Note: A snippet for Mary Ann by Ursula

Mary Ann wrote:
Also please forgive me for my rambling but I just spent three hours at the dentist and I'm DYING with pain. Stupid me he offered pain med but NOOOO being so against that stuff I declined and now I'm one sorry sucker so I hit a bottle of vodka and I'm just ready to crash.

So, that was not such a good idea and since I can't hand-deliver a spanking...

So far, Seattle had been nothing but a soggy nightmare. Mulder grabbed Walter's arm and jerked him back as another crazed driver sent an eddy of water up onto the sidewalk. "Damn, what is it with these people?"

Walter grunted, at last seeing a trashcan empty enough to do accommodate his umbrella, which was the victim of a vicious gust of this morning's windstorm. "I need to buy another one," he said.

Darting out, Mulder stepped into the path of an elderly Asian gentleman and asked, "Where can we buy an umbrella?"

Politely nodding, the man pointed down the street at a large store. Mulder calculated the distance and decided the soaking couldn't get much worse.

"Thank-you," Mulder said, getting another bow of the gray head.

"Do we have time?" Walter asked, "We only have an hour for lunch."

Grimacing, Mulder shrugged, "You really want to listen to a whole afternoon of forsenic pathology? Scully will take notes if there's anything we miss."

His lover and boss ventured a half smile. Sometimes, Walter Skinner had days when he wanted to play hooky too. The conference had for the most part been interesting, but today's session had been very dry with the endless discussion of physical evidence such as hair, semen, and bloodstains. A hell of a way to spend a Saturday. Mulder hadn't heard anything he hadn't read in a journal. He knew Walter kept up on his reading as well. They had only stayed so Scully wouldn't have to fly back alone.

A half block down, Mulder grabbed Skinner's arm for a different reason. He said, "It can't be!"

But it was. Alex Krycek slunk down the street, staggering occasionally. His right hand was clamped to his cheek and his forehead was furrowed in a grimace. He held a paper bag clutched between the arm and his body. Mulder darted forward and caught the man, swinging him around. Bleary, drunken eyes stared at him. The right side of the man's face was swollen and his lips were cracked, flecked with dry blood.

Walter stood, looking pale and distraught. Mulder dragged Krycek back towards his lover and said, "It sure in hell isn't a ghost."

"Please just let me go! I've stayed away. I gave you what you wanted. I gave you back your life, Mulder. I gave Walter back his lover. What more do you want?" Krycek mumbled.

"You're drunk!" Mulder said, shaking the man. He looked around and saw curious eyes on them. He jerked Krycek into an alley redolent with the odor of rotting vegetables. After a moment, Walter followed.

"Mulder? Wait," Walter said. As soon as he had caught up, he jerked Krycek's head down and pulled away his jacket collar, running his hand down the man's neck.

"I'm the real thing," Krycek muttered, "not a replacement."

"I shot you!" Walter said, "You're dead! We buried you!"

"Are you crazy? I haven't seen you since I gave Mulder that shot to bring him back," Krycek said, trying to break away from the twin iron grips on him.

"What?" Mulder said. "You didn't save me! Scully did with anti-virus medicine."

"Oh, yeah," Krycek spat, "Sure, that works for extra- terrestrial genetic modification! Tell me another one! I gave you the shot under the cover of checking on you and then mind-tripped Doggett in the garage for my bosses. I ran after that and I kept running until I came here. Of all the fucking bad luck, you two had to see me. Three more days and I would have had a new life in South America. You wouldn't ever have to see me again. I don't know who or what Walter shot, but it sure in hell wasn't me."

"Is there a problem?" a stern voice asked. Mulder looked at the tall man and the standing with a drawn gun and the kid with the curly long hair had an "Oh, shit" moment. The man with short hair was a cop from a nearby town and the man with the big blue eyes was his partner. Jim and Blake or something like that. They were also in town for the conference. The man continued, "I'm Jim Ellison, a police detective and this is my partner, Blair Sandburg."

Krycek's record was as spotless. It had been wiped so many times that they might as well have written it on dry erase board. If Alex complained of an assault, this upright detective was going to have a field day with them!

Surprisingly, Krycek said, "It's okay. I had a tooth pulled and felt a little sick. My friends were just trying to help."

"That's not what it looked like," the Northwest cop said. He was a handsome man with steely blue eyes, a jaw that defined stalwart, and an aura of powerful self-confidence.

The kid said, "Yeah, Jim, remember that Jeffrey Dahlmer persuaded the cops that one of his victims was his lover and that the guy was only trying to get away because he was on drugs? That guy looks scared to me."

"Oh, fuck, just forget about it!" Krycek exclaimed. "Do I look like I can't take care of myself?"

In fact, now that Mulder looked, his old partner, former lover, and sometime worst enemy looked pathetic. Tears matted his long beautiful lashes together and he looked frail, thin, and desperately tired. The swollen cheek contributed to his woebegone appearance.

Walter stepped forward and said, "Detective Ellison, we met at the conference. Mulder and I were on our lunch when we saw our old friend, Al, here. He appeared ill and we wanted to help. That's the end of the story. We're going to bring him to his hotel room to sleep off the ...what have you been drinking, Al?"

Sullenly, Krycek said, "Don'... like being called Al. Hate that name!"

Grabbing the bag, Mulder looked into and found a mostly empty bottle of vodka with a pear inside the bottle. He snorted and said, "Pear Vodka!"

"Hey? How did they do that, Jim? How did they get that pear in the bottle?" the man with the blue eyes and curly hair said.

"Blair! Is now the time? I'll tell you later," Ellison barked.

Krycek swayed and had to be caught firmly or he would have been face down in that filthy alley. Walter sounded amused and said, "Hell of a lot of Vodka for one man to drink."

"Wisdom toof," Krycek mumbled. "Pulled my wisdom toof and thought didn't need Tylenol Three. Vodka cheaper."

"Idiot," Mulder said. He sighed. Krycek was alive. He found that he was glad. That last confrontation was so unlike Alex that it made him think. He really had minimal proof against Krycek and he supposed a lot of his anger was over the personal betrayal. He and Walter had genuinely loved the young agent. Finding out that he was a plant had ruined their relationship for years as they waited to be blackmailed. Surprisingly, no one had ever so much as whispered a threat about that.

Later, Walter and he had found the Consortium files, including Spender's file on Krycek. Luis Cardinal had shot Mulder's father. Apparently, Krycek had been sent and froze...the second time he had done so. The failure had marked the turned agent for termination which was why had had been on the run in Hong Kong. Why hadn't Krycek said anything?

Sandburg took a pamphlet from his pocket and handed it to Krycek. Mulder plucked it out of Alex's shaking hand and read aloud, "Gay Domestic Abuse Hot Line. Love Shouldn't Hurt."

"Yeah, right! I'll just call that number. Will you two leave me alone so I can curl up and die someplace?" Alex moaned. "Gimme that bottle."

"You've had enough, Krycek. Where are you staying?" Walter demanded.

"Bush ... cheap flea bag." Alex replied. Slumped in their grip, he seemed preoccupied with his swollen cheek. He sniffed and said, "Just a stupid wisdom toof..."

****

One whiff of the Bush was enough. Old urine was the predominant smell, overlaid with fumes from dozens of chemicals, many of them illegal. Mulder said, "I can't take this. Are you this broke, Alex?"

"Spent it on ticket and new ID. Just want out. New life, safe...jes like Butch Cassidy...but don' have my Sundance Kid or Etta. Want to be my Sundance Kid, Walter?" Alex muttered.

"Great, I get to be Etta Place? I never liked her," grumbled Mulder. He tugged Alex up the stairs, deftly avoiding a needle that was abandoned on the stairs and turned down the hall, his eyes on the stained beige carpet least he step in something unpleasant or dangerous.

The room was stark. Alex's packed bag stood on the bed. Walter said, "This place stinks. We'll take care of him at our hotel."

Somehow, the mission seemed to be to take care of Alex however it started. Alex balked and said, "No, can't be seen with you. Get in trouble...death warrant..."

"You are out of touch. Your old friend, Marita, turned over the Consortium keys to us. She said it was in your will. Spat at me and slapped me. She said the only reason she didn't kill Walter was that you had begged her to give her word not to take revenge on either of us. What was that about?" Mulder demanded.

"You think it was easy to stop loving you? Either of you? I was afraid. I thought if I was the one that I could keep you both alive. Just ended up hating myself almost as much as you hate me," Alex said. He sniffed and wiped at his face.

"You could have come to us. Taken a chance. Certainly better than this..." Walter accused, sweeping a gesture at the miserable room."

"You're alive. You got each other. Scully got baby. End of story. No room for me" Alex said.

"You really feel sorry for yourself, don't you?" Mulder snarled.

"Yeah, so what?" Alex shouted.

"This!" Mulder said, tugging loose the button of Alex's jeans and tearing down the zipper. "Sit down, Walter, you can be the lap."

"Yeah, fine, rape me...I don't care!" Alex said.

"No thanks!" Mulder said, "You've acted like an inconsiderate brat and I think it's about time you were treated the way you deserve."

A squeal greeted the slap on Alex's naked ass. A red mark showed instantly. Walter clamped down and shoved his clean handkerchief in Alex's mouth. "Bite on this and keep quiet. I suppose even in this place screams might draw attention."

The heat in the abused flesh grew and grew. Alex's gagged curses stopped for jerky little sounds of pain. At the twentieth blow, he was limp as a wrung out rag across Walter's lap. He quietly sobbed out his fear, his loneliness, and his regrets.

Mulder met Walter's eye. If his lover could forgive Alex than he could. Knowing that Alex had not been able to kill his father out of love for him had taken the major charge out of his hatred for Alex, leaving only the bitterness of the betrayal and the love, which he had never been able to stop feeling.

Walter scooped up the half- dressed waif and said, "It's okay. I forgive you."

"I hurt you," Alex said. "Didn't want to do it, but didn't want someone to have that thing that didn't care. Marita should have given you formula if she was sure it was over."

"She did," said Walter. "I'm cured."

"Is good. Just want to go away...or die. Dying starts to sound good..." Alex said.

"You want another spanking?" Walter asked. "Did you really fall in love with us? I saw the report you wrote that said that neither Mulder nor I was gay. I think you had ample evidence to the contrary..."

"Loved you. Wouldn't let them use that. Only decent thing in my life. And that's the whole toof...truth," Alex said.

"Then I think we better bring you home, Alex. No more Vodka home treatment for toothaches, Alex," Walter said, staring into Mulder's approving eyes as he made the offer.

"Why?" Alex asked.

"Because I never could stop loving you...didn't realize that until we buried whatever died in your place. I want you back in our lives, Alex."

"And that's the whole tooth," Mulder said.

The End

For Mary Ann, now I probably need one that is a hang-over cure story!