TITLE:  They Only Danced Once

AUTHOR:  Mel X Lady 

RATING:  PG-13 

CATEGORY:  MSR and Krycek/Scully 

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT:  Please tell me where you put it.  
I'll probably let you, but even so.

FEEDBACK:  DJPDude@Juno.com 

SPOILERS:  "Pilot" and "Sleepless"

SUMMARY:  Timed between "Sleepless" and "Duane Barry", 
Scully feels guilty about the way she treated Krycek and 
wants to make it up to him, so when he asks her to a dance, 
she agrees to go.

DISCLAIMER:  Apparently I don't own any of the mentioned 
characters:( Yeah, came to a blow of my ego too!

NOTES:  The author hadn't seen "Sleepless" when she wrote 
this.  So basically, I wrote this when I figured Krycek and 
Scully got along.  How wrong I was.  <G> I know there is no 
chance on earth of this happening, but I just really wanted 
to write this idea.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx


"Agent Scully!"  A voice called out as Scully stepped into 
the elevator and stopped.  She glanced at her watch and 
noted that it was 5:22 before turning around seeing Krycek 
running toward her.

"Krycek, is something wrong?"  She asked as Krycek reached 
the elevator.

"No, but I just know if I don't ask you now, I'll probably 
regret it for a very long time."

"What?"  She asked after he stepped into the elevator and 
the doors snapped shut.  She had just met him earlier that 
week.  They had been introduced in Quantico when Scully was 
busy performing an autopsy.

"Hey, uh, you know that charity dance that's going on 
downtown, tonight?"  He asked as he watched her nod before 
he continued, "I know it's very short notice, but, well I 
was wondering -- would you like to go with me, to the dance 
that is?"  he asked, Scully noted the pleading in his eyes.  
She thought for a second and shrugged.

"Sure, I'll meet you there at 8:00, tonight," She finally 
answered as Krycek nodded and smiled weakly.

"Agent Scully-"

"Yes, and if we're going to the dance tonight, It'll have 
to be Dana."

"All right, Dana, thank you."

"You're welcome, Alex."

He stepped off the elevator on the third floor and she went 
on down to the basement.  Scully smiled to herself as she 
realized she actually had a date, he wasn't Mulder, but she 
needed a dress, and fast.

XXXXXX

Scully looked around the store quickly and smiled to 
herself.  She was alone in the store until the sales woman 
stepped out from the back room

"Hi, Honey," A woman in a pair of jeans and sweater said as 
Scully's eyes moved to her name tag which read 'Britt'.  
Britt approached Scully and smiled as she took in Scully's 
bright red hair, blue eyes and her FBI ID.

"Hi," Scully replied back as she allowed her eyes to scan 
around the small store.

"I need a dress, for tonight."

"Sure, do you want to look around or should I show you some 
dresses?"  Britt asked as Scully looked at the large 
selection of beautiful night time wear.

"Well, I'm in a hurry, so could you show me some dresses, 
please."

Britt walked over toward a rack and began shifting through 
and finally pulled out a blue dress.  It was ankle length, 
strapless and backless.  Scully's mouth opened slightly as 
she realized how much it would show.  So what?  Scully 
thought to herself after a moment of hesitation.  It wasn't 
like she ever showed skin around the office anyway and 
tonight was going to be an entirely new treat.  She felt 
guilty about the way she had treated Krycek when they first 
met, and she wanted to make it up to him somehow.  Perhaps 
this gorgeous dress could help her show people, including 
Krycek, that Agent Dana Scully wasn't an ice queen and 
could adapt to any situation.

"It's beautiful," Scully smiled.

"I'll wrap it up for you."

"Oh, How much does it cost?"  Scully asked quickly as Britt 
looked up for a long moment.

"What's your name, Honey?"

"Dana Scully."

"Already paid for."

"Excuse me?"

"Doctor Dana Scully.  The dress has been paid for."

"Okay, Thank you," Scully smiled as she took the box with 
the dress in it and walked to her car.  She gently laid the 
box in the back seat before looking at her watch and 
realizing it was almost six o'clock.  She dropped herself 
into the car and started the engine as she left to go home 
and take a quick bath.

XXXXXX

Scully walked in and closed the door behind her.  She 
pressed 'play' on the answering machine and took off her 
coat and purse.

"Hey Dana, I hope you liked the dress, see you at 8," was 
the only message she heard.  She smiled to herself.

"Alex Krycek, perhaps I misjudged you," She smiled as she 
kicked off her shoes and began to take off her suit coat.  
She walked into the bathroom and turned the water on.  She 
proceeded to strip down and slide down in the bathtub.  She 
hummed a tune to herself as she began to wash her hair.

XXXXXX

Scully zipped the dress up and looked in the mirror.  It 
was a perfect fit.  She was curious now, she wondered how 
Krycek knew that this dress was her's, how she would pick 
this dress, and how it would fit her so perfectly.  She 
gently applied a light shade of lipstick and eye shadow as 
the phone rang.  She finished applying her make up as she 
reached over and picked up the receiver.

"Scully."

"Hey Scully, It's me," His heavy voice said from the other 
end as Scully found herself smiling.

"Hey Mulder, what's up?"

"Nothing, I just waned to call and see what you where 
doing."

"Oh, nothing much, just getting ready for that charity ball 
down town," Scully said as she pulled the phone away and 
hoped it hadn't smudged any of the make up.

"Woah, are you going with anyone?"

"I'm trying not to take offense," She smirked as she ran 
her tongue over her lips.

"I'm sorry, Scully- but who?"

"Alex Krycek," Scully said quietly, almost ashamed, as 
there was a dead silence on the other side of the line, 
"Mulder?"

"Scully, I'll see you at the dance, all right?"

"Sure, see you then, bye, Mulder."

"Bye, Scully."  She hung up and looked at the phone for a 
second before moving her eyes to her alarm clock as she 
read 7:45.

"Well, here we go," Scully whispered to herself as she 
stood up and left for the door.  Sure, Mulder was great and 
all, but she was tired of being lonely, and maybe, just 
maybe, Alex was the one.

XXXXXX

Scully looked around the room and noticed a lot of people.  
She was familiar with most of them, riding in the elevator 
with them on her way down to the basement and back up 
again, but she was looking for one man tonight, and it 
wasn't Mulder.

"Hello Agent Scully," She heard a man say behind her as she 
turned around quickly and locked eyes with Skinner.

"Hello, sir," She replied quickly.  She hadn't seen him 
since she'd returned to Quantico and they hadn't really had 
a chance to say good-bye.

"Waiting for Agent Mulder?"  He asked, trying to start a 
conversation.

"No, I'm actually waiting for Agent Krycek," She replied, 
begging for a diversion, something to remove her from this 
uncomfortable spot.

"Agent Scully, would you care to dance?"  Skinner suddenly 
asked, noting her discomfort but not reacting to it yet.

"Sure," She replied as she walked toward him and rested her 
left hand on his shoulder and gave him her right hand.  She 
didn't notice that he had put his hand on her waist and 
they began to sway to the music.  She was confused by his 
actions, but figured he was just being nice.  She never 
really reacted to him because he reminded her so much of 
her father.  She smiled and whispered: "Sir, this reminds 
me of when I was a teenager and my dad taught my sister and 
me how to dance."  Skinner only smiled at the comment.

"Sir, do you have any children?"  She asked.  She couldn't 
help but wonder about the man she knew so little about.

"No, I'm afraid not," He replied and looked away for a 
second and turning his head back to face her.

"Oh, you'd make a wonderful father," She smiled.  She was a 
little more comfortable around the older man now.  He 
scared her at first, with his huge body and glaring eyes.  
He was literally huge to her, and size scared her a little 
at first, but now that she knew he was gentle, she had no 
reason to fear him.

The music ended and she thanked him.  She began to walk off 
to look for Krycek when she heard a call from the shadows 
that only she could hear.

"Dana."  She walked toward the shadows off the ball room, 
wondering who she'd find.

"Alex," She whispered, a little surprised that he hadn't 
approached her out on the dance floor, "Alex, why are you 
over in the corner by yourself?"

"I was waiting for you to finish so I could see you," He 
said as he raised his hand to stroke her cheek.  She looked 
at him for a moment and smiled to herself.  Why hadn't she 
noticed his eyes before?  His green eyes that were so close 
to emerald, it was almost startling.

"Thank you for the dress, but how did you know?"

"I know lots of things, Dana, but you, I don't really know 
you.  Would you like to dance?"  He asked as another slow 
dance came on and he reached his hand out.  She accepted it 
they walked toward the dance floor.

"So are you serious, you want to get to know me?"  She 
asked after a few moments.  Krycek was a wonderful dancer, 
light on his feet and confident in his moves.

"Of course," He whispered into her ear.  He began to 
whisper what sounded like Russian.

"You speak Russian?"  She whispered back.

"Yeah, but I really think I'd like to learn about you, I'm 
just a normal guy from a normal place."

"I'm normal too."

"Then why did they stick you with a guy like Mulder?"

There it was again, Scully and Mulder, Mulder and Scully, 
Mr. and Mrs. Spooky Mulder.  She'd only been down there for 
a year before the X-Files had closed down, but she was 
considered insane for sticking with Mulder and starting to 
believe in the aliens and cover ups that he thrived on.

"To debunk his work, to find the scientific value in the 
cases, why'd they stick you with him?"

Before Alex could answer, the music stopped and Scully felt 
someone behind her.  The music started back up and Scully 
turned around.

"Mulder!"  She cried out, a little surprised that he was 
wearing a tuxedo, She had never seen him in a tuxedo 
before.

"Scully, may I have the honor of the next dance?"  He 
asked, playing around, but serious about the dance.

"Of course," She replied

"Excuse us, Krycek," Mulder glared as Scully walked into 
Mulder's arms and began to dance.

"Sure, see you later, Dana," He called out after she had 
already begun to dance with Mulder.

Krycek could have sworn he'd felt something when he danced 
with Scully, and in his mind, she felt it too.  His job was 
to try to win Mulder's trust over, and by becoming close 
friends with Scully was not the angle to go.

Mulder loved Scully, he could see it in his eyes, and was 
beginning to see it in her eyes, too.  Her brilliant blue 
eyes that reminded him of a free, mid day sky.  They had 
appeared empty when Krycek saw her at first, but, as hard 
as she had tried, they'd liten up when Mulder spoke to her.  
Alex walked back toward his dark corner and hoped he would 
still be alone back there.  He wasn't in the mood to talk, 
since he had to think about a new way to try to get Mulder 
to react to him.  He was distant, only willing to work with 
Scully, since he trusted her, and he was starting to fear 
that Mulder would see right through the charade.  The game 
that he was playing until he could learn, and eventually 
destroy Fox Mulder.

"Alex," A voice from the shadows growled as he stood back 
and looked at the people dancing.  He didn't move to look 
at the man, he knew who he was and he knew him too well.

"What the hell are you doing here?  Someone might see you," 
Krycek asked as he followed Mulder and Scully with his 
eyes.  Watching every painful spin and turn.

"What the hell am I doing here?  Why aren't you out there 
with Agent Scully?"

"I don't belong out there, that angle is a bust, I'm going 
to stick with befriending Mulder, because he obviously-" He 
stopped for a second, realizing that if he mentioned 
Scully, something might happen to her.  "That angle just 
doesn't work."

"Alex, just do whatever it takes, but I want Mulder dead or 
trusting you, what ever is quicker," The man said as he lit 
a cigarette and inhaled from it for a long moment.

Krycek nodded and walked away from the corner.  He always 
regretted working for the Smoking Man, but chances were, if 
he didn't, he'd be six feet under by now.

The music ended and Krycek walked back onto the dance 
floor.  Scully spotted him and walked over, eyes met with 
his as he stood and watched.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have danced with Mulder without 
asking you first."

"It's all right, we're here to have fun, plus, I can't 
expect you to spend the whole night with me," Krycek smiled 
as he didn't feel the pressure anymore.  His new goal was 
to befriend Mulder, and in that time, he'd probably become 
friends with Scully too.  Befriend then destroy.

Scully's eyes shifted from Krycek to something behind him.  
Krycek turned his head to notice Mulder walking out of the 
door with another woman next to him.

"No," Scully moaned quietly as Krycek watched her eyes.  
Her eyes were the window to her soul, and her soul was 
broken into thousands of pieces.

"I'm sorry," Krycek murmured, it was all he could say.  He 
didn't want to say too much and offend her or not say 
enough and leave her out to dry.

"Come on, I'll get you some punch."  He said, trying to 
sound a little cheerful as her eyes looked at the door for 
a minute.

"Huh?"

"Come on, Scully, let's get some punch.  I'm sure some 
one's spiked it by now," He repeated as she laughed gently 
and followed him.

Krycek dipped the cup into the punch and handed it to 
Scully as he looked at her and then back toward the 
shadows.  They appeared to be empty as Krycek heard 
Scully's voice.

"Do you know who that was?"  She asked.  She was very 
quiet, but he answered to what he thought he'd heard.

"No, I don't think she works on the field, probably fourth 
or fifth floor."

Scully nodded as she took a sip of the punch.  The sweet 
fruit taste tangled with another, stronger, element which 
alerted her senses.

"I think you're right, Krycek, someone's already spiked 
it."  She said as he smiled and stepped over toward her.

"Mulder's a jerk."

"Yeah, yeah he is sometimes."

Krycek looked up into her face.  It was flushed and her 
cheeks where red.  She looked like she was about to cry and 
explode at the same time.

"God Alex, I'm so sorry," She said as she began to wipe the 
tears from her eyes.

"Come here," He said quietly and hugged her.  He felt her 
tears begin to soak through on to his chest.  She released 
a few muffled sobs and Krycek stroked her hair.  He let the 
whole world melt away for a few seconds as he realized 
where they were.

"Scully, Honey, come on, let's go outside," He stopped 
himself for a second and waited for her to attack him for 
saying honey, but she just walked with him.  He had his arm 
around her and they headed for the door.  He wasn't sure 
how he'd explain this on Monday, and he hoped he wouldn't 
have to.

Krycek opened the door and Scully went out first.  They 
strolled into the parking lot and walked around.  He still 
held her under his arm and against his chest but he 
occasionally looked up to make sure no one was watching.

"Alex?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you," Scully said quietly as Krycek looked around 
the dark parking lot and absently responded, "You're 
welcome."

"No, Thank you, I've never had anyone that wasn't a member 
of my family stay with me while I cried.

"Not even Mulder?"

"Well, he held me once when-" She thought back to the first 
night they where together on the X-Files.  He'd taken her 
somewhere west, she couldn't remember where anymore, too 
many cases ago, but she was scared they'd been abducted.  
He had held on to her after he checked her lower back, 
while she stood there in her bra and panties, waiting for 
him to tell her something that she may not have wanted to 
hear.

"Once," She continued, "but I didn't really cry, I was just 
scared."

"Dana, I just want you to know, I'm going to be here for 
you for a very long time.  Shaking me probably won't work.  
I'm with you guys."

"No, you're with Mulder."

"Well, you are in spirit.  Mulder talks about you all the 
time," He replied.  Hating that he had to say that, but he 
needed to fix things so he could get back to his 
observation.

She smiled and let out a little laugh.

"Let's talk about something else," She whispered as she 
looked up to the moon.

"It's beautiful," She said in a quiet whisper.  Krycek 
nodded and followed her stare up into the moon.

"There's the Sea of Tranquility," He pointed over toward 
the right.

"Where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed," She finished 
his thought for him.

"And the third guy, Mike Collins, stuck circling the moon 
while they made history.  No one really ever remembers him 
though."

"No, I think you could never be 'stuck' circling the moon, 
I mean, to be that close to something that only so few 
people have been to," Scully said as Krycek nodded and 
thought about it.  He had never had a debate over this 
topic before, but for the first time in his life, he was 
seeing something from someone else's side.

"You're right" He finally agreed.

"You make a good argument, Alex."

Krycek felt his heart pounding as he silently cursed it to 
stop.

Scully turned and looked into Krycek's face.  She took her 
right hand and began to stroke his cheek.  His face was 
smooth, he must have shaved before he had come to the 
dance.

"Dana?"

"Please, Alex.  I-I want to get to know you.  I'm 
fascinated by you, please.  Let me see your soul.  Kiss 
me."

Krycek took his finger on his right hand and lifted her 
chin up so he could see her eyes.  He gently lowered his 
lips and pressed them against hers.  She kissed him back, 
slowly wrapping her arm around his neck and pulling herself 
closer to him.  Heaven was all that Krycek could claim.  He 
knew his chances of getting in there were slim, so he'd 
better take this for all it was worth.

A few moments, possibly even an eternity later, Krycek 
slowly broke the kiss and ran his tongue over his lips, 
tasting her.

"Once," She whispered.

"Once," He whispered back.

"Let's go back in," She said in a lowered voice as two FBI 
agents passed them and looked for a second and went on with 
their conversation.

"Yeah," He said a little louder and they headed back in for 
the building.

"Alex, Thank you," She said as she looked at him before 
they went back in.

"Scully, you're welcome."

"Alex, you do realize that once we go back into the 
building, we're back to Krycek and Scully, no more Alex or 
Dana?"

"Yes, I'm all aware of that."

"All right," She whispered as she looked at him longingly 
but decided against it.

"You go ahead and go back in, Scully, I'll be back in 
soon."

"Okay," she said with a slight smile as she went back in 
with the other people.  The people who would never know the 
battle that went on in her head right then, between Alex 
Krycek and Fox Mulder.  The battle that she could never 
win.

"Krycek?"  A voice from about 40 yards back called.

"Who's there?"  He called back.  He wasn't going to take 
any risks of being killed tonight, not when he could still 
taste Scully on his lips.

"Mulder!"  He yelled back.

"Agent Mulder, did you enjoy your little trip?"

"What?"  He yelled back as he sprinted toward Krycek.  
"What?"  He asked again, closer to him this time.

"You left with another agent."

"Her car died and I was the only one with jumpers, but luck 
being that she was just out of gas, and we only spent about 
ten minutes trying to jump the damn thing."

"Really?"  Krycek asked, realizing that Scully would never 
feel a thing for him now, all that had just happened was 
because Mulder had decided to be a gentleman instead of 
something else.  Damn you, Mulder was all that he could put 
through his mind.

"Did-uh-did Scully see me leave?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Damn it, I need to go find her and explain to her, excuse 
me," He said as he went through the doors and began to look 
for Scully.

"Wait!  Mulder, tell Scully I had to go home, an emergency 
came up, and I'll see her some other time."

"Okay!"  Mulder called back through the doors.

Krycek began the slow walk toward the end of the parking 
lot to get to his car and to get away from his assignment.  
He was tired and confused.  He passed by empty cars and was 
reminded of his Senior Prom.  Back then, he had no worries, 
no problems.  He intended to go to college and then sky's 
the limit.  Instead, he was taken by the Smoking Man and 
taught the ways of the shadows.  He was an apprentice, 
still learning, but also somewhat master of his trade.

He looked up and saw a cloud cover the moon and took it as 
a sign.  A sign that any time they Scully and he had spent 
together wasn't meant to be.  Krycek knew the future.  He 
had seen it.  Been told it over and over.  The future was 
ever present in his mind.  It pounded against his temples 
over and over, day in and day out.  He hated it, but knew 
he could never stop it.  He finally reached his car and 
unlocked it.  Before he opened the door he felt someone's 
presence behind him as he prepared his hand to reach and 
grab his gun from the holster.  He counted to three 
silently and grabbed his gun.

"Alex!"  A voice cried out as he spun around and aimed the 
gun at her.  He looked at the flash of blue and knew it was 
Scully without even looking into her face.

"Scully?"  He asked as he put his gun back in the holster 
and snapped it shut.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, It's just Mulder 
said you where going home and I wanted to thank you for 
everything," Scully said as Krycek stopped and dropped the 
keys.  He bent down and picked them up.

"You're welcome, Scully.  Do you need a ride home?"

"No, I brought my car, remember?"

It seemed like 8'o clock was an eternity ago, so many 
things had happened since then, and he had only danced 
once.

"Well, a lot's happened since then," He said with a smile.

He thought about leaning over and kissing her again, but 
the words still rang through his mind.  Once and only once.  
She smiled back and glanced up at the moon.

"Oh, I bet it's going to rain," She said as she noticed all 
the clouds that began to form and darken.

"Well, you'd better get back in so you don't get that 
pretty dress wet," Krycek said as he gently caressed her 
cheek.  She smiled slightly and waited a long moment before 
either one of them spoke.

"Thank you again, Alex," She said as she kissed him on the 
cheek.

"Good night, Krycek," She whispered as she slowly pulled 
away and looked into his dazzling green eyes for a second.  
Stop it Dana, she thought to herself silently, you might 
wind up falling in love with Krycek.

"Good night, Scully," He said as he watched her head back 
toward the ball room.  He forced himself to say there and 
not follow her.  He couldn't.  He wouldn't.  He knew the 
future, and it wasn't with Scully.

He went back to his car after he saw her walk into through 
the doors and started the car.  He pulled away and didn't 
look back.  He knew that he was to never look back because 
if he did, it might cost him everything, including his 
life.  He knew so much better, but he couldn't help 
himself.  He looked through the rear view mirror before he 
made a right turn.  He sighed after a few minuets and 
reached his hand down to the radio and started to turn it 
on.

"You looked back, Alex," An all but familiar voice said 
from behind him.

"I had to," Was his only response.

The two men sat in silence as Krycek allowed the Smoking 
Man to get out of the car.  Alex Krycek knew he had broken 
a rule, and he'd pay for it, someday, somehow.


XXXXXX
"I could have danced all night, and still have begged for 
more."
- Eliza Doolittle "My Fair Lady"
XXXXXX

The End