Journey into the Beyond

by Mel X Lady

Scully searches for Mulder with the aid of an old acquaintance. Post-Requiem.

2. Default Chapter Title

TITLE: Journey into the Beyond

AUTHOR: Mel X Lady

RATING: R

CATEGORY: Post-Requiem

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Feel free to post this anywhere as
long as my name stays with the fanfic.

FEEDBACK: DJPDude@Juno.com

SPOILERS: Beyond the Sea, Pilot, S.R. 819, Requiem, Tunguska/Terma, Sleepless, Avatar

The 9 minute lapse that abductees experience is mentioned several times.

SUMMARY: Scully searches for Mulder with the aid of an old aquantience. Post-Requiem.

DISCLAIMER: Well, everyone should have a goal, although!
I DON'T OWN: Scully, Mulder, Krycek, Skinner, The LGM, CSM, and Marita.
I DO OWN: A backpack, X-Files Action figures, A few tapes, A bed and my computer.

NOTES: This came to me over the summer of 2000. My family moved from Oklahoma City, OK to Columbia, SC. So I needed a friend, and my fanfics seem to work just fine.

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Krycek sighed as he opened his eyes again and looked through another file. He glanced at the picture of the dead corpse and the two tiny marks that rested on its neck.
"Hoax," he murmured under his breath as he put the X-File back into the filing cabinet and stopped when he found the name 'Scully, Dana.' He picked it up and opened it. The file was an automatic flasback to 1994 when he had been an FBI agent, hell, he had been a good person. That all changed, though, he had to stop Mulder and that resulted in killing a man.

Killing a man so that he might live to see another sunrise. Krycek glanced through the file and put it back as his heart stopped when he saw the next file, marked 'Scully, Melissa'. He took a deep breath as he pulled the file out and opened it. The pictures of his mistake haunted him as he looked at her nearly lifeless body and the murder weapon that rested near her.
"Cardinal, you son of a bitch," Krycek whispered as he remembered that it was he who had killed both Scully's sister and Mulder's father.
"All solutions to a greater cause," Krycek murmured the cold words that the smoking man had said just before Krycek stormed out of the room. Guilt had over taken him that day. He hardly, if ever, saw the results of his work. With reason of course, knowing what he had done, dozens of times would have driven him insane. That is if he wasn't insane now. What was he doing? Helping his enemy, killing his boss.

"All solutions to a greater cause," he whispered to himself as he put the file back and shut the file cabinet quietly. He had grown bored and couldn't sleep so he decided to look through some of the files that led Mulder's life. There were some very interesting things in here that he had no idea existed. Some were projects of the men who he formerly worked for, others where new and different. Exciting.

He slowly stepped over to the pictures that plagued the walls as he glanced at a picture of an alien and another of a vampire report. UFO sightings, pictures, hoax reports, viruses, group connections with the dead, high priests, voodoo creatures, death and life, self mutilation, newspaper clippings, big foot sightings, Loch Ness Monster type creatures, morphing, unexplained events and phenomenon, black holes and little green men filled the walls as Krycek realized that Mulder was on a mission, a quest to understand everything he could.

Krycek shook his head as the pictures and words captivated his mind and he suddenly realized how Scully felt. A guest in this strange world that was so exciting and amazing, but couldn't be believed. She's a scientist and bound by nature to say why his work isn't real. He wondered if Scully ever believed in what she saw, if the cases finally drilled down the scientist in her and allowed her just to stop and look at the case and gasp in amazement. She was one of the only people in the entire universe who was granted these amazing views. How did she treat them?

With respect or beat them down with a stick so she could continue to defend everything with science? Questions filled his mind as he realized how much he wanted to know Scully, how badly he craved to be in her mind and to know what she was thinking or how she viewed life.
He stopped abruptly and began to laugh. It was quiet at first, gentle and polite until he had to cover his mouth and bend at the waist so he wouldn't be loud enough to be heard. He roared in laughter, then calmed down and sat in Mulder's desk.
"Scully deserves a desk," Krycek murmured to himself as he put his feet up on the desk and looked around the strange room. What was he doing? Helping Scully find Mulder? Was there even a reason? He'd gone insane, he covered that about half an hour earlier. To get back at his bosses? Probably the most likely. And the fact that Scully was pregnant. Didn't he read or remember hearing somewhere that she couldn't?
"Happens all the time," he whispered to himself in the eerily quiet room, "About time actually," he murmured again as he closed his eyes and sank into a deep sleep.

XXXXXX

Scully looked at her watch and pounded on the door again. She waited and heard at least ten locks unlock before the door opened enough for her to enter.
"Sorry to come so early, but I have news," Scully started as she looked around the room and noticed how jumpy the trio looked.
"What's wrong?" she asked as Byers looked up and back toward the door.

"Krycek, he killed the Smoking Man," Frohike answered as Scully looked at him and up to Langly.
"News gets around fast, apparently,"
"You knew?" Byers asked quickly.
"Yeah, Krycek came to me last night, he wants to help find Mulder,"
"He came to us, too," Langly added as Scully stopped and looked at him.

"You gave him the disguise?"
"Byers did."
"Where is he now?" Byers asked as Scully glanced at her watch again and back up to Byers.
"My office, Mulder's office. The office," she corrected herself several times as she remembered nervousness was a side effect from her morning sickness medicine. She had been taking it so she wouldn't be sick, mostly because after every single time she threw up she would look pale for hours. Mulder always noticed it during her cancer.
"Is he safe there?" Frohike answered.
"No one ever goes down there," Scully responded as she decided against telling about the blonde woman's attack on her last night.
"Okay, as long as you get to him first," Langly said as he glanced at his watch and back up to Scully.
"I have to be going," Scully said as she turned around and walked toward the door. She quickly slipped out of it as the Lone Gun Men stood and stared in amazement.

XXXXXX

Krycek instantly pulled himself up as he heard a small clicking sound. He looked around and realized it was morning. He waited as the door opened and Scully stepped in. She stared at him for a moment and then shut the door and hung up her coat.
"How'd you sleep?" Krycek asked as Scully looked at him and then around the room.
"You care?" she snapped at him as Krycek stood up and looked at her.

"What happened to you?"
"What happened to me? Well, let's see, your blonde friend came and attacked me last night. She's looking for you."
"I told you they'd all be looking for me."
"Who's 'they all?' How many are there?"
"I've formed alliances with a few people. Few but enough to know they can stop those who are looking."
"No, Krycek, stop. I don't want to hear about deals or your God damned alliances. You can't trust anyone. I'm going to Oregon in a few hours," Scully growled at him as he stopped and made eye contact with her.

"Why?" She asked as he looked at her and back to the wall that he'd looked at last night.
"Why what?"
"Why are you here? Why are you in my life? What the hell are you doing here, to help me? You hate me and I hate you. You have ruined my life and-"
"I'm here to make amends. This isn't my life. My father's. He made a deal with a man in New York when I was a child. He traded me for his life. I went to Quantico and was destined to be a damn fine FBI agent, but then one night I was taken. Two men came and took me in my sleep. Apparently they had drugged my water or something, but I woke up in the office of the Smoking bastard. He told me I had orders, I'd be paid, but if I didn't do what I was ordered, my family would die. Not much of a choice, eh?" Krycek interrupted her as she looked at him and felt a little guilt for yelling, only a little, though, not enough to change her mind about him.

"After this? What then?" Scully asked. Intrigued now, although she'd never admit it.
"Go away, California maybe, or somewhere else. Use my training I received in Quantico with good intent. She nodded as she walked over to Mulder's desk and picked up a file.
"Anyone come down last night?"
"No, I just gained perspective," he answered as she looked at him and turned her head toward the file cabinets. She noticed one was still cracked open.
"Find any interesting reading material?"
"Lots. I still can't believe you two go out and search these things," he answered as she looked at him and back to her watch.
"Krycek, get your jacket. We're going to Oregon, but remember what I said. I find a lead, you get the hell away from me and this case," Scully boomed as Krycek stood and nodded. "Good," she affirmed as they stepped out the door and headed to the elevator.

XXXXXX

Krycek rested his head against the head of the seat as he moved his eyes over to Scully and watched her sleep in a light state. They had been in the air for over an hour and they had been quiet for an hour and a half. Krycek shifted his body again as he turned toward her and gently slipped the file out of her hand. She stirred slightly but didn't wake up as Krycek sighed in relief and opened it up. He had looked at it once last night and then continued on to the other files.

His eyes scanned as he read the details about how Mulder had gone to Oregon with Skinner but was taken. Skinner had witnessed the whole thing and had come back to Scully to tell her he had lost the one thing that mattered to her. He moved his eyes to the to the ground as he realized he couldn't look at her.
"I'll get him back for you, Scully, I promise," Krycek whispered so quietly that he hardly heard himself. He watched her as she stirred again and began to mouth words. He furrowed his eyebrows as he heard her start to whisper.
"Mulder. I'm here. Wait. Please. No. Don't go. We need you. Mulder. MUL-!" she murmured as she became more clear and louder as Krycek quickly cupped his right hand over her mouth before she screamed.
"Scully, Scully wake up. Scully! Scully!" he whispered into her ear. Demanding now. She needed to get out of the nightmare. Nightmares couldn't happen, they weren't real, but even so, they seem like it.

Scully opened her eyes and looked around. They were wide and bloodshot as she looked at him and down to the hand that covered her mouth. He watched as she slowly lifted her right hand up and pealed his hand away from her mouth. She licked her lips quickly as she looked at him and down to the file in his lap.

"I was dreaming, wasn't I?"
"Scully, you look horrible," he whispered to her as she closed her eyes and rested her face in her hands.
"The dreams, they don't stop. I haven't slept in days and I hate it because it's so unhealthy for my baby," she said through deep breaths as she gently rested her hand on her stomach.
"I have a few sleeping pills I've been using when I wake up from my nightmares. I want you to take one. It'll keep you under for the rest of the flight,"
"No, not with you here-"
"Scully, we're on a plane with at least 20 other people and those damn flight attendants haven't stopped looking at us for the past 30 minuets.
"Arm,"
"What?"
"They're probably looking at you because of your arm," Scully explained as Krycek looked down and noticed he didn't have the prosthetic on.
"Well, if you don't believe that I will leave you alone then you'll have to talk to me for the next few hours," he answered after a few moments of looking at his phantom limb and back up to her.
"Fine. What are your nightmares about?" Scully asked as Krycek looked at her in shock as he quickly resumed his calm look and looked toward the front of the plane.
"Tunguska. My arm. The Smoking Man, car bombs, death, my father or my family being killed, being alone, oil, space creatures, the misle silo and just about everything else out there that has ruined me," he listed as Scully looked at him and gasped slightly at how much he was telling her. "Your turn," he said with a smug look as Scully closed her eyes and began.

"Snakes. I was deathly afraid of snakes when I was a child. The X-Files, half the things I've seen and can't explain, they scare me. A lot. A lot more then snakes or losing Mulder or losing what's left of my family-" she stopped abruptly and stared into Krycek, almost through him. He felt her icy stare pour into him deeply as his heart sank and he realized how badly he wanted to get away from her right then.
"Give me the sleeping pills. How many do I take?" She demanded as Krycek reached into his pocket and pulled out the small prescription bottle.
"Two, keeps you under for at least five hours," he answered as he handed her a glass of water that had been brought to him earlier.
"Then I'm just going to take one. Remember, there are other people on this plane who are watching us. They know what you do," Scully shot out as she placed a pill in her mouth and washed it down with Krycek's water.
"Pleasant dreams," He said with a cocked smile as Scully rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

XXXXXX

Scully opened her eyes and slowly looked around. Krycek glanced at the watch he wore on his right wrist and back up to her.
"2 hours, feeling any better?" he answered Scully's unasked question as she held her head and wiped away the sleep from her eyes.
"Yeah, no dreams," she answered as Krycek slowly turned his gaze away from her and back to a seat a few rows up.

"What are you looking at?"
"That man, he looks familiar, but I'm not sure how or where from," Krycek answered as he pointed to a man with reddish hair and a dark suit on.
"Know of anyone going to Oregon?" she asked as she leaned near him to see the red haired man. Krycek started to answer but stopped when he smelt her hair. She smelt of rose petals. Rose petals that were slowly falling from the bush that held them from their birth to their premature death. Red rose petals that matched the color of her lips and her hair exactly. He lost himself as Scully pulled herself back and looked to him.
"Never seen him before," Scully remarked as Krycek shook himself out of his trance and nodded to her.
"I'll watch him. He'll pass by here to leave the plane. We'll see him then," Krycek whispered to Scully as she nodded once and looked to Krycek.

"Does it hurt?"
"Does what hurt?"
"Your arm. Or where it use to be, at least."
"You care?" he asked. The coldness in his voice even startled him as he told himself to calm down. It was Scully, he was doing the right thing by helping her.
"Hey, a conversation is a conversation and this is about as normal as we're going to get," Scully shot back as he sighed and rolled his head back over his neck and popped it quietly.
"It hurts, yeah. Not nearly as much as it did, but still, pain is pain. I have two prescriptions out. One for the sleeping pills and one for pain pills for my-" he waved at his left shoulder with his right hand before continuing, "The nightmares don't help either. It's like, being scared to death to close my eyes. Scared that if I close them they won't open again. Ever."

Scully looked at him as he blinked and looked back toward the man who was now talking to a stewardess.
"I'm sorry," she whispered as Krycek looked toward her. What was she sorry for? His arm? His pain? Their arguing? Their past? Everything? Or was it just something she said through her own daze and shock of what had happened to her.
"Krycek, I-" she started as Krycek leaned over and gently held up his hand over her mouth.
"No, Scully. No," he said softly as his eyes spoke what he couldn't say through his mouth. She nodded as Krycek nodded with her and stopped when he felt a presence beam down on him. He slowly turned his head and made eye contact with the Stewardess who stood over him and looked at him covering Scully's mouth.

"What?" he demanded as he removed his hand and started at the uniformed woman.
"Sir, we're making an emergency landing in at least five minuets-"
"No, we can't. Why are we stopping? I was told this was a nonstop flight," Scully demanded as the stewardess looked at her and back to Krycek.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but there is a heavy rain storm that we can't avoid and we need to touch down-"
"Well, where are we landing?" Krycek asked as she sighed and rolled her eyes slightly, "I'm sorry, but we need to get to our destination, now. Not later, but as soon as physically possible," he demanded as she started to walk away.
"No! Don't walk away from me while I'm talking to you! Get back here. I can report you," Krycek called out as he stood up and followed her down the isle.
"Krycek!" Scully hissed from her seat as she stood up and began to follow him.

She stopped when she stood next to the red haired man's seat and recognized his face instantly. She had seen him several times before, only in her dreams though. In her worst nightmares and sweetest dreams, he was always there.
"Ma'am?" he asked quietly as Scully looked at him and shook her head.
"Sorry," she whispered as she quickly stood behind Krycek and turned him around to face her.
"It's okay. Let's go back to our seats," she said with a hint of anger in her eyes as Krycek murmured something in Russian and followed her back to their seats.

XXXXXX

Krycek and Scully stood near the baggage claim as Scully glared at Krycek.
"What?" he asked, not moving his eyes toward her as he looked at the conveyor belt.
"What? Do you realize what you've done? That man who you recognized, he saw us. Everyone saw us!"
"She wouldn't answer you, Scully-"
"That was no reason for you to get up, we could have figured it out when we touched down and caught a connecting flight. You need to hold your anger or-" she shot out as she stopped and closed her eyes.
"Scully?" Krycek asked as he looked toward her and realized how pale she looked.
"Come on, Let's go sit down," Krycek whispered to her as he helped her walk to a seat, "I'm going to get our bags then we're getting a hotel,"
"No, Krycek, we need to keep-"
"If not for you, then for your baby, Scully-" he stopped her as he turned on his heels and picked up their bags.

Scully leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She'd had this experience too many times already, except Mulder was always there to catch her.
"Soon," Scully whispered to herself as she felt a prescence bearing down on her, "Get our bags?" she asked as she opened her eyes and felt her face turn red from embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I thought you where someone else," Scully explained as the familiar red haired man stood above her.
"A cool rag and a few hours of sleep will help you," he said with a smile as he turned away from her and walked away.
"Sir? Wait!" She called out but stopped when he disappeared into the crowd of people. She sighed as she closed her eyes again and felt Krycek slowly touch her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Scully, I may be a wonder, but a one-armed rat can only do so much," he said with a half smile as Scully shook her head and stood up.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah, I was in the hospital for all the fainting. I thought I was better,"
"Well, I wouldn't put it past your pregnancy," Krycek said as he gave her bag and walked close to her. She furrowed her brow slightly as she realized that was the second time in the last hour he had mentioned her pregnancy. Was there a reason for that? Probably not, she told herself, he probably just keeps saying that so he wouldn't push her down the stairs or something worse.
"Rent a car?" Scully asked as Krycek nodded and led her to the parking lot.


XXXXXX

Scully tossed herself onto the bed and closed her eyes as Krycek followed her in and quietly shut the door.
"Want a rag or something?" he asked as Scully opened her eyes and stared at the white ceiling.
"Yeah, but I can get it," she responded as she sat up and looked around the room. The last room available in all of the midwest, aparahently. She hadn't caught the name of the town, let alone the state, but they were a little over half way there. She walked toward the bathroom as she picked up the white wash rag and ran it under the icy cold water. A smile crossed her lips as she wrang it out and walked back toward her bed. She lay down and placed it on her forehead as she heard Krycek sit on the bed on the other side of the room and thump down.

"Scully?"
"What?" she asked. Slightly irritated with him but also thankful that she had him there with her to search for Mulder.
"Are you okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, everything's happening to you, and I know that I'm not helping matters out-"
"No, I mean, I'm okay, because I have to be. Mulder's always needed someone there with him, and that someone is me. He trusts me and I trust him. Part of trust is being there for each other. Just seems like he's needed me more then I've needed him..." she stopped as she sat up and turned her body to Krycek, mostly to see if Krycek was still paying attention. He was. "I mean, I need him, but I'm not as emotionally unstable. I haven't been through as much," Scully finished as Krycek looked at the tears that brimmed in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Scully. I didn't mean to make you cry," he apologized as he quickly bent down onto his knees in front of her and held her hands with his. He quickly damned his left arm for being gone and forever a burden on his normal life, if it was in fact, normal.

"Krycek, I'm fine. I just haven't really cried since-" she started but never finished as she took several deep breaths and felt the tears finally fall from her eyes.
"Scully-" he started as she quickly slipped to the floor and wrapped her arms around him. Krycek kneeled in shock for a second before he regained his senses and wrapped his arm around her. She sobbed into the flannel shirt he wore instead of his usual leather jacket. He held her as he ran his hand around her back and slowly began to speak.

"Scully, it's okay. We're going to find Mulder and bring him back. We'll bring him back to DC. You two will be together and I'll be out of your lives forever. I'll leave Skinner alone too, give him the switch myself. The Smoking Man is dead and everyone's lives will go back to normal. You and Mulder will be wonderful parents. Won't have to worry about someone being behind the door, waiting. I promise," he whispered into her ear as she took deep breaths and pulled away slightly. She pulled his face toward her's and rested her forehead against his as she felt his hot breath on her face. The tears had stopped falling as Krycek ran his fingers through her hair.
"It's been a long day," he whispered as Scully nodded in agreement and smiled slightly.
"Feeling better?" he asked as she nodded slightly and took a deep breath and released it slowly.
"It's late, I want you to get some sleep. Okay? I'll call the airlines in the morning and see what time we can fly out of here. You just rest," he whispered as he helped her stand up and slip under the covers to her bed.
"Thank you," she whispered as Krycek only smiled and turned out the lights.

XXXXXX