Disclaimer & Information see Part I Destiny, part 4 + + + + + + 12: 53 PM Manhatten, 72nd Street Krycek sat on the bed, leaning against the wall. Scully lay on the bed with her head in his lap. Krycek is softly stroking her hair with his hand. When he opened the door for her, he thought that she was here to pick up her clothes and leave him. He didn't expect her to kiss him and sob quietly. He took her into the bedroom where they sat on the bed and he comforted her. "...and so much has happend the last couple of days. This Pandora Project, the Resistance, the Colonization, the formula, you and me... now my brother and his family murdered." Scully said in a monotones voice. "God... I... I don't know what to say." Krycek darkened. "Except I hope they kill the bastard who was so heartless that he'd even kill an innocent woman and a little baby!" "I don't even know what I'm doing here. I don't know why the hell I'm telling this to you and not Mulder. I don't know why I'm not with my mother comforting her right now." "Well... you're here because you can't go home. You're telling me this because you can't tell Mulder what happened. If he finds out he'd probably kill us both. You're in no shape to comfort other people. You need to be comforted. You're probably afraid to face your mother." Krycek said softly. "I should probably go do that autopsy." Scully said, sitting up. "Autopsy? You're going to do Bill's autopsy?" "No, no. I promised Mulder that I'd do the autopsy on George Smith- Stein, whatever his name is." "Dana... the guy's not going anywhere. I'm sure Mulder can wait." "No, I have to work." Scully said with a straight and serious face as she started to get up. Krycek studied her closely, but her face betrayed no emotions. "Dana?" He finally said. "Yeah?" She said in the same flat voice with the same straight face. "It's okay to show a little emotion." "What?! You... you think that I'm not upset by this?!" "That isn't what I said." Krycek said in a calm voice. "But you can show a little emotion. I'm here, okay? I'm not Mulder. You don't have to prove anything to me." Scully stared at Krycek for a long moment, looking like she wanted to slap him. All of a sudden, she broke into hysterical tears. She fell back on the bed and cried on Krycek's shoulders. "I hate this. I hate putting up with this face all day. I hate this charade. I hate my life, I hate everything in it." She looked up at Krycek and kissed his mouth then rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you." + + + + + + 8: 04 PM "Fox, did you kill them?" Anna asked Mulder, who was half sleep next to her. "Hmm?" Mulder responded groggily. "Did you kill them?" "Who?" "Bill, Tara... Matthew?" "Yeah." "Why?" Anna asked in a quivering voice. "I was instructed by the First Elder." Mulder replied. "Why Matthew? He was just a baby." "I didn't see him. It was dark. It was an accident." "Fox..." Anna said slowly. "How am I going to face Charles now?" "What's the problem?" "First of all, I'm cheating on him. As if that wasn't bad enough, the man who I'm cheating with is also the man who murdered his brother's family. How the hell am I going to face him?" "Oh, shut up. I was the one who had to face Scully." "Fox?" "Now what?" "What were you thinking when you killed them?" Anna asked. Mulder was silent for a while. "I... I didn't mean to kill Matthew, first of all. Killing Bill was kinda easy. He's a bastard and he was beating me up. Killing Tara just came to me naturally. But... I guess I wasn't really thinking. I kept seeing a face." "Whose face did you see?" "Krycek's." Mulder gritted his teeth. "Why do you hate Krycek so much?" "He killed my father." "You and your father didn't get along. You'd be upset but you wouldn't hate Krycek that much." "...Because he's taking Scully away from me." Mulder finally said. "I keep seeing images of Krycek kissing Scully. And I thought to myself how am I going to get her back. I decided the only way I can get her back is to really hurt her then comfort her." "So you fell in love with your subject too." "Maybe." "All this in the name of love..." Anna said softly. "It didn't start out that way, did it?" "No. At first it was for the Colonization." "Was it like they said? That you joined because of the money?" "No. I joined because I knew the government took my sister. I was fed up with the world and I thought to hell with them." "So Samantha did exist... you didn't make that up as a lie for Scully?" "The best lies are the truth with altered details. I told her pretty much the whole truth on everything. Except that I never suspected that Samantha was abducted. I knew she was kidnapped the government." "I see." "Damn it! I just... I just don't understand why she's acting like this. What did I do wrong?" "You did nothing wrong, Fox." "Then why isn't she with me?" "Your plan should've worked. Alex Krycek is aloof and lonely man. He trusts no one and doesn't know how to comfort people. But you just forgot to factor in one thing..." Anna hesistated. "What?" "Well... love." "Love?!" Mulder jumped up off the bed. "Love?!" "How do you know Dana doesn't love him? If she's madly in love with him, he could be a three headed demon telling her to fuck off and she'd still won't care." "He is a three headed demon! Anna, give me a break here, this is Alex Krycek we're talking about. The man she's hated for the past 4 years!" "How do you know?" "What?" "How do you know she hated him? You've been so obsessed about your own hatred for him you've neglected to ask her how she feels." "He killed her sister." "We both know he tried to save her." "That is not the point. The point is, she doesn't know that. Why would she believe a word she said? Why would she even remotely like him?" "Maybe it's fate." "Fate?" Mulder scoffed. Anna solemnly nodded. "God's way of toying with us. It was fate that we had met through a car accident. It was fate that we both worked for the Colonization. It was fate that we shared the same physical attraction for each other but really loves another. It was fate that I fell in love with Charles and you fell in love with Dana. When you think about it, isn't me and Charles, you and Dana the most unlikely couples? Maybe it was fate, it was destined that Dana fell in love with Krycek." "No, no, no!" Mulder started pacing around the room. "I won't let that happen. No way. She is not in love with that bastard." "Fox..." Anna sighed. This man has definitely gone off the deep end. "Uh-uh. She'll just have to learn to hate him." Mulder muttered. He sighed then flopped down on the bed. "Ah, I don't know what to do. But trust me... I'll figure something out." Anna sighed again. "That is exactly what I'm afraid of." + + + + + + July 2, Monday 8: 09 AM FBI Headquarters Mulder looked up as his partner entered the office. "Hey." He said. "I didn't think you'd be in today." "Oh, well, I'm just here to um..." "Yeah?" "To tell you that uh... Bill's funeral is um... this afternoon." "I'll be there." Mulder gave Scully his assuring smile. "Actually, I don't want you to be there." Scully whispered. The smile froze on Mulder's face. "Wh... wh... why not?" "I... it's... I just don't... the family... well, you..." Scully sighed. "Look, it's personal. I'd feel better if you'd weren't there." "Well... okay. I... I guess." Mulder nearly choked on his words. "Sure. I'm busy tomorrow anyway. I got a ton of unread Celebrity Skin." Scully forced a little smile and Mulder's heart sank. Even his humor wasn't appealing to her. He watched her walk out of the room without looking back. He felt like someone had just ripped his heart out. Tears came to his eyes. There was something in his throat. He gently wipped away the tears with his fingers and cleared his throat then went back to work. + + + + + + 3: 54 PM It was drizzling. Anna hated the rain. Ever since she caught penumonia from the rain when she was 6 years old, she's hated the rain. Nobody else seemed to mind about the rain. Or if they did, they didn't say anything about it. Anna didn't complain about the rain either. She thought it rude to complain about the weather on the day of someone's funeral. But when it started to rain, Charles quietly got in the car, drove 48 miles to the nearest appliance store, bought an umbrella, and made it back in time for the funeral. So while most of everyone else was standing in the rain, she had an umbrella. She owed it all to Charles, her incredibly sweet fiance, who she was cheating on. Standing here, next to him, with his family, made her felt guilty. The priest finished the sermon and the casket was lowered into the grave. Everyone started weeping. Then they all started to leave. She saw a pretty redhead standing next to the grave, looking down at the casket as the workers starts to shovel dirt into the grave. The red head had not shed a single tear during the entire service. Anna had saw the redhead a few times, she was Dana Scully, Charles' sister. Next to her stood a tall, attractive man in a leather jacket. The man had his arm around Dana Scully's waist, whispering something into her ears. Suddenly, Dana Scully began to cry. She leaned her head against the man's shoulders and let the man comfort her. That was when Anna realized that the man only had one armed. The man must be Alex Krycek. Anna's mouth dropped opened in shock. Dana Scully had forbid Mulder to come because she wanted Alex Krycek there with her. "Fox..." Anna whispered. Charles, who was standing next to her, smiled at her when he heard her talk. "Excuse me, honey?" "Huh?" Anna appeared to have awoken from a daze. "Uh... did you say something?" Charles stared into her eyes. "Um... yeah! Yeah.. I said, Fox." "Fox?" Charles had a confused look on his face. "Yeah, Fox. You know, Dana's partner? That must be him over there." Anna pointed to Krycek. "Oh, no. I don't think that is." "I thought you've never seen him before?" "I haven't. But I heard that the man is Major Alex Helkin. He's Dana's friend. You know, the one that Dana's staying with?" "Oh." --So he calls himself Major Helkin-- she thought. "Anything interesting about him? "Well, he's one armed. Lost it in the Middle East." "Really? What does your mother think about that?" "I think she liked him. Why the sudden interest?" "Oh, nothing.. just curious." Anna's heart started beating faster and thought Mulder. --I have just got to tell Fox about this.-- + + + + + + 8: 27 PM "...And that's not all. Her mother likes him." Anna said smugly while lying in bed wtaching Mulder was pacing around the room nervously. "Mrs. Scully? Margaret Scully liked Alex Krycek?" "Yep. Except that Krycek called himself Major Alex Helkin." "That god damn lying son of a bitch." Mulder muttered. A creepy smile suddenly came to Mulder's face. Anna frowned. "Fox...? I don't like that look on your face." "Anna..." Mulder said sweetly. "Fox..." Anna said sternly. "Anna, I just need one little thing from you." "What?" "Rohypnol." "Rohypnol?! What the hell do you need that for?!" Anna eyed him suspiciously. "You're not going to rape Dana, are you?" "Rape Dana?! What are you, out of your mind? No! Just give it to me." "Uh-uh. Not till you tell me what you're going to do with it." "I'm going to..." "Yes?" "...tell Charles about us." "What?!" Anna sat up in bed. "You what?!" "I'm gonna tell Charles about us unless you give it to me." "You wouldn't." Anna glared at him. "I would." "Dana would hate you." "No, she wouldn't. I've never met Charles. He doesn't know who I am. I'll tell him the whole thing under an alias." Mulder said smugly. "You bastard." "Why, thank you. Now will you give it to me or not?" Mulder said in a threatening tone. Anna hesistated and struggled. "You god damn bastard.. I... I... I'll give it to you, but I don't want to see you again." Anna jumped up and threw on her clothes angrily. "Aww... no more?" Mulder said teasingly. "No." Anna said firmly. She pulled a box out from underneath the bed. She unlocked the lock and displayed a variety of bottled pills. She took out a bottle and threw it at Mulder. "Here. Now get out." Mulder gave her a big goofy grin. "Okay, buh-bye, Anna. Nice working with ya!" He pocketed the pills and stroll with ease into the night. + + + + + + 9: 54 PM Fox Mulder smoothed back his hair, straightened his tie and knocked on the door. No response. So he knocked again. Still no response. Mulder wondered if toxic fumes has leaked into the building and she died. So he tried one more time. When there was still no response, he grew impatient. "Marita Covarrubias, if you don't come to this door right this instant, I will kick your door down and trash your apartment!!" Mulder shouted. He didn't care who heard. He heard footsteps. He folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. He heard the door unlock and swung open. Marita stood there, hair damp, in her white bath robe. "Agent Mulder." She said, obviously surprised. Mulder impatiently pushed past her and into the aparment. He flopped down on the couch and waited for Marita to close the door and come to him. "Marita." He nodded his head at her. "Agent Mulder. What brings you here?" "I need a favor." "A favor?" Marita folded her arms. "What kind of favor?" Mulder reached into his pockets and pulled out the bottled pills. He tossed them at Marita who fumbles catching them. When she finally caught them, she read the label carefully. "Rohypnol?" She arched an eyebrow at him. Mulder nodded. "You still see Krycek?" "Well, no." "But you can see him if you wanted to right? Can you get him to have a drink with you?" "Well, sure, I guess." Marita pieced the information together. "Whoa.. wait... you're not asking me to do what I think you're asking me to do, are you?" "Very good." Mulder nodded. Marita threw the pills back at Mulder. "No." She said. "Why not?" Mulder asked crossly. "Because it damages my name." "What name?" Mulder scoffed. "Look, I'm not really comfortable with the idea of raping my ex-boyfriend." Marita looked at Mulder as if he was an idiot. "You owe me. I convinced them to bring you out of the coma. If I didn't, they never would've tried and you'd still be in comatose right now." "Why the hell would you want me to do this?" Marita frowned. "Well, you know that Krycek's been hanging around Scully, right?" Mulder sat up. Marita nodded. "I want Scully. You want Krycek. Helps us both." "What's the plan?" "You get Krycek to spend the night. Scully will receive an anonymous tip to the whereabouts of her brother's killer. When she busts down the door- there he is, with you. If the thought of sleeping with the little bastard just completely repulses you, just... strip down his clothes and make it seem like he's spend the night." Mulder said. "Will you do it?" "Mulder, you've gone psycho." "You think I don't know that?" Mulder sighed. "It's not going to work." "Try anyway. I mean, what have you got to lose?" "Mulder, that is the stupidest plan I have EVER heard." Marita said harshly. "You know, you sound like Scully when you talk like that." Mulder turned on his most charming smile. Marita practically melted into a puddle by his feet. Seizing, the opportunity, he said, "and I'll pay you 10 grand." Marita's eyes lit up. "10 grand?" "10 grand." "Well... since you're such a sexy man, I'll say yes." Marita batted her eyes at him. Mulder stood up and grabbed Marita's hand, handing the pills to her. Then he took out of his pocket hundred dollar bills which he stuffed into her robe. "Why, thank you. Your service in greatly appreciated." Mulder smiled again. "When can you deliver him?" Marita thought for a moment. "By the fourth of July." + + + + + + 9: 55 PM Manhatten, 72nd Street "You okay?" Krycek asked as he pulled the covers up to Scully's chin. Scully nodded weakly. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked, almost in a begging manner. "Of course." Krycek sat down by the hand and held her hand. "Everytime I close my eyes I see them." Scully moaned. "Their dead bodies. These past four days... I can't sleep." "I've heard you moan in your sleep these past couple of days." "Then why didn't you come to me?" She stared at him with accusing eyes. He shrugged. "I know why." "Perhaps you can tell me." "You're scared." "Scared? Me?" Krycek laughed drily. "You're scared. Of me." "Why would I be scared of you?" Krycek asked, puzzled. Scully sat up in bed and kissed him. His automatic reaction was to pull away. "See?" Scully said proudly with a little hurt in her voice. "No, no, you just surprised me." "You're scared of me. You're scared of what's happening." "Well... I..." Krycek stuttered. "I... well, look, it's just that I've never been in a real relationship before. I.. I don't even know what this is." "Then what I'm about to say might scare you even more." "I promise I won't be scared." "Alex... I think I'm in love with you." Scully said softly. "What?" Krycek said in shock. "I love you." She confessed. Then she pulled her hand away from his. "God, what the hell are you doing to me?" A little smile came to Krycek's face and he nudged closer to her. He put his arm around her and cradled her in his arms. "I think I'm liberating your true feelings. All these years, Dana Scully puts on a cold iron face and represses her emotions so she can prove to her partners that she's strong." Krycek kissed her on the forehead. "Then why are you pulling away?" "I'm not pulling away now, am I?" He kissed her again. "I think we... just need time to adjust." Scully nodded in agreement with him. "Okay. But... I just want you to know, I love you. We have all the time in the world to adjust to this... right?" + + + + + + July 3, Tuesday 8: 25 AM FBI Headquarters He was feeling more joyous than any other day in his life. Marita would drug Krycek and make it look like he'd spend the night, Scully would see them, she would be back in his arms. It was the most ridiculous plan he's ever thought of. And he was confident that it would work. He still had the big grin on his face when Scully entered. The grin was gone in an instant and it was back to Mourning Mulder Mode. He looked at her soulfully. "Hey, Dana." He gave her the I'm-really-sorry-for-your-lost-you -should've-stayed-home-and-let-me-take-care-of-everything-for-you look. "Mulder." She greeted him. "In so soon?" "It's been 5 days. I think I can handle it." "So, how was the um..." he cleared his throat "...funeral?" "Lovely." She said quietly. "Lovely." He repeated. "Right." "Any new leads in the murder case?" "Uh, no. The George Stein aka George Smith autopsy reports came back. Traces of-" "I don't want to know about that." She interrupted. "In fact, I've asked a friend in Violent Crimes to handle it." "What?!" Mulder looked at Scully with incredulity. "But... but... but... this is our case!" "Not anymore, Mulder. This isn't an X-File. It's simple violent crimes." "But... but..." Mulder sputtered. "Then what murder case were you talking about?!" "The Bill Scully one." She said calmly, as if she never knew the victim. "Dana, I don't think you should handle the case. Your personal feelings-" "I've already requested permission from Skinner. He approved it." "He approved it??!!" "Yeah." "Skinner approved it?!" Mulder cursed his superior in silence. "Dana, if you really feel you're up to this-" "Mulder..." She said in a threatening tone. "Gimme the updates." "Alright. Fine. Look, we have a suspect in custody right now. Name is David Rivers. Real badass jerk. Wouldn't cooperate at all. Kept screaming about police brutality and stuff. David and Bill were competitive enemies in the navy. Then Bill found out that David was a drug abuser and reported him. David was dishonorably discharged from the navy. He holds a grudge against Bill for that. He also dated Tara briefly in college. Tara apparently dumped him for Bill. David has made three death threats to Bill in the last two months alone. Bill ignored the first two, then reported the third because David threatened to kill his son." Mulder read from the David Rivers file. "I know him." Scully said. "He used to drop by our house screaming at our mom for giving birth to a demon son." "David Rivers broke out of jail last week. He was doing time for possession of drugs. We found him 2 days ago around Bill's cabin in Vermont." "Where is he now?" "New York State Penitentiary." "Let's go pay Mr. Rivers a visit then." + + + + + + 10: 14 AM New York State Penitentiary A tall, bored looking man in a bright orange jumpsuit sat behind the glass. He was leaning back in his chair, looking smug and relaxed. "Well... hello, Dana." He picked up the phone. "David Rivers." She picked up her end of the phone. She looked to Mulder, who was standing behind her, and he knew what she wanted. He exited the room quietly. "Damn, you're lookin' good. If only I'd met you before Tara stole my heart." David leaned close to the window. "Hmm-mmm. Bill Scully's little sister." "Mr. Rivers-" "Oh, David, please." "David... just let me cut to the chase here-" "Did I kill the bastard?" David leaned back in his chair again. "Did you?" She asked. David shrugged. "Maybe I killed bastard, maybe I didn't. If I did, I'm sure proud of it. If I didn't, I'm sure proud of the man who did." "Is that a yes or a no?" "It's a maybe." "Mr. Rivers, if you're convicted-" "Yeah, yeah, I know what'll happen to me." David said. "And once again, call me David." "I want to know if you killed my brother." They stared at each other for a very long time. Then David broke into a wide grin. "No. No, I didn't kill the bastard. Although I wish I did." "But you know who did kill him." "Yeah. I know who killed the bastard."" "Who?" "Can't tell ya that. And spare me your talk, please. I rather like this place. I'm willing to spend the rest of my life in here. An early release or more jail time isn't going to affect my decision." Then he leaned close and whispered in a very low, barely audible voice. "He's someone very, very close to you." "Who?" Scully leaned close too. David straightened up, shooked his head and motioned for the guard. "I'm afraid that's all I can tell you, Ms. Scully. Go with God now." + + + + + + 9: 14 PM Manhatten, 72nd Street Dana Scully angrily flung her purse onto the black leather armchair then stormed into the kitchen. Krycek, in blue jeans and a white shirt, was leaning against the refrigirator door, apparently trying to find something to eat. He looked up when he heard her come in. "Hey. You're home late." He said. She didn't answer. She took a glass, filled it up with water and drank it thirstily. At last she slammed the glass down on the counter. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked with an innocent face. "No!" She snapped. "I'm sorry. It's just that... this suspect is being very difficult." "Oh. So you are handling your brother's case." Krycek closed the refrigirator door and went to Scully. "I have to know who killed him." Scully sighed. "Sorry I missed dinner. I would've called but I lost track of time." "That's quite alright. I was going to call you but I decided it was a bad idea, you could've been with Mulder. You know... I didn't want to get him suspicious." Krycek brushed a lock of Scully's hair away. "Look at you. You tired?" Scully nodded. "A little." "Come here." Krycek said as he pulled her out of the kitchen. He led her to the bedroom and set her down on the bed. "Lie down." She did what she was told. "What are you doing?" She asked, relaxing herself on the bed. She felt his fingers around her neck and felt him lean down to whisper in her ears. "Just giving you a massage." He whispered. She closed her eyes and e njoyed the feel of his touch. "Not bad... for an one armed man." She teased. "Why, thank you." He laughed. She rolled on to her back and stared up at him. She reached up and pulled him down towards her and kissed him. He kissed back and moved on top of her. Her fingers touched the buttons of his shirt and began unbuttoning them one by one. Everything felt so right. So perfect. Then suddenly, she pushed him away. "God, I'm sorry." She gasped. He laid on the bed with a confused look on his face. "Wha- what.. is it something I did?" He frowned. "No, no, it's not you." She shooked her head. "Well... what?" "It's just that... I'm sorry. I can't do this yet." "Oh. Okay." He said with great disappointment in his voice. He moved close to her and kissed her on the forehead. "That's okay. I can wait." She looked at him and laid her hand on his cheek." "You're sweet." She kissed his lips. He was about to kiss back when his beeper called him. "Ah, shit." He muttered as he took the beeper off his belt and checked t he number. His face turned pale. "What is it?" "Oh, nothing. I have to go." He jumped off the bed and started buttoning his shirt. "Go where?" "Oh.. just this place.. I can't really say." "Alex? This isn't... your job calling you, is it?" "My job? No, I'm out of work, remember? The Resistance turned on me." "Well... you don't like... kill people or anything for a living now, do you?" "Huh? No. I have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life." He smiled at her. "Don't worry. I don't do anything dangerous for a living. Besides, this is completely unrelated." "Oh, good. So you'll come back to me in one piece?" "God, I sure hope so." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I should be back soon." He quickly walked out, glancing at the beeper one more time. He pressed a few buttons on his beeper, until Marita's number had disappeared from the screen. + + + + + + ***END OF PART 4***