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 (Obviously), 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. (Never used her before. See, she's touched Krycek and that kinda hacks me off...) :)
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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Scully shifted her body again as she opened her eyes and looked around the dark room. It was pitch black except for a stream of moonlight that filtered in through the window and luminated Krycek's body. She sighed as she turned and glanced at the clock. It read 3:05 as she shook her head and closed her eyes. She pulled the blanket up around herself as she breathed. The dreams had become more realistic and more frightening tonight. Worse then she'd had before. More emotional and more painful.
She sighed again as she remembered Mulder's features and saw herself tracing his jaw line. It calmed her racing heart as she closed her eyes and lost herself in memories and Mulder's dark eyes.
"Mulder?" Scully asked quietly as he turned around and smiled. She heaved in relief as he held her for a second. She stopped when she smelt smoke and quickly pulled away. Her mouth hung open as she realized she was no longer holding Mulder but now in the Smoking Man's arms as he fixed his gray eyes on her and leaned forward. Scully screamed out and pulled herself away from him. The screams continued until she felt a force heavy upon herself.
"Scully! Scully! Scully!" the invisible voice called out as Scully quickly opened her eyes and saw the dimly lighted face of Krycek. She blinked several times, trying to figure out why he was sitting next to her and holding down her body with one arm.
"Krycek?" She gasped out as he nodded and released her as soon as she stopped thrashing and sat up.
"Dana," he whispered as she realized he had called her by her first name. She hadn't been called Dana in a long time, too long. He also sat next to her with his flannel shirt unbuttoned as he looked at her with concerned eyes asking her what was wrong, although he already knew.
"It doesn't stop," she gasped with tears in her eyes as Krycek looked at her and nodded slightly.
"Is there anything I can do?" Krycek asked. He watched as she gasped again and looked at the clock. 3:30.
"It's too much," she murmured as he shook his head and looked back to her.
"No, it's not. Tell me and it's done," he promised.
Scully sat for a moment. Her mouth open in shock at what she was going to ask. She finally sighed after Krycek nudged her and formed the words for her request.
"Hold me?" she whispered. Krycek didn't flinch as he nodded and lay next to her. He gently reached his right arm over her and held her right hand. He then rested their hands on her stomach as Krycek pulled her to himself. She sighed mentally as Krycek nodded to himself and looked to Scully in the moon light.
"Good night," he whispered as Scully closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again.
XXXXXX
"What do you mean not for another three days? Come on! We need to go now. Please. It's very important that we get out there today or tomorrow, not in three days," Krycek yelled into the phone. Scully looked toward him and watched him pace. Obviously, he was use to having things work for him. People respect him, or at least fear him. He sighed and looked up to her.
"They put me on hold. Again," he murmured, emphasizing the 'again' as he sat down and held the phone up to his ear.
"Damn it. I think they hung up again," he growled as he slammed the phone on the receiver and spat out quick Russian.
"Krycek, if you wouldn't yell at them, maybe we could get somewhere. Let me have the phone," Scully demanded as he handed the phone to her and hit redial.
Scully waited patiently as the phone rang and a female voice began to talk.
"Yes, my name is Dana Scully, Special Agent Dana Scully, and I'm a federal agent. I'm in desperate need to get to the state of Oregon-" she stopped as the phone disconnected.
"Son of a bitch!" she screamed as she slammed the phone down into the receiver and looked up to Krycek.
"Bastards," she murmured as she reached to her bag and pulled out her cell phone.
"Who are you calling?"
"Skinner-"
"Does he even know we're out here?"
"He knows I'm out here. He doesn't know about you, so stay quiet," she said sternly as she began to punch in numbers.
"Skinner,"
"Sir, it's Agent Scully, I just wanted to inform you that I'm on my way, but there are storms or something of that nature that will be keeping me grounded for a few days. There's no way around them. Yes sir. Yes sir. No sir," Scully answered as Krycek looked at her. How amazing it was that she could change from a young child looking for her mother to a leader in less then ten seconds. He watched as she nodded to herself and hung up the phone.
"Something rotten in the state of Denmark?" Krycek asked as she glared at him and looked toward the motel door.
"Skinner said he found a pack of Morleys on his desk this morning," Scully murmured as she turned and made eye contact.
"No, he's dead. I swear to God, I-"
"Did you? Krycek, did you actually go down and check to see if he had a pulse? Did you?" Scully asked, angry.
"You didn't see him, Scully. The old man was so sick, and-"
"And you assumed. Damn it Krycek! He's after us. He's following his. Damn it! We need to get to Oregon, now!" Scully screamed at him as she stood up and walked toward the door.
"No, Scully! No!" Krycek yelled as he stood up and grabbed her arm. He pulled her to him sharply as she stopped and felt his hot breath on her.
"Scully, you're getting ahead of yourself. Calm down and just breathe. There is no way he survived. You're being illogical and letting fear get into your way. Get rid of your fear and then we'll go. You can't be scared. You can't afford to be scared. Ever," he growled into her as she took deep breaths and focused her attention. She opened her mouth but quickly closed it again as he released his grip and stepped away.
"How far away from Oregon are we?" Scully asked as Krycek closed his eyes for a second and thought.
"I'm not sure, but we're in Nebraska now. I was going to go downstairs and ask, wanna come?" he asked, the calm man returned almost as quickly as he had disappeared as Scully stood in shock for a moment.
"Sure," she answered, realizing how quickly she had become afraid of being alone, even if it was Krycek. He nodded and held the door open for her as she stepped out and started to walk toward the lobby.
XXXXXX
Skinner sighed as he reviewed another file and put it down on the coffee table. He looked up the his window and realized how beautiful it was outside, and he was glad he'd taken a half day. He figured he could work at home just as well as at the office as his eyes moved to his watch and he noticed it was 12:11. No wonder he was starting to feel hungry. He put down another file as he stood up and walked toward his kitchen. Skinner stopped when he saw a thin line of smoke float into the air as he quickly stepped in but stopped as soon as he saw the figure.
"You," he spat out. It was all he could think to say. There was a dead man, standing right in front of him, obviously among the living. He had seen many dead men in his life, before Vietnam and after it in his line of work, but the only difference between those dead men and this one was, that in fact, this one wasn't dead and had a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"Cigarette?" he asked as he offered Skinner a Morely. Skinner slapped the package out of his hand and watched it skid across the floor.
"Mr. Skinner, you seem angry. Any reason?" Cancerman asked as he felt Skinner poke a gun into his rib cage.
"You're damn right I'm angry you dirty son-of-a-bitch. I received news you were dead,"
"You heard incorrectly,"
"Your time is up, old man--" Skinner growled as he quickly pulled the trigger and watched the lifeless body fall to the floor. Skinner stepped back as he dropped the gun and looked at what he had just done.
"Shit," he murmured silently as he watched blood pool onto his kitchen floor and extinguish the ashes from the smoking man's fallen cigarette.
XXXXXX
Scully laughed quietly as Krycek smiled, triumphant at his successful joke telling. It was the first time he'd seen her smile, in a long long time, if ever. She had a beautiful smile, too bad she wasn't allowed to show it more often. They sat in the lobby as Krycek listened to a man yell at the manager about the pool being closed twenty minutes early. Scully looked at Krycek as she whispered,
"See what it's like? People don't like to be yelled at," she whispered as Krycek broke into a smile and shook his head.
"If you had grown up in my house, you'd know," he said as a sad look crossed his eyes.
"Krycek, what happened?" Scully asked, curious now, curious about the man she knew so little about.
"They were Russian. I was taught to show respect and if someone wouldn't show it, to yell and scare the person to death. Either until they showed it, or died. Fun growing up," he murmured as Scully scooted her chair closer to him to listen.
"Well, I grew up in my house with a dad who was in the Navy, and an older brother and sister. Also a Catholic so that didn't leave much room for me to--" she paused, thinking of the best word to say,"be rebellious," she concluded as Krycek nodded.
"But you weren't first generation," he debated.
"No, but you grew up as an only child. Don't Russian families usually have many children?"
"They do when they have the money or the land. We didn't have either. They where cold war immigrants. No one wanted a Russian here and everyone wanted 'Comrades' out there. My parents didn't want to be comrades. They didn't agree with the system, so they left. I guess it was the best thing they could do," Krycek answered as he looked toward the door way.
"Shit," he murmured as he quickly scanned the room.
"What?"
"That man. The red haired one. He's here," Krycek responded as he quickly turned away from the door and pulled the collar on his shirt up.
Scully sat and looked toward him. She couldn't move her eyes off of him as he walked across the room and toward the front desk.
"Hey!" he called out to Scully as Krycek closed his eyes tightly for a second, and didn't open them until he felt the presence behind him.
"Hello," Scully replied courteously. She ribbed Krycek as he turned around and smiled.
"Hi," Krycek responded as the red haired man just smiled.
"So, we noticed you on our flight. Where are you heading?" Scully asked as Krycek studied the features of the man, trying to figure out where he had seen him before.
"Oregon. I can't believe the flight was postponed. Any idea when the next flight is?"
"No, the airlines won't tell us," Scully answered as Krycek looked toward Scully and back to the red haired man who looked to be in his late thirties.
"Oh, well, turns out that I'll be staying here for a few more days, and they managed to get me these two tickets that fly out in two hours, I have a friend in the airlines, you understand. Anyway, you two seem like in such a rush to get out there, so please, take them," he said as he pulled out two tickets and handed them to Scully.
"Sir?"
"Please. I've been watching you two, and I like you. You seem like you're on a mission. So go, please," he said with a smile as he handed them over and walked away.
"Thank you!" Scully called out as Krycek picked up the airline ticket and looked at it.
"2 hours. Flight 310. We gotta go," he said as he stood up and started to walk toward the door.
"Well, wait a second!" Scully called out as Krycek stopped and looked at her.
"We have to go. All solutions to a greater cause," he quoted as Scully stopped and looked at him for a second but quickly recovered and followed close behind.
XXXXXX
Skinner sighed again as he stood by the door and watched uniformed men walk around his apartment. Touching everything with gloved hands and taking pictures of the most unphotographed man in history.
"Sir, you say you were defending yourself?"
"Yes," he sighed, tired of the same questions over and over again, "I walked in and he was standing there. He left me no choice but to shoot him. My only clear shot was his rib cage," he lied. Being accused of murder wasn't new to Skinner as he remembered the dead prostitute. He shook his head slightly to the memory of his own X-File.
"Sir, do you know who this man is?" a tall man with a note pad asked. He showed his badge that certified himself as a police official.
Skinner thought for a second. Either he said yes and rambled on like Mulder about conspiracies and cover ups, or he said no and let the questions end.
"Sir?"
"No. I've never seen this man before," Skinner finally said as the officer nodded and stepped away. Skinner sighed as he stepped into the hallway and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and wished this nightmare would end. That Mulder would come back, that Scully would be here too. Krycek would be gone forever, except the switch would be in his hands. Skinner wouldn't let Krycek get away without that switch being destroyed, and the Smoking Man would stay dead. Leave him alone and let him live his own life. Skinner sighed as he started to walk down the hall toward the elevator as he stopped and turned around toward his apartment door. He continued his pace until his cell phone let out a shrill ring. He stopped as he reached for it and opened it.
"Skinner,"
"I know who you are. I know what you're doing and how you're doing it. Your office. Tonight. Midnight. Be there," the voice said quickly as it hung up and left Skinner standing, with a puzzled look on his face. He glanced at his watch and realized it was only 2 in the afternoon. A sigh escaped his lips as he walked back to his apartment to watch the body of the Smoking Man wrapped up and taken down the hall.
XXXXXX
Scully looked around the plane as she realized she had fallen asleep again. Krycek had given her another one of his sleeping pills, and they had a very strong effect, Scully couldn't deny that. She glanced at him as he slept with his head tilted back and mouth open slightly. She watched as he inhaled and exhaled slowly. Scully hated to admit it, but he looked peaceful, almost innocent when he was asleep.
She had only seen Mulder asleep a few times in her life and he always looked troubled. Ready to jump and fight at any moment. Krycek, though, he looked like he was greatful for the rest. Like he could let his world rest for another five minuets, as he ran through his dreams, running from something, or perhaps the bad dreams were over. Either way, he looked peaceful for a man who knew death was just around the corner.
Scully gently closed her eyes again, ready for more of the rest she craved.
"Dana," a voice said gently as Scully turned around quickly and faced Ahab.
"Ahab?" she asked quietly, she was use to her father calling her Starbuck, he hadn't called her Dana since she was 17 and was late for curfew.
"Starbuck," he said with a smile as he walked over and hugged her. Scully smiled as he hugged her. It had been too long, and she wasn't about to let this peaceful dream stop. He pulled away quickly and showed Scully a door. She felt him lead her to the door as she slowly reached for the handle but stopped when she felt her body shake and her eyes open quickly. Wide.
She looked around at the other sleeping passengers as she looked toward Krycek who was now awake too.
"Why'd you wake me up?" she asked quietly as a confused look crossed his eyes.
"I was just about to ask you the same question. Did you shake me?"
"No, did you shake me?" she asked as he shook his head.
"Damn it, and I was actually having a peaceful dream too," she murmured as he looked at her.
"What about?"
"My father. He died in 1994," Scully murmured as Krycek nodded slowly.
"What about you? I woke up once and you looked peaceful. What were you dreaming about?"
"High school," he whispered as Scully smirked.
"I thought most people had nightmares about high school,"
"Well, I wasn't that bad off. At least then I had control of my life, for the most part," he answered as Scully wiped the smirk off her face and nodded.
"Scully, I'm sorry about your father," he said through the thick silence.
"Thank you," she whispered as he nodded and noticed the sleepiness that crossed her eyes. The pill deffinently had an effect on her.
"Go back to sleep. We still have a few hours," he whispered as she nodded and closed her eyes as a peaceful dream over took her body.
XXXXXX
Skinner sat at his desk as he looked at his watch and looked back toward the door. He was ten minutes early for his meeting with his mysterious cell phone caller. Whoever it was might have information on Mulder, or had seen Skinner with the Smoking Man. He silently cursed himself for losing his patience and firing. He had just fucked up several years worth of work that could and would fall on him and squash him like a bug. He took off his glasses as he rubbed the corners of his eyes with his thumb and middle finger. He moved his hand down and covered his mouth with his palm. He stopped as he heard his hall door open and a shadowy figure step in and stand in the dark corner of the room.
"You said you had information?" he asked after he put his glasses back on and moved his hand to the desk top.
"I said nothing of the sort. I know what you did, and I also have information on one of your agents - and a former agent," the voice said as Skinner realized the voice was an alto. Much higher then his other contacts, meaning his contact was a female.
"Which agents?" he asked carefully. He wasn't sure what she wanted, but whoever it was might have information on Mulder.
"You might recognize them. Here," she said as she approached him but stopped when she saw his desk light was on.
"Turn off the light, then you can see what's in the folder," she demanded as Skinner turned off the light and heard her step toward his desk, drop the file and retreat back to the corner of the room.
"Alright," she said as Skinner flipped on the lights and looked at the envelope that rested on his desk.
"Can I be guaranteed these are authentic?"
"I place my life on it. I have," she said as she turned toward the door, "We'll meet again, tomorrow night, midnight. Be here," she said as she slipped out the door and left Skinner with an envelope with authentic pictures in it. He slowly opened it as he filtered out five pictures. He looked at one with a red headed female and a dark haired man in a hotel room. He shifted to the second picture which showed the man and the woman on the floor together, hugging. He looked at the woman closer and realized it was Scully. His heart skipped a beat as he recognized the face of the dark haired man.
Krycek.
Skinner sighed as he turned to the third picture with their foreheads touching as Scully rested her arm around his body as Krycek rested his hand on her hip. He turned to the fourth picture which showed Krycek holding Scully down in a bed. She was sweating as Krycek rested over her with his shirt open. He flipped to the fifth picture that showed Krycek with his arm around Scully as she twisted her fingers with his on top of a bed.
"Son of a bitch," he murmured under his breath as he closed his eyes and tried to find a logical explanation for what these pictures showed.
Krycek had wanted to help, but how had he convinced Scully to take him with her to Oregon? Force? Threats? Or simply, had she let him? He shook that thought from his mind. She hated him. She hated him for everything he had done to her, why would she ever trust him? Stress. Scully was stressed and hadn't slept well. That had to be it. She was delusional and willing to believe anyone or anything that would help her find Mulder.
Skinner sat back, somewhat satisfied with his explanation as he put the pictures back into the envelope and slipped it into his top drawer of his desk. He sighed as he looked to his watch and realized it was already 12:30. It was too late to go back home, so he stood up and walked to a couch that rested in his secretary's office. He lay down as he closed his eyes and shifted into an evening of dreams and nightmares, intertwined as always.
XXXXXX