Title: RAINY NIGHTS
Author: X-Files
Pairing: Skinner and Krycek
Rating: NC-17 (FRAO)
Warning: Explicit M/M sex scenes
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Chris Carter.
RAINY NGHTS
Walter Skinner stepped off the plane in Hong Kong and
was immediately assailed by the heat and smells. He
hated this city but it did have some interesting
places to visit; places that if you were seen visiting
them in the US it could mean your job; your
reputation.
Madam Soo Lei's was such a place. He had called from
San Francisco and had made reservations for the next
three nights. He didn't indulge very often, but when
he did, he did so with all the enthusiasm and tenacity
that he put into his work at the bureau. He was going
to get laid and he was looking forward to it.
He retrieved his bag and made his way out front to the
line of taxi cabs waiting. He hailed one and climbed
in, tossing his bag in before him. He showed the
driver a piece of paper with the address on it then
sat back, loosened his tie and relaxed. He rolled his
neck until it popped, rolled his shoulders to ease the
taut muscles from hours of sitting on the plane. He
glanced casually out the window from time to time and
it occurred to him, things looked different from the
last time he was there six months prior. Things
change, he thought to himself. He looked at his watch
and realized they had been driving a lot longer than
it usually takes to get to his destination. Must be
taking a different route.
Another ten minutes passed and they still were no
where near the neighborhood of Madam Soo Lei's.
Walter tapped the driver on the shoulder and tried to
speak to him but the driver clearly didn't understand
English. Walter held up a piece of paper with the
correct address on it and the driver jabbered
something and shook his head yes.
The next turn the driver made took them into an alley
between buildings and stopped half-way in. Before
Walter knew what was happening, both side doors opened
and a man got in on each side and started pulling on
Walter. Next thing he felt was a sting on the side of
his neck, then oblivion.
He awoke to find himself hurting all over; the side of
his neck felt like a bee sting. He struggled and
found himself, face down; arms and legs each tied to a
corner of a bed; tape over his mouth. He pulled on
his bonds but he was helpless. He was also nude.
Panic gripped him. He looked around the semi-dark
room as much as he could see and his heart sank. The
room was plain; a bed, a table with a lamp, and a
chair in the corner. An open doorway leading into a
tiny bathroom, and another door closed, with a chain
lock dangling. This was NOT Madam Soo Lei's. Her
rooms were all beautifully decorated in the classic
Chinese style.
He struggled against his bonds again; twisting and
turning and pulling until his burning wrists and
ankles were scraped raw and dripping blood. He heard
voices then, footsteps that stopped outside his door.
Panic notched up to terror. He thrashed back and
forth on the bed trying to turn it over but only
succeeded in rocking it some.
The door opened and he heard the voices clearer, he
did not speak the language but it sounded to him like
one was trying to coax the other into the room and the
other was...familiar! That voice! He had heard it
before. It was speaking Chinese but he knew the
voice. It belonged to Alex Krycek!
His fears were upped another notch by anger. Alex God
Damned Krycek! He thought! He'd gut him for this!
If he thought he could get away with something like
this he was sadly mistaken!
A hand came into the room and switched the light on,
then the man belonging to the Chinese voice came into
the room pulling on Krycek's arm and pointing to
Walter on the bed. Krycek came in reluctantly,
shaking his head no, until he saw Walter. He froze.
The Chinaman was jabbering away, big grin on his face
and gesturing towards Walter.
Krycek cleared his throat and said something to the
man in Chinese. The man shook his head and left the
room, still grinning that shit-eating grin of his.
Krycek walked to the door and slid the chain lock into
place. He turned and walked over to the bed and sat
down. He pulled the tape off Walter's mouth.
"YOU LAY ONE HAND ON ME AND I'LL RIP YOUR GUTS OUT!"
He screamed at Krycek.
Krycek chuckled and put the tape back on. "Will you
just shut up and listen? I'll get you out of here.
Just hold on a minute. I told him I'd try you out and
see if I liked you. He'll be back in 15 minutes. I
can get you out then. If you can keep from screaming,
I'll take the tape off and get you some water. We got
a deal?"
Walter shook his head and Alex removed the tape.
"Untie me!" Walter demanded.
"I can't do that." Alex answered holding a glass of
water for him to drink. He drank greedily. "I can
get you out, but we have to do it my way. How long
did they have you? You going to need a doctor?"
"No. No doctor. I don't know how long I've been
here. A matter of hours, I would guess."
"Your wrists look bad. Quit struggling."
"You've sunk to a new low, Krycek, dealing with these
kinds of people." Walter sneered.
"I don't deal with these people, Skinner, the old man
does. I'm just here delivering a disc with
information someone here in Hong Kong needs. The meet
was set up for a backroom here. I've finished with my
business and just want to get on a plane for home
before the rains start."
"Supposed to be another few weeks before they start."
Walter answered, breathing a little easier now. He
didn't know why, but something in him made him feel
like Krycek was telling the truth.
"Yeah, that's what I thought but I heard on the radio
on the way here that it was going to start earlier,
within the next day or so and it's already raining."
"Shit!" Was all Walter had to say to that. He
thought sure he would have time to get his business
taken care of and back home long before the rains
started and closed the city to all but those who lived
and worked in the massive tunnel system under the city
where even he wouldn't go unless absolutely necessary.
Before either had a chance to speak again a knock came
at the door. Krycek came back over to Walter and
replaced the tape on his mouth. "Turn your head the
other way or keep your eyes down. Don't let them see
you looking hopeful. You're in enemy hands now; act
like it!"
He walked over to the door and undid the chain. The
grinning Chinaman came in patty caking his hands
together. They jabbered in Chinese for a few minutes,
obviously haggling over something; him, Walter
realized. An agreement was finally reached and they
bowed; Krycek once, the Chinaman several times as he
went to the door and called out into the hall. Two
beefy men came in and untied Walter from the bed and
stood him up. Krycek and the first Chinaman were
still haggling then with another call out into the
hall, someone came running in carrying a trench coat
and that was wrapped around Walter's shoulders, his
arms slipped in and the belt tied in front. He was
still being held securely in their grip; hands were
tied at the wrists again; ankles tied with enough
length of rope between for him to take short steps.
The man was holding out papers for Krycek to sign.
Krycek scribbled quickly and they walked out of the
room, down the hall and out a back door into the night
air. Krycek motioned to a nearby parked car and they
hurried through the rain. Walter was shoved into the
front seat and Krycek slid in behind the wheel. The
other two hurried back into the building and Alex
started the engine. He made it to the end of the
alley and reached over and removed the tape from
Walter's mouth.
The rain was pouring down off the building in a
torrent as he reached into his right boot and pulled
out a switchblade knife. A click and it was opened.
"Hands" he said to Walter. Walter reached his hands
over and Alex slit the ropes binding them then handed
the knife to Walter then headed out into traffic.
Walter quickly sliced through the ropes at his ankles
and rubbed circulation back into them as well as his
wrists. The car was being buffeted by the wind and
the rain made it nearly impossible to see where they
were going. One side-ways slide, and a couple of near
misses and Alex cursed.
"Where are you staying? Which hotel?"
"Wasn't planning on staying at a hotel," Walter
answered holding on the dashboard for support.
"OK. I guess it's my place then. It's not too far;
just another few blocks."
Walter was pleased to see that they were heading back
to where there were more lights; a better part of
town. Another few minutes and they were pulling up
into the drive of a hotel that Walter recognized as
being one of the nicer ones right next to the
airiport. A quick dash through the rain and they were
in a side entrance and standing in front of an
elevator. The place was packed with people trying to
get rooms. No one paid any attention to the fact that
he was barefoot.
Another few minutes and they were getting off on the
6th floor and made their way down the hall to room 617.
Alex keyed the lock and they went in.
"I'll call down and see about getting you a room but
it doesn't look like there's much of a chance of
getting one. I'll see when the next flight to the
states leaves but with this rain, it might be a days."
Walter took a seat at the small table and looked out
the window at the deluge outside. He had been caught
in the rains before and knew nothing would be flying
for a while. Alex haggled with the front desk but it
was no use. He even offered triple the going rate but
nothing was available. Next call went out to the
airport. No flights out. Period. Not until the
storm passed.
Alex went to the small refrigerator and took out some
bottled water and tossed one over to Walter, then
began digging into his bag and pulled out an old sweat
shirt and pants that he liked to sleep in. He also
got out a pair of socks and tossed the entire bundle
over to Walter.
"These should fit, at least for now."
"Thanks"
Walter eagerly pulled the sweat pants on, then took
the coat off and slipped the sweat shirt on. It was a
bit snug but at least he had clothes on now and with
the addition of the socks, felt almost human again.
"There are shops down stairs. That's what I like
about this hotel; it's connection to the underground
shops. C'mon. Let's go get you some clothes that fit
and some shoes. Sorry, I don't have any extra."
"That's OK. I appreciate these. Is there an ATM in
this place?" Walter asked as they headed for the
door.
"There is but it's only good on Hong Kong accounts.
I'll get some money." Alex answered as they stepped
into the elevator and hit the button marked basement.
At least that's what Alex said it said. It was just a
Chinese figure that Walter had no idea what it meant.
He was still nervous but relaxed when the door opened
and they were in an underground mall of sorts. Every
kind of shop you could imagine was there, doing a
thriving business as usual when the rains drove the
city folks underground.
First stop was an ATM with nothing but Chinese
characters on it so Walter wouldn't have been able to
use it even if it had connections to American banks.
In seconds the drawer opened and Alex was pulling out
a handful of bills.
"We need to get you a bag first," he said leading
Walter over to a small luggage store. They purchased
sports bag and a toiletry kit. Next stop was a
pharmacy where they purchased toothbrush, razor and
toiletries then walked on to the next place Alex set
his sights on. 45 minutes later they were back in
their room, bag stuffed full of clothes and a new pair
of boots on Walter's feet. Alex carried a double hand
full of snacks, sandwiches, and bottled water. He set
everything out on the table as Walter slipped into the
bathroom and into the shower.
Minutes later Walter emerged in a sweat suit that fit
him. Alex was at the table munching on a sandwich.
Walter joined him at the table and helped himself.
"Do any of those tunnels lead to the American Embassy?
I need to see about getting another passport and ID."
Walter asked around a mouthful of sandwich.
"Nah, they don't. Even if they did, it would take
days to get another one." Alex answered finishing off
a package of Twinkies.
"I can't get on a plane without papers."
"Yeah, I was thinking about that. Why don't you let
me take care of that for you." Alex leaned back in
his chair.
"I already owe you big time." Walter stared at
Alex; tried to figure him out.
"Look, Walter, I owe you so much, I can never make up
for it all; we both know that."
They stared at one another for a time then Walter
spoke. "If you can get me papers faster than the
embassy, I would appreciate it very much."
Alex grinned and pulled out his cell phone. He
punched in some numbers, waited a few minutes, then
spoke a few sentences in Chinese and closed the phone
and put it back in his pocket.
"That's it?" Walter was skeptical.
"That's the beginning. Someone will show up here in
a little while and get things started.
"Friend of yours?"
"An acquaintance. He's done work for me before. He
does a good job, he's reasonable, and he owes
allegiance to no one."
"Can you trust him?"
"As much as you can trust anyone," Alex shook his
head.
30 minutes later there was a knock on the door. Alex
checked the peep-hole first then opened the door. A
small Chinaman came in, couldn't have been more than
four foot tall and aged beyond guessing. He carried a
small suitcase and after exchanging greetings and
bowing a few times, got to work. First thing he did
was get out a camera and motioned for Walter to stand
up against the wall. A flash and that part was
done. He told Alex to have Walter change his shirt
then he took a second photo.
The old man sat himself down at the table and took
out papers. Alex spelled out Walter's name and gave
some other information and the old man printed it all
carefully out. An array of wallets was laid out and
Walter was told to choose one. He chose one that
was most like the one he had lost. In no time the
little man was running some stuff through a small
laminating machine and handing Walter, a driver's
license, a library card, two credit cards with his
name pressed into them. In another few minutes, the
passport was complete and he handed it to Walter. He
bowed and smiled and reached a hand, palm up, out to
Alex. Alex placed a number of bills in his hand and
they again exchanged words and the old man left.
"Amazing!" Walter exclaimed. "This is perfect.
Look, there's even some money here; US bills."
"As I said, he does good work." Alex smiled, and
stifled a yawn.
"Maybe we could get them to send a roll-away bed up
here." Walter asked hopefully.
"Nah. I asked that earlier when they said they were
out of rooms." He walked over to the sliding glass
door to the balcony and stared out at the storm. "You
go ahead, take the bed. I can sleep in the chair
here."
"No, you've already done too much. I can sleep on
the floor. You take the bed."
"No!...You know, this is really ridiculous. It's a
king sized bed. We can both sleep in it. There's
plenty of room," Alex offered.
"You're right. This is stupid. You have a preference
on sides?" Walter asked, rubbing the back of his neck
to ease the tension.
"Nah, take your pick. I'm gonna grab a quick shower."
He picked up the sweat suit that Walter had been
wearing earlier and disappeared into the bathroom.
Walter stood by the window looking out at the storm
and was grateful to be inside. He finished the rest
of the water from his bottle, trashed it and got into
bed. He lay on his back, one arm folded up behind
his head and stared at the ceiling. This was NOT how
he had expected to spend his days off!
He heaved a great sigh and silently cursed his luck;
stuck in a hotel room with Alex Krycek!
Alex came out of the bathroom with a whoosh of moist
air, filling the room with the aroma of soap, shampoo,
and toothpaste. He left the bathroom light on and
closed the door most of the way.
"I sleep better with a little light. Will it bother
you?" he asked Walter.
"No, not at all," Walter assured him.
Alex climbed into bed on the opposite side; laying
flat on his back.
They were silent for several moments than Walter
spoke. "I want you to know, I appreciate what you did
for me tonight. Whatever it cost you to buy my
freedom, I'll reimburse you as soon as we get back to
DC."
"Walter, you don't have to thank me. God knows,
nothing I ever do will be able to make up for all the
problems that I've caused you."
Walter snorted but had to agree that one Alex Krycek
had been the cause of a lot of grief over the last
several years.
"Why'd you do it, Krycek? Why'd you leave the bureau
to go to work with that bastard Spender?"
"It's a long story, Walter, and one of these days I
may just sit you down and tell you all the gory
details."
"What's wrong with right now?"
"Because it'll give me nightmares; I don't want to
think about it right before I go to sleep."
Walter accepted that, then asked. "So how much did I
cost?"
Alex chuckled, "How much did you cost?" He turned on
his side, facing Walter. "Roughly about a year's pay
for an AD."
"Jesus Christ!" Walter leaned up on his elbows, "You
paid that much?"
"Most expensive lay I've ever NOT had!" Alex grinned
at him.
"It'll take a few days to get the money together; I
don't have that much cash on hand."
"Don't worry about it. I paid out of the old man's
account."
"You what?" Walter grinned at him in shock.
"Expense account; I have expensive tastes. I'm
entitled." Alex grinned.
Walter lay back down and laughed. "What happens if
he finds out?"
"Not likely to happen. I'm the one who handles the
books for him. You have just become a miscellaneous
expense."
"Miscellaneous expense? I've been called a lot of
things in my day, but never that," he chuckled.
"So what were you doing in Hong Kong?" Alex asked.
"Just a little R & R." Walter thought about Madam Soo
Lei's with a sigh.
"It's a long way to come just to get laid."
"Yeah, well, it happens."
"Not very often apparently."
"You got that right."
"I usually get a little too when I'm here. Guess we
both lost out this time. Though, I could make a few
calls; see if I can get someone over here for you? I
could take a walk."
"No thanks. After this afternoon, I've lost my taste
for Chinese."
Alex chuckled. "Would you be interested in some good
old American/Russian?"
"You're making a joke, right?"
"Nope. I'm not asking you to marry me; just wondering
if you were interested in a little something to make
the time pass."
Walter's hands were laced together across his abdomen;
his breath caught in his throat. He didn't know what
to say. If he was honest with himself, he'd have to
admit that the thought had occurred to him every since
Alex first suggested they share the bed.
All he could think of to say was, "Do you think it
will ever stop raining?" He raised one knee to
relieve the pressure in his groin.
It didn't help much.
"I don't give a fuck about the rain and neither to
you. I've got supplies in my jeans pocket. Do I get
them or not?"
"Get them." Walter answered without thinking.
Alex slipped out of bed, fumbled with his jeans,
pushed the bathroom door open all the way bathing the
room in a dim glow. He came back to bed and into
Walter's waiting arms. It started out with Alex on
top but in moments Walter had flipped them over. Two
sweat suits landed on the floor, piece by piece and
Walter was devouring Alex's mouth. Hands roamed over
warm skin, taught muscles, firm rounded hips.
Walter's hand closed tight in a fist full of dark
hair; he raised up enough to see the look on Alex's
face. His mouth open and gasping for air, eyes half
close and filled with passion, lips already
kiss-swollen. He nearly lost it right there just
looking at him; he ground their hips together, mashing
their two leaking cocks between them.
Alex let out a moan and grabbed at Walter's hips
holding them tight together moving his hips with
Walter's.
Walter suck/kissed his way down the side of Alex's
neck, licked his way down to a nipple. He sucked and
pulled on it with his teeth, rubbed his nose across
it, lapped at it until Alex was writhing beneath him.
"Christ, Walter!" Alex called out and flipped Walter
over and gave him some of his own medicine. First he
nuzzled his face through the silky chest hair then
settled on a nipple and gave Walter the same
treatment. Walter's head went back and he let out a
very un-AD like squeal and gasped for air that was
suddenly non-existant in his lungs. He couldn't take
much of that so he grabbed Alex and swung him over on
his back. He wrapped a hand around Alex's cock,
squeezed and caressed it. Alex pressed his hips up,
forcing his cock into Walter's hand.
"Can't take much of that," he warned and Walter
removed his hand but replaced it with a shower of
kisses and licks up and down and all around beneath
the ridge and across the top. "SHIT, Walter!
Oooohhhh"
Walter scrabbled on the nightstand for the condom and
lube, letting the cock slide out of his mouth with a
slurp and bringing a moan from Alex.
He worked the condom down over himself and emptied the
tube of lube onto his fingertips. He entered Alex
slowly, one finger at a time until he had three
fingers in. Alex was thrashing back and forth on the
bed. Walter crawled up into position, raised Alex's
legs and rested them on his shoulders. He pressed
against Alex's entrance and in seconds he was sliding
in; slowly, just a bit at a time. Alex was leaning
up to him, eyes and mouth both wide open, arms around
Walter's shoulders trying to bring him closer.
He slid the rest of the way in and they both moaned
their pleasure. Alex trembled beneath him as he
started his rhythmic movements taking them both to the
heights of passion. Walter bent down and took his
mouth then; possessed him. Stroke, stroke, stroke;
each one a little deeper, a little harder; each one
eliciting a small moan of pleasure from both of them.
The kiss was broken as both of them fought for air,
gasping and grasping at one another trying for a
tighter, closer hold. Walter pistoned his hips,
ramming into Alex with all his might until the room
exploded into a billion fireflies of pleasure.
When he came to his senses, he rolled off and checked
on Alex. He was near unconscious but there was a
slight upwards curl to his lips. His thick dark
lashes still covered his eyes; his tongue snuck out
and tasted his lips. Walter rolled over on his back
and lay there until he could catch his breath. "You
all right?" he asked as he got up from the bed.
"Uh huh," came the mumbled reply.
He made his way into the bathroom; cleaned himself
and came back out. He shuffled around the pile of
clothes on the floor, found his and put them back on
and got into bed. Alex got up and took his turn in
the bathroom. When he made it back to bed, Walter was
already asleep.
The shrill ringing of the telephone brought them both
full awake. The phone was on Alex's side so he
answered it. He spoke a few words in Chinese then in
English. "When? Yes! Absolutely. Walter Skinner,
that's right," then he hung up the phone.
"There's a break in the storm system. This is just
the outer edge of it. They have a few seats left on
flights leaving for the states. One on a plane
leaving in an hour, the other not until this
afternoon. I booked you on the first flight."
"Good. Thanks." Walter hurried out of bed and into
the bathroom. He shaved and brushed his teeth and he
was back in the room, changing into his new jeans and
shirt. He tied up his boots then reached for a sweet
roll from their stash on the table and ate it.
He threw the rest of his stuff in his bag and zipped
it up. He pulled his new jacket on and turned to face
Alex.
"I hate to ask you this after al you've done for me,
but can I borrow enough money to pay for the ticket?"
"It's already paid for; courtesy of old Smoky!" Alex
grinned up at him from his seat at the table.
"I don't know what to say, I owe you one for
what you did for me."
"Nah. Like I said. I'm the one that owes you." Alex
said fiddling with his bottled water.
"I guess...I'll see you around then." Walter
stammered, not knowing what else to say.
"Yeah. See you back in DC."
Walter picked up his bag and was gone.
Three months later...
Walter stood by the open doors to his balcony and
watched the rain. It wasn't much more than a shower
really and did bring some relief from the hot summer
evening. He breathed it in deeply and his thoughts
wandered back to that night in Hong Kong. He hadn't
heard nor seen Alex Krycek since then. He couldn't
help but wonder where he was and what he was doing. He
wondered if he ever would hear that long story about
why Krycek left the bureau for the consortium.
He closed the doors and went upstairs to bed. The
cool sheets and soft pillow felt good against his bare
skin. His hand went to his balls and he gave himself
a squeeze. His hand ran up over his half-hard length
and he let his mind wander back to Hong Kong again and
the memory of Alex Krycek in his arms, screaming his
name as he came. That memory ignited something inside
him; a firestorm of pleasure that had taken him on
this solo trip several times in the weeks since he had
been back. He cleaned himself up and went back to bed
to sleep, visions of green eyes and a sweet mouth
gasping from pleasure to accompany him.
Across town...
Alex flopped face down on the bed and lay there
listening to the rain against the window and thought
about Walter. He had followed him after work to his
condo. Hopefully he was still there snug and warm.
He closed his eyes and remembered. Remembered what it
was like being in Walter Skinner's arms; tasting his
kisses; feeling his powerful body slamming into him,
possessing him. He had fantasized about being with
Walter for years but nothing could have prepared him
for the real thing. Nothing.
"One of these days, Walter, we're going to have that
long talk then maybe...just maybe..."
It was past mid-night when Walter slipped into the
darkened warehouse, gun drawn. He stood still for a
moment, giving his eyes a chance to accustom
themselves to the darkness. He listened for any
movement, heard nothing, so he went on deeper into the
building, keeping close to the wall. He could hear or
see nothing at all but every sense he had told him
this was a mistake. He knew better than to come out
to a deserted warehouse in the middle of the night
without backup. The caller said for him to come
immediately and alone if he wanted the information
he was seeking. That didn't leave any time for a backup
plan.
In a fraction of a second, he heard the movement, the
gun going off, the bullet slamming into the wall
beside him. He dropped to his knees and scanned what
he could of the area when a second shot hit the crate
next to him. He determined where the shots had come
from and headed in the opposite direction for better
cover. Shots came from another direction. Damn!
More than one of them!
A quick evaluation of the situation and he realized
the empty crates he was hiding behind offered little
protection. Across a small opening were stacks of
crates fully loaded. Much better cover he thought and
made a dash for them. Shots were fired as he ran.
In the middle of the opening he caught his foot on
something and went down. A mad scramble on hands and
knees with bullets zinging all around him and he made
it to cover but his gun lay out of reach back in the
opening.
He cursed himself for his stupidity when he heard
another noise; much closer.
"Psssst Walter!" The loud whisper came from behind
him. He strained to see into the darkness but saw
only stacks of crates. A dark figure emerged from the
rows of boxes. He stiffened himself for a fight; but
it wasn't necessary. A breathless Alex Krycek knelt
down beside him.
"Where you hit? Is it bad?"
"Wasn't hit; twisted my ankle; lost my gun."
Alex pulled up his pant leg and took out a gun from
his ankle holster and gave it to Walter; reached into
a back pocket and handed him extra ammo for it.
"How many, can you tell?"
"At least two. Bullets came from over there, and
back there;" he pointed in two different
directions; "Could be more though. It sounded like
more than two guns back there."
"How bad's the ankle? Can you walk?"
"Hell, I don't know. Yeah, I guess."
"You better wait here. Let me look around."
With that Alex slipped off, in and out of the stacks
of crates. In another minute Walter heard two shots
fired, a few minutes later another shot.
"It's OK," Alex said coming back to help Walter to
his feet. "They won't be bothering you any more."
"Who the hell are they? Is there a contract out on
me?" Walter asked struggling to his feet.
"Never saw them before; must be from out of town.
Haven't heard of any contracts on you." With an arm
around Walter's waist, he helped him out into the
parking area and to his car. Walter at sideways on
the front seat, legs out of the car. Alex knelt in
front of him checking out his ankle.
"It's starting to swell but I don't think it's broken.
You should get it X-rayed though." Green eyes came
up to lock with brown.
"You OK to drive home? I could call someone, Mulder?"
Alex offered.
"No. No, I can make it. I'll take care of it." He
swung his legs up into the car. "It looks like I owe
you my life again."
Alex closed the door to the blazer. "Oh, I almost
forgot, here." He handed Walter back his gun and
accepted his small gun back in return.
"Thanks."
"Uh huh." Alex stood with his hands shoved into the
pockets of his leather jacket.
Walter stared at him trying to read him.
"Why, Alex? Why?"
"Now is not the time for that conversation. Just know
that I am not the traitor every one thinks I am." And
with that he turned and headed back into the
warehouse.
Walter keyed the ignition and was on his way home.
His dreams that night were filled with green eyes and
soft sweet moans of ecstasy. He awoke the next
morning with damp sheets and a curse on his lips,
"Damn you, Krycek. Why'd it have to be you that turns
me inside out?!"
Another month and Walter was in a hotel room in a
small town in up-state New York. He sat on the edge
of the bed, too tired and stressed to lay down. He'd
lost them. Two little girls, taken from their home in
the middle of a DC night. They had been hot on the
trail for days and finally got the information they
needed but when they got there it was too late. The
girls were dead and so was the man who took them, from
a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head. It was all
over and he was wiped out. Speaking with the girls
parents had been the worst part. He lied to them.
Told them it had been a quick death, the girls felt
nothing. In reality they had both been brutalized
before they took their last breath; dead at ages 3 and
5.
He choked back the tears and laid back on the bed,
numb with anguish. He vaguely remembered hearing a
knock on the door but ingored it. He didn't care who
it was. He wasn't answering it. He felt the weight
of someone sitting on the bed beside him and looked up
into Alex's face.
"I'm so sorry, Walter. I tried to find the bastard
too. There was just no way we could have known he had
this old place up here in his mother's maiden name.
You did all you could do."
Walter went into his arms then and the tears came; his
body shook with great heart-wrenching sobs. Alex held
him close murmuring sweet things to him. After a
while the sobbing stopped and Alex helped him into
bed. He slipped out of his clothes and got in bed
spooning up behind Walter and holding him close as they
slept. They awoke a few hours later; daylight shining
in through the window. They had barely dressed when
the phone rang.
"Skinner," Walter answered it. "You talk to them.
I'm going home." He hung up the phone, pulled his
jacket on and turned to Alex. "You need a lift somewhere?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Ok, then." He reached for the door knob. "When are
we gonna have that conversation?"
"One of these days," Alex assured him with a little
smile. Both of them knowing this was neither the time
nor the place.
Walter headed out the door and drove on home.
Three weeks later...
Walter had just finished with another report and stood
and stretched. Either the days were getting longer or
the reports were getting longer or he was just getting
older; he didn't know. He suspected it was all three
when his cell phone rang.
"Yeah?" he answered knowing only a select few people
had that number.
"Hey, Walt. I got someone here in the clinic, a John
Doe who claims he knows you. He's in bad shape,
probably won't make it. Says he needs to talk to you.
If you want to talk with him, you better get on over
here now while he can still talk."
"This John Doe, he have a prosthetic left arm?"
Walter asked; a sinking feeling came over him.
"Yeah, I guess you know him?"
"I do. Get him in a back room, Tony; top security.
No cops; you haven't called them have you? I'll be
right there and what ever it takes; you keep him
alive!!!" Walter shouldered into his jacket and was
out the door.
"No, I haven't called the cops. I'll do what I can,
you know that, but he's pretty far gone."
"What are his injuries?" Walter asked as the elevator
door closed behind him.
"He's been severely beaten. Fractured scull, most of
his ribs have been kicked in, right shoulder
dislocated. He won't say what happened but he put up
a hell of a fight."
"Well broken bones can heal; you can fix him up, can't
you?" He was in the garage and climbing into his
blazer.
"If he had come right in, probably but it looks like
this happened several days ago. We're running an MRI
on him now to see if there are any internal injuries.
It doesn't look good. He an informer of yours?"
"No. He saved my life, Tony; more than once. I need
you to keep him alive." He made his way through
traffic, heading for the clinic.
"I'll do what I can. Just get here."
"I'm about ten minutes out."
"OK. See you in a few then."
Ten minutes later Walter pulled up in the back of the
clinic and sprinted for the door. He found them in
the back of the clinic in rooms seldom used. Rooms
with locks on the doors. He knocked and Tony let him
in.
"Hey that was fast."
"How's he doing?"
"About the same."
Walter took one look at Alex lying on the bed and
cringed. He had seen people beaten up before but
nothing like this. There wasn't a spot on him that
wasn't bruised, purple, yellow, green. Scrapes and
cuts everywhere. Three different places on his face
that had butterfly clips. His head was wrapped in
white bandages, his right arm in a cast and a sling.
A body cast from chin to groin. The rest was
underneath blankets.
"From the looks of those injuries I'd say they were
sustained over a period of several days." Doc Tony
said.
"Did he say anything? What exactly did he say?"
Walter went to the side of the bed and slipped his
hand into Alex's bruised hand sticking out of the
cast.
"He was found unconscious in the waiting room this
morning. I've been working on him every since. He's
been in and out of consciousness. When he came to the
first thing he did was ask for me, asked to speak to
Doctor Tony Green. I told him that was me and he said
he was a friend of Walter Skinner and that he had
important information he needed to get to you right
away. I told him I'd call you and I did. That's
about all I know."
"Thanks, Tony." His attention full on the man in the
bed before him.
"Rachel should be through reading the MRI results.
I'll go see what she's got and be back in a few."
Tony said, exiting the room, turning the lock on the
door knob as he left.
Walter trailed a finger tip across the forehead smoothing
the dark hair sticking out from under the bandages. The
swollen eyes fluttered and opened.
Walter perched on the side of the bed and smiled down
at him. "Hey, you finally decided to wake up?"
"Walter" the word was gasped in pain.
"Yeah, I'm here. You want to tell me what happened?"
Alex squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again,
clearing his vision a little.
"Blurry."
Walter chuckled. "First you call me miscellaneous
expense now you call me blurry. You sure have a way
with words!"
Alex gasped and tried to catch his breath.
"Easy now; shallow breaths; you got some broken
ribs there."
"It's bad, I know. My jacket? Where is it?" He
gasped.
"Over there on the table. What do you need?"
"The lining in the left cuff. A key."
"To your apartment?"
"No. Safety deposit box. First National Bank,
Springfield, Ohio."
Tony came back into the room then but stopped at the
foot of the bed, not wanting to interrupt the
conversation.
"Information on the old man, old smokey."
"Lets not worry about him right now. Lets just worry
about getting you better."
"Not gonna make it this time, Walter." His eyes
fluttered and started to close.
"Alex! Yes you are! Tony's the best trauma doctor
around."
"Papers. In the box, Walter. Please...if you
can...I want to be buried there in Springfield with
my folks. Rest Haven over on l6th...Please.." He
was out.
Walter turned to face Tony.
"I was afraid of that, punctured right lung. I need
to get him into surgery right now."
"What can I do?" Walter helped him move the bed
towards the door.
"If you're seriously concerned someone might come
looking for him to finish the job, then I suggest you
stand guard. You might want to call Tommy or Bruce
and see if they can give you a hand. They came to the
double doors that led into surgery and Walter stopped
and watched the doors close behind them.
He called his two ex-marine friends and both agreed to
come right over. The three of them wandered the place
from roof top to parking lot to waiting room. Nothing
but the run of the mill dregs of society that usually
inhabited the run down neighborhood where the clinic
was located.
Walter was pacing in the waiting room when Tony made
an appearance much later. "Well, we patched him up as
best we could. I'd say he has a chance now, but it's
still a slim one."
"Thanks, Tony! I knew you could do it." Relief
flooded through him.
"He's not out of the woods by a long shot but his
vitals have stabilized."
"Can I see him?"
"He's in recovery. I'll need for him to stay there
for the next few hours to monitor him. If he's still
with us after that, I'd say his chances would improve
by the hour. He's going to need blood; luckily his is
a common type and there's plenty available right now."
"You can take mine." Walter offered as they walked to
recovery.
"That won't be necessary, I don't think. This guy's a
lot more to you than an informer, isn't he?"
"Yeah, Tony; he is."
Tony grinned and pushed the door to recovery open and
watched his friend walk through.
Walter spent the next several hours in recovery next
to Alex's bed, waiting for him to wake up. He dozed
from time to time in the chair he had pulled up next
to the bed. Tony and his wife and head nurse Rachel,
checked on them on and off.
Walter had picked at the lunch they had brought him
but didn't eat much. He couldn't. All he could do
was think. He had years and years of his life to
cover. All the things he had done and the things he
had not done with his life. It certainly had not gone
the way he had planned. And now here he was with more
years behind him than in front of him and he didn't
like what he saw. It was time to make some changes.
It was late afternoon when Alex finally rallied and his
vitals started to slowly rise. Walter was dozing when
Tony put a hand on his shoulder.
"Huh? Yes...a...what did you say?" Walter said and
scrubbed a hand over his face.
"I said his vitals are looking up?" He pointed to the
machines.
"He's going to make it! I knew he would!" Walter
stared at the numbers.
"He's got a long way to go yes, Walt. It could still
go either way." Tony warned.
"He'll make it. He's young; strong."
"Walt, take a good look at this guy. He's been living
on the edge for years now. You sure you want to get
involved with someone like that?"
"You don't know him, Tony. You haven't even seen him
when he wasn't all back and blue. Yeah. I'm sure.
He's the one."
"That's what Tommy was saying. He said he'd never
seen you look this way at anyone else; not even
Sharon."
"Never felt this way about anyone else; especially not
about Sharon." Walter admitted.
"You've been alone a long time now. Nothing would
make me happier than for you to find someone. I'm
just concerned about your choice."
"I know. It's a shock to me as well. But I can't
deny there's something about him that just does it for
me."
"Well, he's going to be in a whole world of hurt when
he wakes up. We can keep him somewhat comfortable
while he's here."
"Thanks, Tony. I owe you big time for this."
"He should be waking up before long. Give me a call
when he does." Tony left the room.
Walter used the rest room and splashed water on his
face. He was stressed, he was hungry and he was
tired. It was time to make some changes and that's
exactly what he planned on doing. The next week was
spent at Alex's bedside talking quietly to him,
reading to him from some paperback novels he'd found
in the room; sleeping in the bed opposite Alex's.
It was the middle of the night and Walter had been standing staring out the
window. He walked back to the bedside and sat down.
"Alex, it's time for you to wake up now. We need to talk." He whispered
not really expecting an answer. A slight movement of the head then a low
moan and green eyes fluttered opened.
"Walter? You here?" The words were barely audible but they were clear.
"Yeah, Alex. I'm here. You ready to wake up now and talk with me?"
He took Alex's hand gently and traced the chapped lips with finger tips.
"Didn't die?" He cleared his throat with great effort.
"Nope. Couldn't. We hadn't had our talk yet."
Alex tried to smile and succeeded a little bit. His tongue came out and licked his
lips.
"Thirsty?" Walter poured some water into a cup and held the straw for him.
"Good. Thanks." He swallowed what he could. "Thought for sure I was a goner."
"Nope. Told you, you couldn't go until you answered some questions." Walter
smiled down at him.
"I'll answer all your questions; whatever you want to know."
"Actually, there is just one question that I need to know the answer to. Are you ready
to give up this life and go off with me? I've decided to retire and get a place out in the
country. Clean air, not traffic, all that kind of stuff. You interested?"
"And leave all of this behind?" Alex grinned through the bandages.
"Uh huh. I think you've had enough; I know I have. We've done our share. It's time to
step aside and let someone else sit in those meetings and take those beatings."
"You serious?" Alex couldn't believe his ears.
"I am. I already have a place; bought it a few years ago; way the heck out in the middle of no where. We can go there soon as you're up to it. If you don't like it, we
can always find another place."
"Middle of no where sounds good to me." Alex coughed a little and Walter helped him to take another swallow of water. "What about all your questions?"
"Only one I need the answer to is do you want to go with me? That's the only one that
matters."
Tears formed in his eyes as he answered, "Yes, Walter. I'll go anywhere in the world
with you."
"Good! I'll get Tony in here and see just how fast he can get you well again." He punched some numbers into his cell phone. "Hey Tony, Alex is awake and he wants
to know when he can go home." He laughed and closed the phone and put it back into
his pocket.
"Home. Sounds so good. I haven't had a home since I was 8 years old."
"Well you do now. It needs a lot of fixing up but that'll be fun. Think you can stand
a little fun in your life for a change?"
"Looking forward to it. Sleepy." He was fading fast.
"Sleep now, Alex, and when you wake we'll start our plans for the future."
Walter placed a gentle kiss on the sleeping lips.
"How's he doing?" The doctor had come back into the room.
"He's awake and talking. That seems like a giant leap forward to me." Walter stood
up as his friend came over to the bedside.
"It is. He's got a long way to go yet though. He's got a world of hurt ahead of him.
It'll be some time before he can leave here."
"I know. But I'll be with him every step of the way and I don't mind waiting. I've
waited all my life for him. I can wait a few weeks or months longer."
"I'm happy for you, Walter. I just hope whoever did this to him is through with it.
You could be in for a lifetime of problems with this one."
"You could be right, Tony. But I have a feeling it's going to be worth it."
THE END