Once Enemies

by Mulley

Alex Krycek opened his eyes slowly and carefully.  The pounding in his head brought back images from the night before but they were hazy.  All he could remember for sure was that he'd had too much to drink and no one to drink with.

He was lying on his stomach, dressed in a t-shirt and boxers, but he didn't remember going home or changing.  Carefully, so as not to disturb his aching brain, he looked at his watch.  It told him it was 2:27 in the afternoon.  Great, he thought, I've missed Jerry Springer.

Before he could attempt getting off his bed, he heard a woman's voice behind him.

"I never thought you'd wake up, Alex."

Krycek turned his head slightly and tried to make out the blurry form before him.  It appeared to be small, red headed, and carrying a mug.

"Wha--".  Finding it impossible to put together a coherent sentence, he instead concentrated on sitting up.  His back ached and pain stabbed his eyes, but he would survive.

"This will help," the woman said, walking toward Alex and offering the cup of, what he could see to be, steaming liquid.

"Thanks," Krycek mumbled.  He took a sip and savored the feel of the coffee as it burned his tongue slightly.  The strong smell invaded his senses and helped him focus.  He took another sip then looked at the woman standing in front of him.

"Scully!"  He spit out the coffee in his surprise, staining the front of Dana Scully's cream skirt.

"Watch it!"  Scully yelled, grabbing one of Alex's white t-shirts off the floor and dabbing her skirt.  "I'll be right back," she said, walking quickly to the bathroom.

Alex stood up and looked around nervously.  If Scully, for some ungodly reason, was here then Mulder couldn't be far away.  The way Alex felt right now, the last thing he wanted was another beating.  He tried to reach into his mind and pull out any possible memory that could explain Special Agent Dana Scully's presence in his apartment.  Finding nothing, he put his coffee down on his nightstand and walked cautiously to the bathroom.

"Scully, I--"

He was cut off.  "Oh, so now it's back to Scully, huh?  What happened to Dana?"  Scully had her head down, too busy salvaging her skirt, and didn't see the look of surprise that flickered across Krycek's face.

"Da--, huh?  Dana?"  Krycek fumbled.

Scully looked up, frowning.  "Alex, are you okay?  How hard did you hit your head when you fell off the bed?"

Krycek touched the back of his head to feel for any bumps, then ran his hand around to his forehead, patting gingerly.  He felt a bump over his left eye.  His hangover was now a distant memory.  He was trying too hard to piece together exactly what happened the previous night.

"That'll have to do," Scully said, straightening her skirt.  "Did I get it all out?"

Alex studied where the stain had been.  "Yeah, it's fine," he muttered.

Scully walked past him and surveyed the bedroom.  "You know, you should really clean up around here."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Krycek said.  "Listen, Scu--, Dana," he began.  "About last night, I…"

Scully picked up the jacket she had hung over the back of a chair and turned to him.  "Don't be embarassed, Alex.  You were so good.  You've got a real talent there."  She winked, smiled and walked to the front door.  "Catch ya later."  With that she was gone.

Krycek walked over to his bed and sat down.  He put his head in his hands and tried to will the memories of last night to come to the fore.  All he could remember was sitting down at a bar, ordering a bottle of Jack Daniels and pouring shots with the intent of finishing it.  Everything after that was hazy.  If he'd spent the night with Dana Scully, he wanted to remember it, dammit.  He straightened up and looked around his room.  She's right, what a mess, he thought.  He stood up and started to clean his bedroom.

*************************

Freshly showered and feeling more human, Alex dressed in his usual white t-shirt, blue jeans, black leather jacket, and black boots.  He combed back his hair and looked in the mirror.  The image that stared back at him was not the lost, haggard face he was used to seeing.  Instead he saw a young man who had a new lease on life due to the love of a good woman.  He smiled when he thought about Dana.  At first he had been hesitant to really think about what had happened, but he found himself enjoying the idea of their being together more and more.  He'd always had a kind of crush on her.  Maybe it was the way she'd always rebuffed him.  The thing that worried him , though, was the fact that he still had no recollection of what had happened.  It was obvious to him that he would have to pretend to remember so as not to offend the new woman in his life.

"Dana," he practiced saying her name.  "Dana," he lowered his voice.  He'd get used to it.  Right now he had to go to FBI Headquarters to see the little woman and see if he could get more details of their night together.

*************************

KNOCK KNOCK

"Come in," Scully said, not looking up.  She was sitting at Mulder's desk reading his latest issue of The Magic Bullet.  It was usually good for a laugh and kept her abreast of Mulder's interests.

Looking up from an article about gene tampering in hamsters that could lead to a new breed of killer pets, she was shocked to see Alex Krycek standing before her with a bouquet of pink carnations in his hand.  He offered them to her and said, "They didn't have any roses."

Scully stood up and looked puzzled.  Finally she took the flowers.  "Thank you, Alex.  Boy, Mulder's never given me flowers before.  I'll find something to put them in.  I'll be right back," she said.

Alex looked around Mulder's office.  He noticed the clutter on the desk and looked at the "I Want to Believe" poster on the wall.  I wonder if he knows, he thought.

"There, how's that?"  Scully entered with the flowers in a large glass full of water.

"Great," Krycek smiled.  He hooked his thumbs into his front pockets.  "So, Dana, " he said purposefully.  "How are things with you and…Fox."

"Since when do you call him Fox?"  Dana looked at him questioningly.

Krycek laughed nervously.  "Just kidding around, heh."  He cleared his throat.  "What does he think about last night?"  He figured this was the safest way to find out if she'd told him anything about the two of them.  This way he could gauge how fast to run the minute he saw Mulder so he wouldn't get the crap beaten out of him.

"He thought you were great too," Dana said, smiling and walking back around the desk to sit down again.

"He was there?"  Alex asked, dumbfounded.  He sat on the edge of the desk and furrowed his brow.

"Alex, are you okay?"  Scully asked, concerned.  "You don't remember him being with us?"

Krycek swallowed hard.  " W-With…us?"  he stuttered.

Before Scully could answer, Mulder walked into the office.  "Well, if it isn't the lady killer," he said laughing.

Krycek involuntarily flinched and tightened his stomach waiting for the first punch.  When none came, he looked at Mulder.  He was smiling.

"What's wrong, Krycek?  Morning after regrets?"  Mulder asked.  "Don't worry, that'll pass and before you know it, it'll be a regular thing."

Scully laughed.  "I remember my first time with you and Skinner.  That was so funny!"

Krycek's eyes opened wide.  He couldn't believe what kind of life these stand up agents were living.  He wanted to set the record straight before he found out anymore.  He stood up and looked at both of them.  "Dana," he said softly, "I have to tell you something."  He swallowed hard.  "I don't remember anything about last night."

Mulder and Scully stared at him.

"Well, I'm not surprised, the way you were downing those shots," Scully said.

"Aren't you offended?"  Alex felt confused.

"Why would she be offended?"  Mulder asked, walking over to stand directly in front of Krycek.

Krycek put up his hands to ward off the first blow.  Nothing happened.

"What is wrong with you, Alex?"  Scully asked coming around the desk to stand between Krycek and Mulder.

"Dana, I--" He started again.  "I don't remember spending the night with you and I think it's only fair that you know that."

Mulder chuckled.  "Are you kidding?"

Krycek turned to Mulder.  "And I really don't remember you being with us last night."

Scully and Mulder looked at each other for a moment and then both burst out laughing.  After what felt like hours, they managed to control themselves enough to talk.  Alex looked at them like they were crazy.

Scully wiped a tear from her eye.  "Alex, I promise you that you don't need to worry about offending me."

"I guess if this is something you usually do, then I don't have to worry do I?"  Krycek said, a little defensively.

"Hold on there," Mulder said, getting serious for a moment.  "What she means is nothing happened between you guys last night."

Alex frowned.  "What are you talking about?"

Scully started to giggle again but regained her composure.  "What he means is, the three of us entered a Karaoke contest last night at the bar and, thanks to you, we won."  She walked over to a corner of the room and picked up a medium sized trophy.  "See?"

Krycek took the gold trophy and studied it.  There was a man holding a microphone and underneath was inscribed "Karaoke Champions--Quicktime Tavern".  Under that were all three of their names.  He looked at them.

"We found you at the bar and you had been drinking and you started telling us about all the crap you've been through, and --" Scully said before Mulder cut her off.

"Long story short, I'd had a few myself and you started rambling about the things the Smoking Man had told you to make you want to betray me.  He pretty much suckered you, Krycek, and I know that now.  Besides, I didn't feel like beating you up."  Mulder grinned.  "We all started to really talk and I found out a few things about you that I hadn't known so--" This time Scully cut him off.

"So, we decided to let go of the past and entered the contest."  Scully looked at him expectantly.

"Just like that, you guys don't hate me anymore?"  Krycek asked in disbelief.

"Like I said, you told me some stuff that explained a lot and, truthfully, made me feel kind of sorry for you.  I've decided to let it go and with the information you gave me, I can go after the real criminals," Mulder said.

Krycek wondered what he'd told Mulder.  It was undoubtedly the truth so it didn't really matter now.

"So, what did I do?"  Alex asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.

Mulder grinned.  "You, my man, were the master.  You got up there and sang 'What's New Pussycat' and had every woman in the place screaming like teenagers."

Scully chimed in.  "Tom Jones himself couldn't have done it better."

"I did what?"  Krycek was dumbfounded.

"Yeah," Mulder said.  "You had the hip swivel down perfectly."

"You know, I think a couple of ladies even threw some unmentionables on the stage," Scully said, winking.

Alex sat down on the edge of the desk again.  So this was what the big mystery was.  It still didn't explain everything.  "But what about your being in my apartment this morning?"  he asked Scully.

"Oh, that was just because you'd had so much to drink we didn't want you to be alone in your apartment," Scully explained.  "Plus, when we put you on your bed you turned suddenly, fell off, and hit your head on your night stand.  One of us had to make sure you would be okay."

"We drew straws to see who'd stay with you and Scully lost," Mulder said, grinning at his partner.

"Oh," Alex said quietly.  "What about my clothes?"

"Some overzealous fan spilled her Mai Tai on your pants just as we were leaving the bar," Mulder explained.  "Some fashion advice.  T-shirts come in many colors now and smiley face boxers aren't that funny."

Krycek thought about what he was being told.  He smiled, then started laughing.  Soon he was shaking uncontrollably and tears were falling down his face.  He'd never felt so completely free before.  He suddenly remembered why he had been drinking in the first place.  He wanted a new life and regretted the fact that he couldn't have one.  He looked at Mulder and Scully, once enemies, now friends.  Maybe it's not too late, he thought.

"Thanks you guys."

There was a knock on the door.  AD Skinner walked in and looked at the three of them.

"After work, Frank's Bar, they're having a contest.  First prize is free drinks for a month."  Skinner made the invitation sound like a mission.  He looked directly at Krycek.  "And you," he growled, "you better warm up those pipes because I want to win this thing."  With that he stepped out of the office.

Mulder and Scully cracked up again and looked at Krycek.

Krycek smiled.  "What time should I meet you guys?"

End

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