimers in Part One.
The three of them sat around the table for an hour or so, conversing back and forth, drinking beer and breaking out the leftover Thai food. Skinner and Krycek were hungry, but Scully had no appetite after trying to digest what she was hearing.
'Let me simplify this.' Skinner said, pointing chop sticks at Krycek. 'When the aliens first made their intention of colonization clear, the Syndicate began genetically altering humans to withstand the virus.'
'The virus being how the aliens will spread.' Krycek said.
'Mulder, Jeffrey, Samantha and you, were the first wave of children to be experimented on.'
'We couldn't withstand the virus.' Krycek elaborated. 'We merely had some extraterrestrial characteristics, and each of ours was different.'
'And now not only has science grew by leaps and bounds, but there is a lot more known about the aliens and the virus.' Skinner said.
Krycek nodded as pieces of a vegetarian spring roll fell in his lap. 'Yes.'
'Forgive me,' Skinner said, 'My medical and genetic background are a bit lacking.'
'It's quite simple.' Scully spoke up for the first time in awhile. 'Since the first wave of children already have the alien genetics, their offspring's are easier to genetically alter.'
'Mulder is an alien-human hybrid.' Krycek reiterated. 'This makes it very simple to engineer his children's DNA, since they already contain alien genetics.'
Scully sat quietly at the table, not hearing the other two bantering back and forth. Then they did this, then they did that and because of that they did this. She couldn't care right now. She was too busy dealing with the fact that Mulder was totally not who she, or he for that matter, thought he was.
'An alien-human hybrid.' She whispered aloud, causing both men to turn her way.
'Agent Scully?' Skinner asked.
She was unresponsive to them, lost in her own head. 'This is insane.'
Skinner looked at her carefully. 'To which part are you referring, Agent Scully?'
'The part where children are being created solely for the purpose of avoiding human extinction brought on by little green men.' She said bitterly.
'Well, that would about sum it up.' Krycek smiled.
'How can you find this amusing?' Scully asked harshly.
He raised his eyes to meet hers. 'Because this is what I've been living with all my life, Agent Scully. This has been my reality since I was old enough to remember. While you and your friends were playing hopscotch and making lemonade stands out in the front yard, I was strapped to machines. I was wondering how come other girls and boys got to go to school while I went to a laboratory. I didn't know what a mom or dad was until I realized that I didn't have one.' Krycek stopped for a moment and looked away. 'So yes, I am able to find humor wherever I can. This is all I have known.'
Scully didn't look at him. She couldn't. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to hate him, but felt like apologizing at the same time. She didn't have a chance to say anything before there was a knock at the door.
Skinner pulled his gun out again and went to the door. 'Who is it?'
'It's Byers.'
Skinner looked back at Scully and she whispered back at him. 'The three stooges.'
He opened the door to reveal The Lone Gunmen.
The three walked into her house, Frohike in the lead, asking Scully how she was feeling. He stopped short when he saw Krycek, causing Langly to run into him and Byers to run into Langly.
'What's the punk ass doing here?' Frohike asked in his delicate manner.
'Relax, Frohike.' Scully said. 'He's been catching us up on the big secrets.'
'Brewski's!' Langly exclaimed. 'Flow me a Heinie?'
'Have at it.' Scully said, waving in the direction of the refrigerator.
'I'm impressed.' Krycek said. 'I didn't know that about you.'
'What?' Scully asked.
'That you were a boardhead.'
'I went to Berkeley for my undergrad.' Scully said. 'Spent a lot of time with the surfers in Santa Cruz.'
'Sharky.' Krycek smiled.
'Woofy.' Scully replied.
They smiled at each other in spite of themselves.
'Where'd you pick it up?' Scully asked, suddenly irritated at the quick connection they'd shared.
Krycek smiled and adapted the accent. 'Newport Beach, California.'
'That must have been where you got the blonde hair from.' Scully said. 'I've never seen so many beautiful people in my life.'
'I went to UC Irvine for my undergrad studies.' Krycek said. 'It was quite different from living on the East Coast.'
Scully suddenly noticed the other four staring at them, all with beers in hand, looking intrigued at their exchange.
'What?' She asked, looking innocent.
'Scully, I never knew you were a California Girl.' Frohike said.
She smiled back at him. 'I wasn't really. I just went to school there. Spent most of my weekends at the boardwalk in Santa Cruz.'
'Most of my time in California was spent in the Inland Empire.' Langly said. 'I went to UCR for two years. But I tried to make it out to Hollywood and down to Orange County as much as I could.'
'UCR?' Scully and Skinner both asked.
'University of California in Riverside.' Krycek answered. 'A very frightening place.'
'The punk scene out in the Inland Empire is popping right now.' Langly said.
'That's not all that's popping over there.' Krycek said. 'There are more meth labs than people. They call Interstate 5 through California 'The Crank Highway'.'
'Is anyone going to tell me what is going on?' Byers asked. 'Or am I the only one here that finds it odd that Krycek, Scully and the Assistant Director of the FBI are all hovering around the table, having a few beers.'
'I'm not having any beer.' Scully said. 'I've been sticking to water.'
'God, that is so Mulder.' Frohike said.
'What is?' Scully asked.
'To take away from a serious question with a joke.' He answered.
'I have had enough seriousness for one night.' Scully said. 'It's nearly time to get back up in the morning and I've been dealing with serious crap all night.' She looked over at the three Lone Gunmen. 'What are you doing here this late, anyway?'
*************************
Scully finally had the place to herself. Skinner had brought her home from the hospital and ate dinner with her, the Lone Gunmen had come by to make sure she was okay and Krycek came by to…
She wasn't sure why Krycek had come by.
He wanted her to know what was going on and why; he wanted her help, her trust. He had painted a story of himself that was tragic, heart wrenching, unforgivable. He was the child of Armageddon, one in a wave of the last hope. He had told her and Skinner that he shared the same father as Mulder, the same father of Samantha and Jeffrey. That would make him Mulder's brother. After the awkwardness of him being there had worn off he had been funny, charming, believable.
She wasn't sure if she bought it or not.
Scully sighed and made the nightly rounds of locking up the apartment. Skinner and Krycek had cleaned the place up and that visual was enough to make her laugh softly again. Skinner had told her to rest the next day, that he would be back later on that afternoon. Krycek had assured her that he would check some resources and be by as well.
She climbed into bed and sank down under the covers. Her mind drifted back to the night they had been at the Japanese Bar and what had happened when Mulder had shared her taxi home.
*************************
The three of them piled in a cab together after closing the bar down. Mulder took advantage of the close quarters and flung an arm around Scully. She was smashed against his side and he didn't mind it one bit.
'Sir?' Mulder asked, an innocent look covering his face. 'Does this mean we can all take a personal day tomorrow?'
'No, Agent Mulder. You cannot take a personal day tomorrow, we have a very early meeting to attend.'
Mulder winced. 'And what time does the torture begin?'
'Seven am.' Scully said. 'Don't you read your Email?'
'We have Email?' Mulder asked.
Skinner flashed him a look as Scully drunkenly looked at her watch. 'We have about 3 hours to sleep.'
'Hell with that.' Mulder said. 'I'll just stay up all night.'
'I always feel better pulling an all-niter as opposed to grabbing two or three hours.' Skinner said, revealing a human side.
'Really, Sir? I didn't think you needed sleep.'
'Whatever.' Skinner said seriously, trying not to crack a grin.
Mulder and Scully burst into laughter, winning a small smile from their superior.
'This is my stop.' Skinner said. 'Mulder, you are picking me up in the morning since I had to leave my car?'
'I'll be there right after I pick up Scully.'
'Six thirty.' Skinner shut the cab door.
Mulder nodded. 'Quarter to seven.'
The door was automatically opened again. 'Six thirty, Agent Mulder.'
'Damn.' Mulder shut the door himself.
Mulder and Scully sat in silence for a few minutes. She finally patted his knee.
'Thanks, Mulder.' She said, unable to look at him.
'For what?' He looked out his window.
'For cheering me up.' She laughed. 'I haven't had this much fun in a long time. I really needed it.'
'Needed to get drunk?'
'I'm not drunk.' She said.
'You're drunk.'
'I am not.' She slapped his arm.
'Okay, you're not drunk.'
She tilted her head up. 'Thank you.'
'You're trashed.'
'I'm a bit inebriated.' She compromised.
'Smashed.'
'You're picking again.'
'Sorry.' He smiled, but still didn't look at her. 'You're welcome. I needed tonight too.'
'Why's that?' Scully asked. 'You can get drunk at home while you watch your Oscar-winning movie collection.'
'Now who's picking?' He turned and looked at her wide-eyed, making her laugh.
Silence settled over them again. Mulder reached over and covered her hand with his own.
'You know I care, Scully.'
She looked over at him, but he was still gazing out the window. 'Yes, Mulder. I know you care.'
A few moments passed before he had the nerve to turn and look at her. 'You're the only person I trust. The only person I can talk to. You're my best friend, Scully. And when I cannot talk to you about my fears, I can't talk to anyone.'
Scully searched his eyes. They were flashing pain. How had such a wonderful night turned somber again?
'Mulder.' She put her other hand on top of his, turning towards him. 'You can always talk to me, about anything.'
He shook his head, looking down at their entwined hands.
'Yes, you can.' She put her head down, trying to see into his face. 'I'm always here for you.'
'That's what I'm afraid of.' He whispered. 'I'm afraid you're not always going to be here.'
Scully didn't say anything back. She looked down at their hands now, her lips pressed firmly together.
'I know it's selfish of me to think this way.' Mulder said. 'Here you are battling a horrible disease and all I can think is how scared I am of…'
His voice trailed off.
'You can say it.' Scully said softly.
Mulder shook his head.
'Of me dying?' She asked.
'Of losing you.' He corrected. 'I don't think I could.'
Scully stared at him for a moment, eyes brimming with tears, before taking a breath. She was going to be strong, she was going to be rational, she was going to be Scully. 'It's not something you really have any choice in, Mulder. You'd get through it.'
'I don't think I could.' He said again.
Scully tried to think of something to say. A million things ran through her mind and they all sounded trite. She looked over at Mulder to see him staring back at her, his eyes teary. He reached out and brushed an errant strand of hair off her forehead.
'I don't think I'd want to.'
'Mulder…' Was all she could strangle out of her throat.
'Hey, Scully.' He let his hand fall from her face onto her shoulder. The look in his eyes, he had let his guard down and his emotions were showing through. She could only stare back at him as he cupped her cheek with his other hand. Mulder slowly leaned towards her, his intentions clear. 'Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?'
'Mulder…' She whispered again, trying to stop this, but not sure how. Not sure if she wanted to.
He kissed her tenderly and her mind went blank. She was lost in emotions. How long had she thought about this? How long had she wondered if this was the road they would eventually travel down? Why now, after all this time? She was fighting cancer, she had just come off a terrifying case, and she was drunk.
'Mulder, wait.' She broke the contact.
He stared back at her, hurt and disappointment shining in his eyes. 'I'm sorry.'
'No, Mulder.' She said. 'It's not like that-'
'We're here, miss.' The cab driver said. The taxi came to a halt in front of her apartment.
Scully sat for a moment, berating herself for not handling this as well as she could have. 'Mulder-'
'I had a lot of fun tonight, Scully.' He said, looking straight ahead.
She slowly got out of the car and hesitated. She regretted that the night had ended awkwardly, after all the fun they'd had. After how much closer they'd gotten. She wanted to repair the damage, but didn't know how. She bent back down to look at him. 'I had a lot of fun too, Mulder. Thanks for taking me.'
'Thanks for going.' He glanced her way. The wall between them was definitely back up.
*************************
The sunshine peeked through the blinds and landed on Scully's face, waking her. She had dreamed the same dream over and over throughout the night. The wonderful evening her and Mulder had, leading up to the kiss in the taxi, then the whole relationship slamming on it's breaks.
Again.
When she opened her door the next morning, he had greeted her like he always did. Everything was back to normal.
The ride to Skinner's had been silent. In some ways she took the blame. He had reached out and she had slapped him down. She knew Mulder was sensitive, she knew he didn't reach out to people. Why couldn't she have been more receptive?
Skinner, sensing something was odd, had babbled all the way to the FBI Headquarters. It couldn't have been any more obvious, if you thought about it. The night before they had seemed like best friends and today they were cold and distant.
Scully spent the ride into work chewing on her lip. He was the one who had rejected her to begin with! He had expressed doubts at the beginning, why couldn't she? She guessed it was the fact that they were five years into the friendship by then and had been through five dozen times more. Scully had responded to Mulder just as indifferently as he had responded to her and they had gone off to their meeting, never mentioning the previous night again.
Scully sighed, looking into her refrigerator. It was very bleak. Now that she wasn't eating meat, there didn't seem to be anything in the kitchen that she could fix for herself. She was going to have to do something about this. Maybe some minestrone soup… Made with beef broth. Damnit.
'Scully?'
There was a knocking at her door and she recognized Krycek's voice. She frowned, thinking that he wasn't supposed to be here until the afternoon. She realized, startled, that is was the afternoon. Had she slept all morning?
'Krycek.' She greeted, letting him pass through the door.
'Have you slept all day?' Krycek eyed her wardrobe.
'It appears so.' She said. 'Any news?'
'It looks like I may have a lead. I'm supposed to call my contact back in an hour.' Krycek looked around her apartment. 'Seems different in here today.'
'How so?' Scully opened her pantry and frowned at the contents.
'Lighter, more revealing.' He looked over at her, nearly smiling at her somber look. 'What are you doing?'
'Wishing I had something to eat.' Scully shut the pantry and leaned her forehead against it. 'I'm starving.'
'Nothing in there looked good?' He asked.
'I've given up meat.' Scully said, opening her eyes and rolling them towards him.
Krycek nodded at her. 'Hormones and antibiotics.' He picked up a picture she had on her mantle and stared at it.
She and Mulder had been at the FBI Christmas party a couple of years ago. They were trying to look serious, but they both had grins tugging at their lips. She remembered the horrible joke they had shared about the Section Chief, whom had his picture taken just before them. That's what was causing the struggle not to laugh.
'If you want to get dressed,' Krycek said, placing the picture where he picked it up from, 'I'll buy us some lunch. I know a great vegetarian cafe around the corner.'
'Vegetarian cafe?' She asked, staring at him.
'I'm vegan.' He replied, then smiled at her startled look. 'Don't look so surprised, Agent Scully. Hell, I'm all for animal rights. It's the people I can't stand.'
*************************
The walk to the cafe was silent.
Scully spent all of it wondering what the hell she was doing. She had never liked Krycek, never trusted Krycek, had always put a lot of blame on Krycek. She had grown to hate and despise the man. Now here she is, going to lunch with him? What if this was all a part of some scheme to get to her?
'I'm not going to hurt you.' Krycek's voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
'What?' She squinted up at him in the sun.
He stopped and turned towards her. 'This isn't part of any plan. You can trust me.'
Scully stared back at him, trying to recall the last thirty seconds of their walk. Had she been thinking out loud? 'What makes you think I don't trust you already?'
'Because you never have.' He walked over to the cafe and held the door open for her.
She hesitantly walked inside. 'Thank you.'
'You're welcome.' He held his hand out, gesturing for her to pick a table. They sat at a table in the back in front of a corner waterfall. The inside was made up like a rain forest. Krycek ordered for both of them because Scully had insisted that she knew nothing about vegetarian food and wouldn't know where to begin. They tried to indulge in mindless chatter until the waitress brought over drinks and an appetizer.
'Now.' Scully said, smearing some pita bread with a tofu-olive dip. 'You skillfully avoided my question. What makes you think I've never trusted you.'
Krycek laughed. 'Because I wouldn't trust me either.'
Scully shot him a look. 'Very good at avoiding questions, I see.'
'It's strange.' Krycek said, his eyes drifting off. 'I've lived my whole life believing something so strongly. These beliefs shaped the person I became and molded me into someone I always thought I was. Then the other day, I find out I have siblings, I have parents. I mean, I knew the science behind where I came from. But discovering the identities of the people that are made of the same flesh and blood that I am.' He shook his head. 'I can't believe I'm telling you this.'
'Me neither.' Scully said, head resting on her hand.
'I've never talked about myself.' Krycek shrugged. 'I never knew why I should. It never seemed important. Everything was about,' Krycek held up his hand and made quotations in the air. 'The Cause'.'
'What a horrible way to grow up.' Scully said. 'I can't imagine missing out on my childhood.'
'Yeah.' Krycek said softly. 'But in a way I don't blame them. I believe that they did what they thought they had to do.'
'Experimenting on people, abducting them from their families, causing illnesses.' Scully shook her head. 'Creating children whose only reason for being alive is what, to save the world?'
'Sounds noble.' Krycek joked.
'It's inexcusable.' Scully said. 'Not to mention a lot of pressure on the kids. If I was told I had to save the world, I'd go hide in a corner.'
He looked up at her to see if she was serious. She wasn't. He began to laugh as the waitress arrived with his portabello mushroom burger and her veggie wrap.
Scully's eyes widened as she looked at his plate. 'That smells so good.'
He smiled. 'I knew you were going to do that.' He divided the burger and set one half on her plate.
'Oh, I couldn't possibly.' She held up a hand.
'Don't worry,' Krycek said, grabbing one of her wraps. 'I'm taking half of yours too.'
Scully was suddenly reminded of Mulder. He had done just that in a Mexican restaurant they frequented. Threw a slab of carne asada on her plate then stole half of her chicken mole enchilada.
'Mulder is very valuable to both sides.' Krycek said, staring at her somberly. 'No one will hurt him. He'll be okay.'
She raised her eyes to his. 'You always seem to know what I'm thinking.'
He shrugged before speaking in a no-nonsense voice. 'I'm not stupid, Agent Scully.'
She smiled a little. 'That's one opinion.'
Krycek just shook his head and took a bite of his burger. 'You should eat that before it gets cold and tastes like rubber.'
Scully raved about the food and Krycek talked about his time in Newport Beach. He was in the middle of talking about a harrowing ride around the Balboa Fun Zone in a two-seater bike when he noticed Scully wasn't hearing anything he was saying. She was staring back at him, an odd expression on her face.
He stopped talking and waited for her to speak.
'I can't believe you're Mulder's brother.' She said softly.
'It came as quite a shock to me too.' Krycek smiled sadly. 'I didn't think it was going to change the way I felt about him, but it did.'
'Hmmm.' She put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. 'How so?'
'I'm not sure, really.' He leaned back in his chair and wiped his mouth with a napkin. 'I can't explain it. I've never had a sense of family. I've always been alone. I was never given love; I was given lectures, lessons, and education. I didn't sit around the tree at Christmas and open presents. I never knew I was lonely until later.' Krycek smiled. 'Sorry. I'm straying.'
'No, no.' Scully said. 'Go on.'
'When I first found out that Mulder was my brother, I didn't think of it that way. I thought of is as,' Krycek adopted a monotone, nasally voice, 'someone who was created from the same gene pool as I was. It took some time for the reality of it to sink in. That he was my brother, that he was family.' He looked up at her, smiling. 'I've never had a family before. It's scary but nice at the same time.'
'I can't imagine.' Scully said. 'I can't imagine how it feels to suddenly have a brother.' She sat for a moment then spoke again softly. 'I cannot imagine how Mulder is going to feel when he learns all this.'
'I'm sure he'll still not like me very much.' Krycek said.
Scully smiled at him, really hating the fact that she didn't hate him just then. 'I cannot imagine never knowing any of my family, as vile as some of them are.' Her thoughts drifted to her family members who were in her life, and those who had moved on.
'Scully.' Krycek leaned in close to the table.
She sensed his serious mood and leaned close too. 'What?' She whispered.
Krycek's eyes locked on hers. 'I didn't kill your sister.'
Scully stared back at him, her eyes brimming with tears before she pushed them away.
'I was there, but I didn't kill her.'
Scully couldn't look at him. She looked across the restaurant, down at her plate, over at the waitress, anywhere. She couldn't look at him.
'I was sent there to make sure you were assassinated. But I didn't know.' He said. 'I didn't know.'
Scully felt herself start to tremble. She felt trapped; she didn't know what to do.
'If you only knew what I've been told, what I've been taught.' Krycek's voice seemed a bit shaky.
She gathered strength and looked up at him. His eyes were boring into hers. They were full of sadness, regrets, and compassion.
'I know now that I've been on the wrong side.'
Scully tried once more to hate him. But if what he said was true, she couldn't. A tear fell from her lashes and she quickly lowered her face.
Krycek reached over and covered her hand with his own. 'I'm sorry.'
She immediately drew her hand away and stood up, heading for the restroom. She went into a stall and closed the door behind her to lean against it. Her hand covered her mouth and she closed her eyes.
Mulder, she thought to herself, this is too much. She sank down in the corner of the stall and buried her face in her arms. Mulder, I can't do this without you. Her body began shaking as the sobs wracked her body.
*************************
Scully took some time to compose herself, splashing cold water on her face and looking at herself in the mirror. She felt weak for getting so upset, but the thought of Melissa's death was something she hadn't conquered just yet. Hearing Krycek speak of it, 'I was there, but I didn't kill her', flooded her mind with images. It had been too much on top of what was already a 'too much' week.
Someone came into the bathroom, invading Scully's private space. Scully returned the friendly smile and headed out. Krycek was waiting for her right outside the restroom. He opened his mouth, to apologize she assumed, but she held up a hand, cutting him off.
'Don't.' She said flatly, walking past him. 'I don't know how much regret I can take from you.'
Krycek followed her outside, a smirk planted on his face. 'Oh there you are, Scully. I haven't seen you since last night.'
She stopped and turned to face him, standing on the sidewalk. 'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'
'Nothing, I'm sorry.' He shook his head. 'My fine-tuned, hard, sarcastic edge is going to be difficult to tame. I developed it quite young and have been using it to survive ever since.'
'Must run in the family.' She mumbled. 'Mulder can't stay serious for more than three minutes at a time before he goes into overload and has to do something stupid.'
A beeping at his side interrupted Krycek's laugh.
Scully eyed him suspiciously. 'You're beeping.'
'Relax.' He pulled his phone out and showed it to her. 'I had the alarm set to remind me.'
'Remind you what?'
'Pregnancy cause memory loss?' Krycek asked, tapping her lightly on the head with the phone. 'I need to call my contact back.'
And to Scully's surprise, he dialed the number, apparently staying right in front of her.
He began to spew short, Russian sentences. Halfway through the conversation his eyes locked with hers. She raised her eyebrows in question and he gave her a small, lopsided grin.
'Well?' Scully asked as soon as Krycek took the phone away from his ear.
'Spender's been spotted.' He said as they resumed their walk towards her apartment.
'Cancer Man?' She asked. 'Where?'
'Seattle. Security cameras recorded him and a woman in SeaTac Airport.'
They both dialed numbers on their phones and began walker faster.
Scully called Skinner and the Lone Gunmen, arranging for them to meet. Krycek made several calls, each one seeming to be in a different language.
People got out of their way and stared as they walked past. Scully and Krycek both had a demanding presence. Especially when angry or emotionally charged somehow. No matter the size of the crowd, they were easily spotted.
Across the street, a camera lens slid out of a window.
*************************
Krycek knocked on the door to the Lone Gunmen's building and looked down at Scully. 'This is one place I never thought I'd visit.'
'I thought the same thing.' She replied in a low voice. 'They kinda grow on you after awhile.'
'Who goes there?'
'It's me Langly.' Scully said. 'Open the door.'
'What's the password?'
Scully sighed. 'The password is 'Langly's going to get a swift, kick in the ass if he doesn't open the goddamn door'.'
Krycek smiled down at Scully as they heard several locks being disengaged. 'Such influence you have.'
'Whatever.' She made a face at him as the door was opened and Krycek followed her inside.
'Whoa!' Krycek exclaimed, taking in all the equipment. 'What's all this shit?'
Frohike popped up from behind a table. 'What's it to you, punk ass?'
'Easy big guy.' Krycek put his hand up in surrender. 'I come in peace.'
'We've managed to clear the image up quite a bit.' Byers said, adjusting knobs. 'The image of him is almost perfect.'
Scully walked over to stand between Krycek and Byers, her arms crossed. 'No sign of Skinner?'
'He called just before you showed up.' Frohike said, smiling. 'He was lost.'
'You gotta love those FBI people.' Krycek said. 'So perceptive.'
'So observant.' Langly agreed.
'Always paying attention.' Frohike chimed in.
'That's enough.' Scully said threateningly. The three quieted down like little kids.
The image on the screen suddenly snapped into view. Byers reached down and hit a couple switches. 'Okay, here we go.'
Scully and Krycek leaned closer to the monitor. It was obviously an airport. People were scurrying by, pulling luggage, airline personnel were sliding by slowly in two's and three's. The image suddenly zoomed in as Byers pointed at the screen while controlling the picture. 'There he is.'
It was Cancer Man. He put his hand on the back of the woman next to him, causing her to turn towards the camera.
'Oh my God.' Scully whispered, looking up at Krycek. 'Is that Samantha?'
Frohike frowned. 'You know her?'
Krycek nodded, straightening up. 'It's my sister.'
*************************
'What are you going to do?' Skinner asked, turning away from the screen. He had shown up just after them, irritated and embarrassed at his lack of navigational expertise.
'I'm going to go out there.' Krycek said. 'I'm sure he knows where Mulder is and I have to get to my sister. I doubt she has any idea that Mulder's been abducted. I'm sure my father is hiding everything from her.'
Skinner crossed his arms and leaned against the table. 'Do you need me to do anything?'
'Get me a car through the Bureau. No one would expect me to be in cahoots with the FBI. I want to remain anonymous.' Krycek smiled. 'If I'm going to disappear, I'm going to do a good job.'
'What about us?' Langly asked.
Skinner and Scully exchanged a glance. 'What have you been doing?' He asked.
The three Lone Gunmen glanced among themselves before all three launched into various explanations.
'We've been monitoring all phone calls from the FBI…'
'Pirating all the security tapes…'
'Hacking into the databases…'
Skinner held up a hand, nodding. 'Just keep doing what you've been doing.' He looked over at Krycek. 'I can get you a car now, if you want to come with me.'
Krycek smiled down at Scully. 'I guess I'll be going then. I'll call you when I learn something more.'
'Wait a minute.' Scully said, putting a hand on his arm. 'I'm going with you.'
Skinner and the Lone Gunman immediately objected in various ways.
'I think I can take care of myself.' Scully said, raising her voice. 'I don't have to remind any of you-'
Krycek was shaking his head as she launched into her tirade. 'You're not coming with me.'
She eyed him, anger sparking in her eyes. 'Why the hell not?'
'Your baby is very important. They will stop at nothing to get their hands on it. It's better if you stay here, protected.'
Scully hesitated, thinking on what he'd said. While it made some sense, it didn't entirely dissuade her from needing to help. 'Then you can protect me, Mr. Big, Bad, Hit Man, Tough-Guy. I'm going.'
Krycek stepped closer and looked down at her, speaking softly. 'I really don't think it's a good idea, Dana.'
Scully blinked at the use of her first name. Except for her Mom and brothers, a couple of close friends, no one had used her name in so long. 'I'm going, and that's all there is to it.'
Krycek stared down at her for a moment, then shrugged. He turned to face the other four. 'You all heard me say it, this isn't a good idea.'
*************************
Mulder poured her another glass of wine. They had been plowing through his music collection, not to mention his supply of alcohol, for hours. It had been a few days since they'd seen each other. She had gone to Maine on a short vacation and come back to realize that she had missed Mulder almost as much as he'd missed her. While she had taken over his place on an X-File she'd stumbled across, he hadn't done anything other than litter the ceiling with pencils.
Scully picked up another album. 'Super Tramp?' She exclaimed.
'Well, now, Scully, don't be so hard on yourself.' Mulder began before he was clipped in the head by a flying pillow. 'Oh, come on! That was funny!'
'Could we have kipper's for breakfast…' Scully broke out.
'Mummy dear, mummy dear.' Mulder joined her and they both continued on. 'They gotta have 'em in Texas, 'cause everyone's a millionaire…'
'Dana.'
The voice interrupted her dream and Scully opened her eyes, the cramp in her neck making her cringe. 'Where are we?' She asked groggily.'
'We're almost there.' Krycek said. 'I didn't want you to miss the view, it's really cool.'
'You know Seattle?' She asked, putting her seat in the upright position.
'Yeah. When I would leave Russia to hide for awhile, this is where I'd always go.'
'What did you do in Russia?' Scully rolled down her window to get some fresh air.
'Another conversation for another time.' Krycek said, nodding his head at the view ahead of him. 'Check it out.'
Scully looked ahead of her. 'What is that? Not the ocean.'
'Lake Washington.' Krycek answered. 'I came across 520 instead of I-90 because it's so much nicer. This is the longest floating bridge in the world.'
Scully smiled. The view was really impressive. The water spread out to either side of the bridge and the city loomed in the distance. She smiled at him. 'I never saw much of Seattle. We were only in the city for two days.'
'I booked our rooms at the Westin.' Krycek said. 'You'll get plenty of Seattle.'
*************************
Scully stared at her suitcase sitting on the bed and sighed. She didn't feel like unpacking. Her back hurt from the long drive across the country. They had driven straight through and took turns sleeping, although Krycek never seemed to sleep, and it still took forever.
They had talked a lot. Krycek had been very open about his past and didn't seem to mind that she was guarded with her own answers. She was surprised at some of things they had in common. Music, for instance. They both had a very broad range of musical interests. The Doors, Pink Floyd, Depeche Mode, Red Hot Chile Peppers. Krycek seemed very surprised at that one. But she liked all music. Opera, classical, jazz. Even some country she had admitted reluctantly.
What's wrong with country, he'd asked, surprising her this time.
Scully smiled to herself. She had to admit that she liked Krycek. He was highly intelligent and had a great sense of humor. He was blatantly open, almost honest to a fault. He had grown up horribly; he never had a family, no one to show him right or wrong.
She found herself hoping that Mulder gave him a chance.
After all, Mulder needed family almost as badly as Krycek did.
Although it's still really hard for me to let my guard down, she thought.
Scully went into Krycek's room through the door that joined their rooms. His own bags were still sitting on his bed and he was standing at the window, staring out at Seattle.
'You look as drained as I feel.' She said, walking over to stand next to him.
'And maybe worse then that.' Krycek replied, not looking at her.
'Feeling sorry for yourself again?' She nudged his side.
He smiled to himself, seeming a million miles away. 'You always seem to know what I'm thinking.'
'I'm not stupid, Agent Krycek.' She said in a no-nonsense voice.
He opened his mouth, then began to laugh. 'I'm not even going to say it.'
She turned away from the window and leaned against it so she could look at him. 'What are we going to do first?'
'I should check in and feed them a story so they don't get all crazy on me. I'm sure they have some news about Mulder or Spender.' Krycek looked at his watch. 'It's too early to call back there now.'
'I feel like we should be doing something.' Scully said softly. 'But I'm not sure what.'
'We can't do anything yet.' He replied, putting his hand in a pocket. 'We need something to go off first. They're obviously not at SeaTac anymore. Why don't you go get some rest, I'll wake you when we get some news.'
'What're you going to do?' She asked.
Krycek smiled at her. 'Wallow in my mire.'
They were both silent for a minute then Scully looked at him. 'Screw that. I'm starving. Let's get something to eat.'
Krycek grabbed his jacket off the bed. 'Where do you want to go?'
'This is your gig.' Scully passed through the door as he held it open for her. 'Surprise me.'
*************************
Mulder struggled to open his eyes.
'Fox.'
The voice seemed a million miles away. He blinked over and over.
'Fox. You need to keep breathing.'
Mulder was finally able to focus on an object in the room. It was a woman. He could see the back of her blonde head. He struggled to speak, but couldn't get any words out.
'Take a deep breath.' Her voice was familiar. 'You need to keep breathing.'
Mulder pulled a breath into his lungs. His whole body felt bruised and he began to cough, which caused greater pain. He stopped and only took shallow breaths when he had to.
'Just keep breathing, Fox.' She approached his bed, a long needle in her hand. 'You've had a long ordeal, but it will be better soon.'
Mulder's eyes widened as her face came into view and she administered the shot. He opened his mouth to speak again, but the world faded in a blurry, black haze.
*************************
'You did not.' Scully laughed.
Krycek nodded, laughing with her. 'I did. I was acting so cool, running down to the canal, and slipped right into the water. It was so filthy. It was so disgusting. Needless to say, I didn't impress the young Italian girl. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life.'
'If I ever go to Venice, I will try to remember the stairs are covered in algae.'
'I'm surprised you've never been overseas.' He said, digging into the vegetarian jambalaya.
'Surprised?'
'Since your Dad was in the Navy.' He said. 'I'm surprised you weren't relocated all over the place.'
'We were. But it was all over the country.' She chewed a little, looking around. 'But never to the Pacific Northwest. It's very beautiful here. Where'd you say we were?'
'Pioneer Square.' Krycek said. 'This place is insane on Friday and Saturday nights. Too bad you're pregnant otherwise we could really do it up.'
'What's different?'
'There's nine or ten clubs. You pay one price, get your hand stamped and go club hopping.' Krycek's eyes lit up. 'It's insane, but a lot of fun. Things get kinda crazy around one or two in the morning.'
Scully was frozen, staring out the window. 'Alex.' She whispered.
He barely had time to notice that she used his first name for the first time he could ever remember before he noticed her face drained of it's color. Krycek followed her gaze to the entrance of the restaurant.
Sure enough, there was the old man, walking into the New Orleans Cafe, Samantha trailing behind him.
They didn't have time to do much of anything before Cancer Man appeared at their table. 'Well, well, Agent Scully.' He said, taking a cigarette out of his pack. 'I never expected to find you having dinner with this son.'
'Where's Mulder?' She asked.
'I'm afraid I have no idea of Mulder's exact location.' He said, lighting his Morley and gesturing at the chair next to her. 'May I?'
Scully didn't bother answering as he sat down. She didn't notice that Krycek had stood up to greet Samantha until the two were engaged in a hug.
'How are you?' Krycek asked her.
Samantha nodded and sat down in the chair he offered. Krycek came around the table to sit next to Scully. A minute of silence passed. Scully was staring at Samantha, not believing that she was siting two feet from the person that began Mulder's never-ending quest.
'Well, here we are.' Spender said.
'You said if I helped you stage your death that all this would end.' Krycek said. 'Now Mulder is missing and Dana is pregnant. That was never part of the plan.'
'Dana?' Cancer Man said, taking a drag off his cigarette. 'I take it you two have become close.'
'Cut the crap.' Scully said to him. 'Where's Mulder?'
'So sensitive.' He replied.
'We've come a long way.' Krycek said. 'She's worried about Mulder and quite frankly, so am I. This wasn't supposed to happen.'
'I'm sorry to be the one to inform you that Mulder is with Marita.' Spender said.
Both Scully and Krycek stared back at him.
'Marita?' Krycek asked.
'Mulder has been working with her.' Spender said. 'Trying to restore a New World order to save the human race.'
'I don't believe you.' Scully whispered.
'Neither do I.' Krycek agreed.
'It's true.' Samantha said softly. 'I saw the pictures myself.'
Krycek's eyes flicked between the two of them. 'What pictures?'
'Jeffrey has been tailing Miss Covarrubias for some time.' Spender said. 'He has pictures of Mulder, Marita and other members of the group.'
'Doing what?' Krycek asked.
'Talking.' Spender replied. 'Just talking.'
'That's why we came out here.' Samantha said. 'There's people we need to meet with to fight this.'
'Fight what?' Scully asked. 'I'm not sure I follow.'
'Marita has been working with the alien rebels.' Krycek said. 'The rebels perform tests on people to see how easily they can be infected with the virus. After the tests are complete, the test subjects are incinerated.'
Scully was silent, horrified. 'What?' She finally whispered.
Cancer Man stubbed his cigarette out in an ashtray. 'They don't want to leave any trace of their work behind for the group to get their hands on. So they burn them to make sure nothing remains. '
Scully's thought's involuntarily drifted back to the night Cassandra Spender had disappeared, when the faceless rebels had set everyone on fire. She suddenly felt ill. Krycek immediately noticed and reached over to put his hand on hers.
'You see why we've tried to keep this away from the public?' He asked.
She looked at him, her eyes sad, and he tried to smile when he continued. 'There's nothing we can do yet, so why let the world worry their last days away.'
Scully sat in silence, stunned. Could Mulder really be working with Marita? Could she even consider what Spender was saying? Could she believe that this was really Samantha? Could she really trust Krycek?
That last thought dropped in her mind and stayed there. Whether or not she wanted it to happen, Krycek had become a friend in all of this. But could she, should she, let her guard down? She thought not. True, he had been kind and supportive to her, he had bared his feelings, and he had revealed what had been going on with him and everything else.
But he was still Krycek.
'You're saying that Mulder knows that these people are being killed?' Scully asked softly.
'I do not know what Mulder knows.' Spender said. 'All I know is that he is with Miss Covarrubias and the rest of the group.'
'So he could be there as a prisoner?'
'Agent Scully,' Spender leaned towards her, 'I do not doubt anything anymore. My life has shown me a lot of unbelievable things. But I do know Mulder.' He took another Morley out and lit up. 'If Mulder is involved in this, it is because he believes it is the right thing to do.'
Silence went around the table again. Scully remembered that Samantha was sitting across from her and again marveled at the fact that Mulder's sister was two feet away.
'And what part do you play in all this?' Scully asked.
'I am trying to protect mankind.' Samantha said. 'I believe that this cause should be kept quiet and we should be working in secret. Why should we burden the public with what is going on when it will be over so quickly if we do not succeed? They are better off living the rest of their lives in blissful ignorance.'
'I see you are having a hard time believing that Fox could be involved in something so sinister.' Spender said. 'If you could think of it from his point of view, he has always wanted to expose the truth. He always believed that the world should be informed of any conspiracy. This is where we've disagreed.'
*************************
Mulder felt a cool hand on his face and the soft voice spiraled down to the bottom of the black hole he was lying in.
'Fox.'
He tried to open his eyes and they fluttered open a couple of times.
'Fox.'
Mulder gave up on trying to open his eyes and licked his lips instead.
'Don't try to talk, Fox.' The voice said. 'Just keep breathing.'
'Scully?' He managed to squeak out.
'Just relax, Fox.'
Mulder licked his lips again. 'Where…Am I?'
'You're in the hospital.' The voice was beginning to sound familiar again. 'You need to relax and concentrate on breathing.'
Mulder blinked his eyes several times before managing to keep them open. Shapes began to form in his blurry vision. The light above…The tiles in the ceiling…The sprinkler system…He rolled his eyes to his left and stared as he saw the blonde woman that he had seen before.
Mulder swallowed again, trying to clear his throat and whispered.
'Diana?'
*************************
Scully thoughts swirled around in her mind. Too much, her mind kept saying. Too much, don't get overwhelmed. She took a deep breath and forced the clutter from her thoughts. Focused on the discussion at hand. She looked at Cancer Man.
'You used me to get to that information you needed and now you want me to trust you?'
'I didn't ask for your trust, Agent Scully.' He replied. 'You asked me where Fox was and I told you what I thought. We're just talking.'
Scully stared back at him for a moment, silently and reluctantly admitting to herself that he was right. She wouldn't allow herself to feel the confusion that pressed down on her head. She knew it was coming, her unavoidable meltdown of information, but she wasn't allowing herself the luxury just now. That was for another time, all alone, in a warm shower, with the door locked.
'Are you okay?' Krycek asked her.
She hadn't realized her hand was touching her forehead and her eyes were closed. 'I'm fine.'
'Maybe you should get some rest.' He said. 'It's been a long trip.'
'I don't believe Mulder would lie to me.' Scully said. 'I don't believe that he could be involved in something like that.' Her voice was close to breaking and she hated herself for it. 'Mulder is a good person.'
'Mulder isn't on the wrong side, Agent Scully.' Spender said, blowing out smoke. 'He is just on the side that he believes in. Our goal, after all, is one in the same. We just have different ways of getting to it.'
'I don't believe Fox would lie to you either. He has never been the deceitful type.' Samantha gently broke in. 'But I do think that he would keep things from you if he thought he would be protecting you.'
'You don't even know him.' Scully snapped at her, immediately sorry for doing it. She normally didn't lose her carefully constructed cool.
'I beg your pardon.' Samantha said, completely indifferent to Scully's bite of anger. 'I do know Fox. He is my brother and I spent the first part of my life with him. Even though we were brought up believing in two different things, I still know who he is.'
Scully was tired, confused and pregnant and her patience was reaching his end. 'You knew him when he was twelve!' She exclaimed.
'Let's not get into this right now.' Krycek interrupted. 'No good will come from arguing.' He looked at his father. 'We came here to find you hoping for an answer on Mulder's whereabouts. But I guess you are in the dark on that as well.'
'We can put out our own inquiries.' Cancer Man said. 'But who's to say that Fox wants to be found.'
'There's one thing that I don't understand.' Scully said.
Krycek smiled. 'Just one?'
'I never had any connection to any of this while I was growing up.' She looked at Krycek. 'You and Mulder, all of you were involved because of your parents, because of the project.' She shook her head. 'Where did I come from?'
'I picked you out of medical school.' Krycek answered.
'But since then.' She went on. 'Everything that has happened to me, it is too coincidental. Almost like…'
'Someone close to you was working against you?' Cancer Man finished.
Scully didn't answer and moved on to another topic that had been bothering her. 'I'm assuming it was you who made sure I was able to conceive a child?'
'The child was conceived before it was implanted in you.' Spender said. 'I do not know when or where this happened.'
'And you had no part in it?' She asked, recalling the morning she had awakened in his cabin with no recollection of the previous evening.
'I am not part of the group trying to create the new human evolution.' Spender smiled. 'That is the campaign of Marita Covarrubias.'
'Then what are you doing?' Scully asked, frustrated that no clear answers were available.
'We're creating the vaccine.'
'Creating a vaccine?' Scully repeated. 'In order to do that, wouldn't experimentation be needed? Not to mention you don't easily stumble across alien DNA?'
'Perhaps you'd like to see how we do it?' Spender offered, blowing out smoke. 'Someone with your expertise would be welcomed into our project.'
'I'm not a geneticist.' Scully replied before recoiling in horror. What the hell was she thinking? 'And I'm really not interested in having any part of your project.'
'Rather hard to be a fence-sitter when presented with both sides.' Spender said. 'One does usually tend to lean in some sort of direction.'
'I have not been presented with any sides.' Scully replied harshly, rather irritated with the fact that she was already leaning away from the faceless rebels. Which, if what Spender were saying was true, would be Mulder's side. 'You haven't answered any of my questions with any clarity nor have you shown me any proof to substantiate anything you are claiming. For all I know you have Mulder locked in a cage, draining him of whatever alien traits you need to make your vaccine work!'
Krycek frowned, obviously bothered that Scully was getting so upset, but Spender wasn't phased and turned towards Samantha. 'Show them the pictures, will you dear?'
Scully didn't say anything as Samantha reached into her purse and brought out some pictures. She put them on the table and slid them towards Krycek and Scully, who leaned over the table to get a closer look.
Spender smiled. 'I'm sure your rational mind will find an excuse for what you see.'
The first picture was an office. Mulder was sitting in a chair, leaning forward, hands dangling between his legs. He was looking up at Marita who was leaning against a desk, arms folded, staring down at him.
'This doesn't prove anything.' Scully said softly, cringing inwardly at the sadness on Mulder's face. 'He doesn't look all that thrilled to be there.'
Krycek suddenly looked up at Scully as she glanced down at the next picture.
There were people seated around a table, someone up in front mapping on a graph of the world. Mulder was looking up the map, chin resting in his hand. Marita was sitting on his left and there were two other men seated at the table as well. One looked familiar but Scully couldn't concentrate on that as she was staring at the blonde woman on Mulder's right. Scully couldn't move, couldn't speak. For a moment, she couldn't even breathe. It was Diana Fowley.
'Dana.' Krycek said softly. 'This still means nothing.'
Scully put a hand over her mouth, her brain moving too fast. Diana was dead. She had looked at the autopsy report herself. Diana was dead; Mulder wouldn't be hanging around with Diana and not tell her. Diana was dead, she had been found dead. She was dead. Mulder wouldn't lie to her. Mulder wouldn't lie. He had saved her life too many times to count. He had always been there for her. He had followed her up to the Arctic to find her.
The thought suddenly slammed home exceptionally hard and her rational mind started to view things in a different way.
How had Mulder managed to find her up there? He said that English man who was so high up in the Syndicate had given him her location. That he'd been approached by this man and been offered her cure and her location.
That suddenly seemed a bit coincidental.
'Dana.' Krycek's soft voice interrupted her thoughts. 'Maybe we should leave so you can get some rest.'
Scully suddenly shoved the pictures back at Samantha, knocking everything on the table over in the process.
Tears welled up in her eyes. Mulder couldn't have lied to her. He couldn't have lied. He couldn't.
Get a grip, Dana. Her rational mind tried to surface once more. Get a grip. She knew Krycek was eyeing her with concern. She ignored him.
'There is one other matter.' Cancer Man said, lighting another cigarette. 'One that I've been reluctant to bring up.'
'Dear God.' Scully said softly. 'Do you ever quit?'
Spender eyed her. 'I only bring this up because it involves my son.'
Krycek looked over at him, searching his eyes.
Samantha leaned over and spoke softly. 'I thought we had decided against this.'
'That was before I found out about Fox.' Spender said. 'I could always count on him before to do the right thing. But he seems to have been…Misled by those others.' He reached down into the briefcase and pulled out some charts. 'This is your DNA,' he looked at Scully. 'And this is Alex's DNA.'
Krycek suddenly sat back in his chair, as if to remove himself from the conversation. Scully looked at his face to see him eyeing Cancer Man with disbelief. She felt fear in the pit of her stomach.
'We have a very valuable source.' Spender said. 'I don't know who it is that acts as our double agent, and I don't care. This person is usually able to provide us with everything we need.'
Scully swallowed the lump that had lately seemed to be visiting her throat quite often. 'Our DNA, that should be easily enough to obtain.'
Spender pulled out another chart and laid it on the table in between the two. 'This is the DNA of your unborn child.'
Krycek suddenly stood up, knocking over his chair in the process, and hastily walked out of the restaurant.
Scully looked after him, then back at Spender. She couldn't look at the charts and once again, she was unable to speak.
'If you compare the DNA charts of the two of you to the chart of the child, you'll see, the child has both.'
Scully managed to drag her eyes down to the charts. She eyed all three before looking up at Spender. 'How?' She whispered, desperately trying to push the tears back into her eyes.
'I don't know.' Cancer Man replied. 'But I do believe you should go away where they cannot find you.'
'I can't.' Scully said softly.
'Alex has the highest IQ of the four children.' Spender said. 'He has shown more alien characteristics than the other three combined. For his child to be in existence combined with your tendency to combat the alien virus-'
'How would I have any anti-agent in my body to fight this?' She sputtered out, swiping at her eyes.
'Mulder injected you with the vaccine in those horrid ice caves.' Spender said. 'It altered your physiology. You will survive any attempt of the alien invasion because of it.'
Scully tried to keep a sane, rational mind about all this. She searched for any sense of comfort in anything she'd been told and found none. She extended her search to the man sitting in front of her. 'Do you really think Mulder is doing wrong in all this?'
'As I've said before, Agent Scully.' Spender said. 'I believe that Fox believes he's doing the right thing. I don't know if he's there because he's being forced, or because he chose to deceive everyone around him. All I know is he's there.'
'I've always believed him to be the father of my child.' Scully whispered.
'You mustn't think of it that way.' Spender said. 'The child was created for the future. In a lab. With genetics. The child was created with science. The child was created specifically to ensure the survival of the human race. The child is the hope for the future.'
It was some time before the dinner broke up and Scully wandered outside to find Krycek sitting on a bench out front.
'Are they gone?' He asked before she could say anything. His face was in his hand.
'Yes.' She replied. 'They went back to the 'cottage by the lake' they asked me to tell you.'
'I had nothing to do with this.' He said, not moving.
'I believe you.' Scully sat on the bench next to him.
'All my life, whenever my mind wandered far enough away to dream of having a family, I never wanted my kid to end up like me.'
Scully looked at the horse-drawn carriage as it pranced by. 'I don't quite see it that way.'
Krycek leaned back on the bench and took his hand away from his face. 'How is it not?' He asked. 'The child is being bred specifically for scientific reasons. The offspring of two people who know nothing of its origin? How is that not like me?'
'Because the child will have a mother that loves it.' Scully replied. 'And hopefully the father will feel the same way.' Was she really saying this? Was this really happening? Was she really excepting the fact that Krycek was the father of her child?
This was insane.
Krycek didn't say anything and they both sat in silence for a few moments.
'I'm sorry it wasn't Fox's.' Krycek said.
'Let's not be concerned with that just now.' Scully said, her voice much sturdier than she had dared to hope. 'I wasn't supposed to have children and I desperately wanted to be a mother. Yours or Mulder's, either way this baby is a miracle.'
Krycek finally looked over at her. She ignored him again. Scully was trying to deal with the fact that she was carrying Krycek's baby and not Mulder's. It was not an easy thing to swallow.
Krycek looked down at the ground. 'What do you think we should do?'
'I don't know.' Scully couldn't look at him yet. 'If us going into hiding would create a safer environment for the baby, maybe we should. I could always leave word for Mulder on how to find me.'
'We don't have to go into hiding together.' Krycek said.
'No,' Scully replied, 'but it would be better that way.' She looked over at him. 'That is, assuming you want to be around.'
Krycek didn't respond. He sat there with his head in his hand.
So this is it. Scully thought to herself. This man will be part of my future if he wants to, Alex Krycek, supposedly the father of my child. I'm supposed to accept this?
Scully was suddenly confused as to why she already seemed to be accepting it. Either she was far more rational than she thought, or she was in denial.
Krycek was lost. She could see it. She was definitely handling this better than he was. She forced herself to put a hand on his leg. 'It would help if I knew what you were thinking.'
Krycek shook his head. When he responded, his voice was hoarse. 'I don't know how to deal with this.' He said. 'I don't know what I'm supposed to feel.'
'You're not supposed to feel anyway.' She said. 'However you feel is how you're supposed to feel.'
Krycek looked up at her. She was amazed; there were tears in his eyes. She didn't think his body had been capable of producing them.
'Can we go back to the hotel?' He asked. 'I can't sit out here like this anymore.'
End Part Two.
Continued in Part Three.
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