From: <frohike51@aol.com>
To: <xfilesnc17ff@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [XFNC17ff] New Fic:  If Alex Fell: Affirmation 1/8
Date: Sunday, January 27, 2002 7:46 PM

If Alex Fell:  Affirmation
Author:  Frohike
Email:  frohike51@aol.com
Website:  Frohike's Folly www.geocities.com/frohike51
Rating:  NC-17
Category:  Krycek/other
Spoilers:  Maybe.  Maybe not. *g*  Can't think of any offhand.
Disclaimer:  This is the fourth story in the If Alex Fell series.  If you
haven't read parts 1-3, I strongly suggest going back and reading those
first, since I don't spend any time covering old information and it could get
confusing.  All three parts are archived on Gossamer, Fanfiction.net and at
House of Fanfiction, or you can email me for them. If you have read the first
three stories, welcome back and thanks. Mulder, Scully and the Lone Gunmen
are property of FOX, 1013 and Chris Carter.  Alex Krycek is as well,
technically.  Personally, I feel that once you've brutally murdered a
character, you give up all rights to him, so I'm claiming him for my own.  I
promise to love him and take good care of him CC.  In my world, Alex will
never die. Anyone you don't recognize belongs to me. Todd Ritchie and Spin
Williams are real people. Ritchie really is a pitcher for the Pirates and
Spin Williams really is their pitching coach.  I've never had the pleasure of
meeting either of them, but they're Pirates, so that makes them great guys by
default.   Raven Rock is a real facility, in case anyone's keeping track of
these things.  Daniel Ladinsky's beautiful poem, Wayfarer, is reprinted
without permission, but with no malice aforethought.  Special bonus points to
anyone who can spot the homage to Whose Line Is It Anyway.
Distribution: Anywhere you'll have me.  Just leave my name and email address
intact and drop me a line so I can come visit.
Feedback: Yes, please.  Praise will make my day. Flames will be used to lure
Alex to my door.  Either way, I win.  Can you say 'incendiary device'?
Sorry, inside joke.  Talk to me people.

=============================
"Ready?"

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Of course, it's traditional for the groom to carry the bride across the
threshold."

"But..."

"No buts, you know I'm perfectly able to lift you up.  Besides, we agreed,
non-traditional wedding ceremony, traditional wedding night, right?"

"OK, but only across the threshold.  You are NOT carrying me up the stairs to
the bedroom.  I have no intention of spending my wedding night in the
emergency room, watching you get fitted for a truss."

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," Alex said, as he
scooped Katie up in his arms.  He carried her into the house, letting her
down on the first step.  "Now, go upstairs.  I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Where you going?"

"I'm going to get the bags out of the car and I have a couple of other things
to do first.  You'll have enough to keep yourself occupied for a few
minutes."

Katie looked at him, bewildered at his comment.  "I will?"

"Just go," he said.  "You'll see in a minute."

She walked up the stairs, making a few backward glances at him as she did.
He shooed her away and went outside to the car.

At the top of the stairs, she could see light flickering from the bedroom.
"What the..." Peering around the corner, she found a fire already burning in
the fireplace.  She entered the room and looked around to see what other
surprises were in store.  On the nightstand was a vase with a single red
rose.  The bed was made and turned back in preparation.  On the bed was a box
with a note attached.  "Open me," she read.  Katie sat down on the bed,
lifted the top and folded back the tissue paper.  "Oh Alex," she whispered.
Inside the box was the most beautiful nightgown she'd ever seen. Emerald
green silk, with a matching robe, a far cry from anything she owned or ever
considered owning.  In general, she slept in her collection of oversized
t-shirts or flannel pajamas, never taking the plunge into realm of overly
feminine sleepwear.  As she lifted the gown from the box, another note
dropped to the bed.  "Wear me."  Katie chuckled.  "I'm beginning to feel a
bit like Alice, Alex," she said loudly.  She picked up the gown and robe,
carrying both into the bathroom.  She looked in the mirror, then at the
garments in her hand, and decided she needed a quick shower before dressing
for the evening.  A quick look around the bathroom confirmed her suspicions;
the bathroom was already stocked for her convenience.  "Why am I not
surprised?"
=============================

Alex heard the water turn on in the bathroom.  He poured the wine into their
glasses and went upstairs.   He listened at the door, to be sure she was in
shower and not still waiting for the water to heat up, before carefully
pushing the door open and putting her glass and a note on the counter by the
sink.  His mission accomplished, Alex went down the hall to other bathroom to
take a quick shower as well.
=============================

Katie pulled back the shower curtain and reached for a towel.  She'd almost
finished drying herself off, when she spied the glass and note sitting on the
counter.  "Drink me," she read with a giggle.  She hung up the towel and
reached for the nightgown.
=============================

Alex stood in front of the fire, pacing, waiting for Katie join him.  He'd
changed into the pajamas he'd purchased for the evening.  The bathroom door
opened and he drew in a breath at the vision in front of him.  "Wow," he
said, feeling ridiculous that 'wow' was the most articulate statement he
could muster.

Katie smiled and walked over to him.  "You look pretty 'wow' yourself," she
replied.  "So tell me," she began, holding up the half empty glass.  "Will
this make me very tall or very small?"

"Would you settle for very relaxed?"

"Very relaxed sounds just right."

Alex took the glass from her hand and put it on the mantle, before pulling
her close.   Do you like it?" he asked, fingering the collar of her robe.  "I
drove Tyler crazy with all the catalogs."

"I figured Ty had a hand in this.  He's always trying to get me to dress like
a girl," she said, with a chuckle.  "Yes, I like it.  It's beautiful."   She
reached up and toyed with the buttons on his shirt.  "He dressed you, too,
didn't he?"

"Well, you know Tyler," he answered, rolling his eyes.  "I had to sweet talk
him into the black, though.  He really wanted me to get the green to match
your gown."

"Black was definitely the right choice."

Alex reached for the tie on the front of her robe and tugged gently.  It fell
open revealing the gown beneath.  "Turn around."  Katie turned her back and
allowed him to remove the robe.   He tossed it behind him and placed his
hands on her shoulders, rubbing slowly up and down her arms.  She shivered,
but he knew it wasn't from a chill in the air.  He bent over and kissed his
way down her neck, from that sweet spot just behind her ear to the very end
of her shoulder.  On the way back up, his fingers slipped under the strap and
started to ease it off her shoulder.  Katie's hand touched his and held it
still.  Alex stopped and leaned over her shoulder to look at her face.
"What's wrong, baby?"

Katie glanced at him, then looked away.  "It's silly."

"Tell me."

She hesitated, then tried again.  "Would you believe me if I said I was
nervous?"  She looked back and saw his amused expression.  "I told you it was
silly," she said, shaking her head.  "It's just that, this feels like our
first time.  Maybe it's the new house, the new clothes, the ring.  I don't
know."

Alex bit her ear gently.  "Wedding night jitters?  How incredibly traditional
of you, Katya," he murmured.  "That's just the effect I was going for."  She
looked back at him and smiled.  "I want you nervous; this is the final part
of the ritual.  Centuries ago the wedding ceremony wasn't considered complete
until the marriage had been consummated and the wedding sheet displayed to
prove the bride was a virgin."

Katie giggled.  "You do know I'm going to flunk that test."

"I think we can safely forego that part of the ceremony," he chuckled.  "But
not the part where I claim you for my very own.  I don't care how sexist that
sounds; after tonight, you're mine forever and no one will be able to change
that."

"I was yours the night I found you in that alley, Alexei."

"I know," he whispered, pushing the strap down slowly.  "But I need to finish
this my way."  The strap fell, revealing her left breast.  Alex's hand
brushed lightly across her.  He felt her inhale sharply and saw the nipple
harden.  "I'll be gentle; I promise," he whispered, as his fingers found
their way under the other strap.

The gown fell to her feet, leaving her naked before him.  She almost crossed
her arms to cover herself, but pushed the urge away.  'Cut it out, Katie.'
She closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder.  When Alex's
fingertips stroked the inside of her thigh, she felt her body tense and relax
at the same time.  'Oh yeah, I remember now.'  When he picked her up and
carried her to the bed, she nuzzled his neck and gently bit his earlobe. And
when he put her down and stood next to the bed to remove his pajamas, she
watched without blinking.

He stared back at her as she watched him undress.  When the last of his
clothing hit the floor, he climbed into bed, straddling her.  Alex smiled,
then kissed her tenderly.  His tongue licked at her lower lip, until she
opened her mouth to let him in.  His hand caressed her breast in the same
gentle manner.  He released her mouth and kissed a path down her neck to her
breast, while his hand dropped lower.  Katie made the sound he loved so much,
as his fingers moved inside her.

Katie ran her fingers through his hair.  "Alex," she whispered.

He lifted his head from her breast, reluctantly.  "What baby?"

"Now, please," she answered.  She felt his fingers leave her body as he
reached for their replacement.

"Last chance, Katya," Alex said, as he rubbed against her.

"I'm not going anywhere, Alexei."

Alex slid home, stroking in and out at a maddeningly slow pace.  Katie bucked
against him, trying to get him to speed up, but he never wavered.  "Not this
time, baby.   I said I'd be gentle and I meant it.  Trust me, I'll get you
there."  He felt her slow down and fall into step with his rhythm.  "That's
it.  No hurry; we've got all night."

Katie felt the pressure build bit by bit, with each stroke, until she knew
she was close to the end.  "God, Alex...don't stop."

"Let go, baby.  I'm right there with you," he panted.  He kept moving inside
her, his body shaking with the need to let go as well, but willed himself to
hang on.  He moved his hand down to stroke her, hoping his arm would support
him just a little bit longer.  As his fingers skimmed her clit, he whispered
in her ear, knowing that was the final push she needed.  "Let go, baby."
Katie cried out and clenched around him, bringing him along for the ride.

Alex let his body rest on hers, unwilling, and partially unable, to move.
When he felt able, he lifted up and looked down at her.  "I love you, Mrs.
Krycek."

Katie bit her lower lip and smiled.  "That's the first time you've called me
that."

"It wasn't real until now," he replied.

"Say it again."

"I love you, Mrs. Krycek."

"I love you, too, Mr. Krycek."
=============================

"You know, Mr. Krycek, for someone who said we shouldn't keep things from one
another, you seem to have an awful lot of secrets right now," Katie said.

Alex took one last picture of Katie standing next to the statue of Willie
Stargell, before responding.  "Like what, Mrs. Krycek?"

"Like, for instance, just where it is we're going on our honeymoon."

"Sorry, that's classified information.  What other secrets am I keeping from
you?"

"OK, how about the two other tickets?  I know you didn't invite anyone to use
them this time, and I also know that you're not going to let them go to
waste."

"Nope, not going to let that happen," he grinned.  "Come on, let's go watch
batting practice."

"Alex, don't be difficult."  When he simply reached for her hand, Katie
sighed.  "Fine, keep me in the dark, see if I care."

He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.  "We're going to
find some nice folks with nosebleed seats and offer them an upgrade, all
right?"

Katie smiled.  "More than all right."
=============================

"What do you think they're doing right now?" Matthew asked Tyler.

"What time is it?"

Matthew rolled over and looked at the clock.  "Eleven thirty," he yawned.

"The game starts at one, so they're at the stadium watching batting practice.
 Did Alex tell you what they're going to do with the other two tickets?"

Matthew frowned and rolled his eyes.  "He never tells me anything, you know
that, Ty.  You're his confidante."

"That's because you're lousy at keeping secrets, my love, especially where
Katie is concerned."

Matthew opened his mouth to protest, but shut it quickly at Tyler's sideways
glance.  "OK, I'll give him that.  Is it my fault she can read me like a
book?"

"We can all read you like a book, Matty.  You're far too innocent for your
own good; it's your most endearing quality," Tyler grinned.  He rolled
against Matthew, placed a hand on his chest and casually trailed his fingers
across Matthew's nipples.  "Like right now, you're thinking it's late and we
should get up and do something productive with the rest of the day."

"Wrong, book boy," Matthew replied.  He pushed Tyler on his back and
straddled him, pinning his arms to the mattress.  "I have no intention of
leaving this bed for the rest of the day.  You up to it?" he challenged.

Tyler raised his eyebrows.  "Ooooh, taking top today, Matty?  I love it.  I
was beginning to think you'd..."

Matthew swooped down on Tyler's mouth, stealing his air before Tyler could
complete his sentence.  When he pulled back, Ty's surprised expression made
him laugh.  "That's better.  Now shut up and kiss me."
=============================

"Jamie!"

Katie and Alex sidestepped just in time to avoid being run over by a small
boy.

The woman rushed down the aisle, stopping next to them.  "Sorry about that.
He's a bit excited about being here.  Are you ok?"

Alex laughed.  "Sure, just a little windblown," he winked.  "How old is he?"

"Ten, today," she answered.  "This is his birthday present and he insisted we
get here early to watch batting practice."

"Well sure," Katie said.  "You have to come for batting practice.  That's the
best time to get autographs."

"That's what Jamie said," she chuckled.  "Drove me crazy going through all
the baseball cards last night, trying to decide which ones to bring.  I told
him not to get his hopes up, but a little dreaming never hurt anyone, I
guess."

"Never hurt me," Katie agreed.  "I'm Katie.  This is my husband, Alex."

"Carol," she answered.  "You've already met Jamie."

"So, Carol, did you get good seats for the game today?" Alex asked.

"No, we're in center field, way up in the back.  The good seats are just too
expensive, even for a birthday present," she sighed.  "But, we're here and
that's better than nothing."  She looked down at her son leaning precariously
over the edge of the wall.  "Uh oh, I'd better go get him," she said, as she
sprinted down to the wall.

Alex and Katie exchanged glances.  "What do you think?"

"Absolutely."

They followed her down to the wall.  "Hey Jamie," Katie called out.  "Who's
your favorite player?"

Jamie grinned. "That's easy, Todd Ritchie.  We both pitch and I had his
number on my jersey in Little League last year.  I brought one of his cards
with me.  Wanna see it?"

"Sure."  Katie saw a familiar face out of the corner of her eye.  "You find
it for me, ok?  I'll be right back."

Jamie nodded as he leafed through his stack of cards.

Katie headed over to the dugout.  "Spin.  Hey, Spin," she shouted.

He turned back, spotted Katie and walked over to the wall.  "Katie," he said,
reaching up to grab her hand.  "Good to see you again.  When are you going to
write another book?  Finished the last one and there isn't anything else
worth reading out right now," he said with a wink.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she chuckled, shaking her head.  "I went and
got married yesterday."

"No kidding?  Who's the lucky guy?"

"See that handsome devil over there with the little boy?  That's my Alex.  He
bought me season tickets, so you'll be seeing us a lot this year."

"Be hearing you a lot too, I'm sure.  You planning on harassing my boys this
year?"

"Only when they suck, Spin," she giggled.  "Come on, you know I love the
team."

"Yeah, I know you do," he answered.

"I have a favor to ask; think you can help me out?"

"Depends, Katie.  Is it gonna get me in trouble with your husband?" he
teased.

"Not a chance," she grinned.   "Jamie, the little boy with Alex, is
celebrating his tenth birthday today.  His mother was able to get seats, but
they're way up in the nosebleed section.  Alex and I have two extra tickets,
so they're going to get to sit down here with us, if his mother agrees;
that's our contribution.  He's dying to meet anyone on the team, but
especially Ritchie.  Anything you can do to help me out here?"

Spin checked his watch.  "We've got the field for a few more minutes.  Hang
tight and I'll see what I can do."

"You're a prince among men, kiddo," Katie grinned.

"So they tell me," he chuckled.
=============================

"Are you sure?" Carol asked.

"I wouldn't offer, if I wasn't sure," Alex replied.  "Look, the seats are
just going to go to waste if you two don't take them."

Katie slipped in beside Alex and put her arms around him.  "Please take them?
 I can't stand to see good seats go unused."

"Well," Carol hesitated.

"Come on, you can help us celebrate our first full day of married life.  Hot
dogs, sodas, cotton candy until we explode...we'll combine forces and make a
big party out of it.  What do you say?"  Alex wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"Come on, you know you want to say yes."

"Besides, I have a plan in motion and if you go, Jamie might miss out," Katie
tempted.

"Why would you do this?  You don't even know us?" Carol asked.

"Because we can," Alex answered.

"Because Jamie has the same look in his eyes that I had the first time I
stepped into Three River," Katie answered.  "Ballparks are magical places
when you're ten.  Let us give him some of that magic."

"If you're sure..." she started.

"We're sure," Katie smiled.  Spin waved to her from the field.  "Oh good,
come on."  She ran down to get Jamie.  "Hey, sorry I took so long.  Did find
that card?"

"Yeah, found it right after you left.  Who was that guy you were talking to?"
he asked.

"That's Spin Williams, the pitching coach.  He's a friend of mine.  Want to
meet him?"

Jamie's face lit up.  "Yeah!"

"Well, come on, he's waiting for us," she said. =============================

Alex and Carol watched as Katie and Jamie ran over to the dugout wall.
"Should I know the man they're talking to?" Carol asked.

"He looks a little too old to be a player," Alex said.  "Maybe he's a coach.
I don't know, you'd have to ask Katie."

Katie looked back over her shoulder. "Come on you two.  Honestly, some people
are so slow," she teased.  She reached for Carol, pulling her forward.
"Spin, this is Carol.  Carol, Spin."

"Nice to meet you, Carol.  Think we can borrow your boy for a few minutes?  I
hear he's an ace pitcher, so I thought we'd let him give Ritchie a few
pointers before the game," he said with a grin.  "If that's ok with you," he
added.

Jamie whirled around to face his mom.  "Mom?  Please?"

Carol nodded, too stunned to form words.

"That looks like a yes to me, son.  Think you can handle jumping the wall?"

"Yes sir!" Jamie answered, as he swung himself over and down to the field.

"We'll have him back here before game time," Spin assured them.

Katie leaned over the wall and squeezed his shoulder.  "Thanks, Spin."

"You didn't tell me you had connections, Katya," Alex whispered.

"I haven't told you everything, Alexei.  A girl has to have some surprises
tucked away in her arsenal," she teased.  Katie turned to Carol.  "I don't
know about you, but I'm starving.  This one kept me up all night, then didn't
even bother to feed me."

"Hey, I offered to cook breakfast," Alex reminded her.  "You're the one
who..."

"OK, point taken," she said, cutting him off mid-sentence.  "Oh look, I think
Jamie's going to pitch to Ritchie.  Alex, go take some pictures.  Carol and I
are going for food."

Alex gave her a quick kiss, before leaving.  "Hurry back."
=============================

The game ended three and a half hours and two extra innings later, with the
Pirates pulling an 8-7 win over Chicago.  Jamie and Katie danced and cheered
as the Bucs left the field.

"Alex, I don't know how to thank you," Carol said.  "The tickets, the food,
the souvenirs, getting Jamie in to meet the players, it's all so unreal.
Don't misunderstand, I'm grateful for all of it, but I still don't really
understand why you did this."

He looked down at the ground, then over at Katie and Jamie. "I've done a lot
of damage in my life," he explained.  "This is my way of trying to make up
for some of it."

Carol stepped closer and gave him a hug.  "I don't know what you've done, but
as far as I'm concerned, your debt's been paid in full."
=============================

Katie stood on the balcony overlooking the Pacific, watching the waves crash
against the rocks.  It was midnight in California, but Alex was still on
Eastern Standard Time and had drifted off a few hours ago.  She'd slept for a
while, but awakened feeling restless.  The sound of the ocean drew her
outside and she found herself mesmerized by the water.

 She studied the area below her.  Rocks lined the sides of a small stretch of
sand, creating a private beach reminiscent of From Here to Eternity.  She'd
always scoffed at the overly romanticized vision that scene presented, but
now, she began to rethink her position.  Yes, she could easily see the two of
them recreating it there on the sand.

Alex woke and reached for Katie, only to find himself alone in their bed.  He
looked over at the clock, noting that it was almost one, before getting up to
look for her.  Didn't take him long to spot her standing on the balcony.
Quietly, he snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Katie jumped.  "Jesus Alex!  You scared the shit out of me."

"Where were you?" he asked, before kissing her neck.

She moved her head to the side, giving him full access to her skin.  "On the
beach, rerunning old movie scenes."

"Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr rolling in the surf?"

"How did you know?"

"First thing I thought of when I saw this place."

Katie turned to look at him.  "So, ever tried to reenact that particular
scene with anyone?"

"Never brought anyone here before."

"Oh."

"Does that surprise you?"

"Yeah, it does."  She looked out at the ocean.   "It's so beautiful here, I
just assumed you'd taken advantage of it."

Alex moved to stand beside her, resting his arms on the railing.  "I'm not
saying I was monk, Katie.  I had more than my share of encounters, but most
were of the hit-and-run variety.  The few relationships I did manage to have
were out of convenience more than any real emotion.  I used them, they used
me, we both got our rocks off for the time we were together, but they were
never designed to last.  The only other woman I ever felt anything for,
turned out to be the biggest user of them all."

"Would that be Marita?"

"How do you know her name?"

Katie leaned against the railing. "Scully told me a little about her.  Said
she was a real bitch and that she betrayed you in every sense of the word.
Sounds like a lovely individual," she added with a frown.

"Marita had her moments," he said, as he stared out at the water.  "She
played the game well and in the end, she got what she deserved."

Katie nodded and turned back toward the ocean.  "Good," she said quietly.

Alex turned to look at her. "Don't," he said, shaking his head.  "I said she
got what she deserved, but I never said I felt good about it.  I wouldn't
wish what happened to her on anyone."

Katie lowered her head.  "Sorry, that was vindictive.  I didn't know her, so
I have no right to judge."  She turned to the side to look at him.  "I have a
problem with anyone who sets out to hurt you, you know that," she smiled.

He chuckled.  "Yeah, I remember.  No more taking punches for me, right?"

"I promise, I won't stand in the way of any more punches from Mulder."

"Or anyone else?" he asked.

"I never said that."

"Katya," Alex warned.  "No more.  I can take care of myself."

"I know that Alexei, but I heal faster.  Besides, you'd take one for me and
this is an equal partnership, right?"

"You can be so difficult sometimes," Alex answered with a sigh.  "OK, will
you at least promise that you won't defend me, physically, when you're
pregnant."

Katie smiled.  "When," she repeated.  "I can't get over the idea that it
could really happen."

Alex reached out and stroked her cheek.  "Scully said you were healing, so
maybe by the end of the summer..."  He sighed and pulled his hand away from
her cheek.  "All right, stop distracting me.  Promise me now."

"I promise.  Now, want to go down to the beach and put Deborah Kerr and Burt
Lancaster to shame?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Um sweetheart, you do realize that it's April," he asked.

"Yes dear, I'm aware of the date," she replied.  "What's your point?"

"It's a little nippy outside, right now."

"So, we'll warm each other up."

"Not the point, Katya."

"What is the point, Alexei.  We have the perfect beach, the perfect time of
night and the perfect partner, what's the problem?" she asked, with a grin.
Katie knew full well what he was getting at; she was just feeling evil and
wanted to see how far she could push him before his blurted out the real
problem

Alex sighed and tried again. "The location, time and partner aren't in
question.  It's just that, contrary to popular belief, the Pacific Ocean
isn't warm all year 'round," he hinted.

"So?"  She bit her lip, trying to look innocent, all the while fighting the
giggles welling up inside.  "Look, if you don't want to, all you have to do
is say so.  I'm not going to push you into doing anything you don't want to
do.  I just thought that since it was dark and secluded, that we'd be safe
from prying eyes."

"Again, not the point," he said, looking uncomfortable.

"Then what is the point?" she asked.  Oh Katie, you're really pushing it, she
thought.

Alex rubbed his eyes and scowled.  "You really need me to spell it out?"

"Guess so."

"It's April, the water is cold, one wave up my shorts and you'll need a
magnifying glass to locate my testicles," he blurted out.  "Happy now?"
Katie doubled over laughing and Alex realized that he'd been had.  "You
bitch!" he snickered.

"If you could have seen your face," she forced out between laughs.

Alex lashed out and smacked her on the ass.  Katie yelped in surprise and
jumped away from him.  "You want to fight dirty, little girl?" he asked, as
he advanced on her.  She continued to back away, never breaking eye contact,
until she bumped into the glass door.  "Rule number one," he said.  "Always
have a way out."  He put one arm on either side of her, trapping her against
the door.  "Now what are you going to do?"  She ducked and tried to slip out
under his arms, but he was too quick for her.  "Uh, uh, baby.  I've got you
cornered."  He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands up over her head,
holding both of them in place with his right hand, while he pulled the sash
free from her bathrobe with his left.  The robe fell open, partially exposing
her to the cool night air.  He dangled the sash in front of her.  "So
tempting," he teased.  He dropped the sash on the deck.  "But not tonight."

"Just what do you have in mind for tonight?"

"I thought I'd play with my favorite toy," he answered, as he gently bit her
earlobe.

"Toy?  Oh really, Alexei?  When did I become an object?"

Katie asked with amusement.

"You love it and you know it.  You've always been in control, always been the
one to make the hard decisions."  He removed his hand from her wrists,
pushing her hair away from her face.   "I take away your control, remove all
choice from the equation, leaving you to do nothing but enjoy." Alex kissed
her lips, then her neck. His hands touched her breasts and he felt her start
at the sensation.  "Sorry," he whispered.  "This one doesn't warm up very
well, but that's a part of it too, isn't it?  You like that; it keeps you
slightly off-balance. It turns you on more than you might be willing to
admit."  His hand fell to her curls and he brushed a finger lower, feeling
the evidence of her arousal.  He looked at her, waiting for her to say
something, surprised when she didn't.  "No argument, Katya?  No fight this
time?" he asked.

"No," she said quietly.  "You're right.  Besides, even if I did want to
argue, I've already blown my best defense," she chuckled.

"How so?"

"Look where my hands are," she answered, lifting her eyes upward.  "You let
go of my wrists a few minutes ago, yet my hands are right where you left
them.  Doesn't leave much room for debate."

"No, I guess it doesn't," he whispered.  Alex raised his hands to her face,
caressed her cheeks and brushed his thumbs across her lips.  His hands moved
slowly down her neck and over her breasts.  He lingered there teasing her,
backing off a bit every time she pushed against his hands.  When he sensed
that she couldn't take much more, he lowered his head to her breast, circled
the nipple with his tongue, before latching on with his mouth and pulling it
in.

Katie whimpered when he pulled away.  The cool breeze blew across her damp
flesh and she shivered.  He reached for her hands and pulled them down.
"Alex?"

"You're cold," he answered.  "Let's go inside," he said, as he slid the glass
door open.

She nodded and allowed him to lead her back inside the house.
=============================


Matthew rubbed his temples and frowned.  "Mulder wants you to do what?"

"He wants me to go with him to inspect an underground facility," Tyler
repeated.

"Without official clearance, in the middle of the night, with three guys
we've never met acting as your safety net?  Oh yeah, Ty, this sounds like a
good idea."

Tyler sighed and continued packing.  "Look, these guys, Mulder calls them the
Lone Gunmen, say that security is almost non-existent right now.  Apparently
there are other facilities that need the extra manpower, so they've left only
a skeleton crew to watch over this place.  The Gunmen have been watching the
night shift and say that the guys working it spend most of the night getting
stoned and watching TV in the rec room.  It's no big deal.  Hand me my black
sweater."

Matthew tossed him the sweater. "Tyler!  These guys are going to be armed and
I'd be willing to bet they have orders to shoot first and ask questions
later.  You can't go.  I won't let you."

Tyler zipped the bag and slung it over his shoulder.  "I am going.  Mulder
needs me."

"I need you," Matthew said quietly.

Tyler slumped, letting the bag drop to the floor.  "Matthew," he said,
raising his head to look at his lover.  "This is all I have to offer.  You're
a doctor; your part in this is already written.  Everyone has a role to play
to prepare for the inevitable; this is mine.  I know about these structures.
I know what to look for, how to fix problems, I have to do this.  Can't you
understand?"

"What if something happens?"

"Mulder swears by these guys; nothing will happen."

"That's not good enough, Ty."

Tyler put his arms around Matthew.  "When the time comes, we're going to need
a safe place to go.  We can't wait until the last minute to look around.
There's too much to be done, baby.  I have to go."

Matthew clung to Tyler.  "I know," he whispered.  "Promise me you'll be
careful."

"I promise."

"Call me as soon as you get back to the hotel."

"I will."  He gently pushed Matthew away.  "I have to go now.  I love you."

Matthew pulled him back and kissed him. "I love you, too."

Tyler smiled.  "See you tomorrow night.  You better eat while I'm gone.  I
don't want to come back and find you've been living on cheese and crackers."

Matthew nodded and tried to smile as he watched Tyler close the door behind
him.  He walked over to the window and watched Ty get into the car.  When the
car was out of sight, he sank to the floor.  "Please God, take care of him,"
he said through his tears.
=============================

Katie paced the kitchen as Alex put away the last of the dishes. "What's
wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know.  Something doesn't feel right," she answered.  "I can't put my
finger on it, but something..." she sighed.  "Oh forget it, maybe it's just
jet lag."

"You sure?  Want to call home and check on Matthew and Tyler?"

"No, they're fine.  It's me.  I feel all weird inside, kind of like
everything's vibrating really low.  You know how a Magic Fingers bed feels
just after the machine turns off.  It's not vibrating anymore, but you can
still feel it inside for a few minutes?  That's how I feel."

Alex slipped his arms around her and bit her neck.  "I always knew I had
'magic fingers'," he teased.  "Now I have proof."

Katie chuckled.  "That's it.  You're just so good, baby, that I'm still
feeling the effects."

Alex chuckled. "Seriously, are you going to be all right?  We don't have to
go today, if you're not up to it."  He thought for a moment.  "We still have
almost two weeks before you start, right?  Do you think this could be
related?"  He pulled away and went to get the phone.  "I'm going to call
Scully."

"No, don't.  I'm sure it's nothing, Alex.  It's probably just jet lag, like I
said.  Come on, you promised we could go to Disneyland today."

"You'll tell me if it gets worse?"

"Of course."

"Katya, I mean it.  If you start feeling worse, tell me.  We can't afford to
take any chances because you're too stubborn to admit when something's wrong.
 There's too much at stake."

Katie reached out and touched his arm.  "I know.  The future of major league
baseball rests in my hands," she said with a wink.  He stared her down,
clearly not amused by her attempt at levity.  "OK, I promise I'll tell you if
I start feeling worse.  Furthermore, I promise that if this doesn't clear up
in the next day or so, I'll call Scully myself, all right?"

"I'm going to hold you to that," he warned.

"I know," she sighed.  "You've made that abundantly clear on more than one
occasion."

"I thought so, but I haven't seen proof of comprehension yet," he teased.

"Ha, ha," Katie replied.  "Are we going or what?"
=============================

"Here," Byers said, pointing to the map.  "For the past three nights, the
security crew has checked this spot between nine and nine-fifteen; after
that, nothing.  They head back to the comfort of the lounge, light up and pop
in a video of questionable taste."

"Your kind of entertainment, Mulder," Frohike offered with a nod.

Mulder shoved his hands in his pockets, as Scully smirked.  Tyler looked
puzzled.  He gave Mulder a sideways glance, then shifted his eyes toward
Scully.  She gave him a look and suddenly he was up to speed.  'Oh,' he
thought.  'That kind of movie.'  He fought back a chuckle.

"Anyway," Byers said, clearing his throat.  "By midnight, they're all asleep,
so we should have a good four hours to inspect this part of the facility."

"Four hours?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah," Langly said.  "We'd have longer, if this one guy wasn't so regular.
Every morning at four-twenty, this dude wakes up and hits the bathroom.  You
can set your watch by him," Langly snickered.

"Is that going to be enough time, Tyler?" Mulder asked.

Tyler thought for a minute before answering.  "Should be.  There are specific
areas I need to check first and if these prove to be as sound as the plans
indicate they should be, then we'll be fine.  Obviously, I'd like to able to
go over the whole place with a fine-toothed comb, but we don't have that
luxury," he added.

"But you can cover the key areas within the four-hour time frame?" Scully
asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Tyler answered.  "In the old days I probably could have
done it in two and a half."  He paused.   "It's been a long time."

"You'll be fine," Scully said, patting his arm.  "It'll all come back to
you."

"I hope so."
=============================

Matthew locked the door behind him and went straight over to the answering
machine.  One message.  He hit the play button.

"High mortgage payments?  Want a better interest rate?  Call Fidelity..."

"Oh, fuck this." Matthew cut off the message and rewound the tape.  He hadn't
really expected a message from Tyler, but it hadn't stopped him from letting
his hopes rise when he saw the blinking message light.   He touched the
receiver, closing his fingers around it as he thought about calling Katie.
Shaking his head, he let go and walked into the kitchen.
=============================

Katie looked at the crowds going in and out of the different shops on Main
Street.  The vague vibrating feeling hadn't gone away, but she'd been able to
forget about it for most of the day, the rumbling of the rides temporarily
masking the other sensation.  Now, standing in the middle of Main Street, the
sensation seemed to be growing stronger.  She tightened her grip on Alex's
hand.

Alex squeezed back automatically and pointed down the street.  "There it is,"
he said.  "Come on."  He pulled at her hand and started off, stopping short
when she didn't move with him.  "Katie?" Her eyes met his.  "What's wrong?"

"I think I need to sit down," she answered softly.

He led her to a bench and sat down beside her.  "It's getting worse, isn't
it?"  She nodded.  "When did it start?"

"Just now."

Alex frowned at her.  "Just now?"

"Yes, Alex, just now," she sighed.  "Take me home?"

Alex pulled her to her feet and put his arm around her waist.  "Come on, I'll
have you home in no time."

Katie smiled weakly.  "My hero."
=============================

"What did I tell you?  Eleven thirty and the last of our fearless security
guards is on his way to Slumbertown," Byers said smugly.

Mulder looked at the monitor. "Let's give it another fifteen minutes, then
we'll move in."

Tyler paced, wishing, not for the first time, that he was anywhere but in
that room.
=============================

The vibrating increased with each passing mile and Katie was finding it more
and more difficult to be confined to the car.  The seatbelt was causing her
so much distress, that she unbuckled it and flung it away from her.

"Take it easy, Katya.  We'll be home soon."

Katie ignored him, tapping her fingers on the dash, trying desperately to
distract herself from the buzzing sensation in her head.   It wasn't working;
she had to get out of the car.  "Alex, pull over."

"We'll be home soon," he repeated.  A hand clutched at his leg.  He turned
and saw Katie looking wild-eyed.

"Alex, please.  I have to get out of this car."

Her voice was even, eerily calm, not the usual agitated pitch it took on
during one of her panic attacks.  Unnerved by both the request and the manner
in which it was made, Alex pulled off the road.  Katie opened her door and
jumped out as the car rolled to a stop.  He pulled the key from the ignition
and ran after her.  Alex watched as she stopped in the middle of the field
and sat down.

"I'm not crazy," she said, as he sat down beside her.  "It's in the air.
Can't you hear it?"

"Hear what?" he asked.

"The humming.  It's everywhere."  Alex reached up and put his hand on her
forehead, only to have her slap it away.  "Damn it, Alex!  It's not me," she
said, patting the ground.  "Something's happening."

Alex looked into the distance.  "So what do you want to do?  Do we sit here
in the middle of this field until your panic attack subsides, or do we get
back in the car and drive home?"

"Don't be patronizing," she snapped.  "You want me to tell you how I'm
feeling, when I'm feeling it, then you treat me like a simpleton when I do.
I am not having a panic attack; something..." Just then the ground rumbled
underneath them.

Alex turned and looked at her, wide-eyed.  Before he could say anything, a
second, harder tremor hit, making the ground undulate beneath them.  He
grabbed Katie, pulled her against him and held on tight.

"I told you something was wrong," she yelled.

Alex didn't respond, for once in his life, he was too scared to comment.

Katie closed her eyes.  She should be frightened, after all, the ground
didn't ordinarily do this, but she found herself relaxing as the ground
rippled and rolled under her.

When the tremors stopped, they sat there quietly.  Alex was still holding on
to Katie for dear life.  She felt him shaking and turned in his arms to
comfort him.  "It's all over now, sweetheart."  She kissed him tenderly.
"It's all right."

"The ground just tried to drop out from under us, how can you be so calm?" he
asked.

"Easy, it took away my control, leaving me with nothing else to do but
enjoy," she chuckled.  "Besides, once it started, the vibrating and humming
in my head, stopped.  This is the best I've felt all day."  She brushed the
hair away from his face and kissed his forehead.  "How are you doing?  Think
you can stand?"

Alex shook his head.  "Can we just sit here for a little while longer?"

"Sure, I'm in no hurry," she answered. =============================

Matthew flipped channels for lack of anything better to do, having abandoned
thoughts of sleep an hour ago.  He stopped at a newscast and watched as the
reporter made her way through the rubble.   "...crews will be working through
the night to recover the victims still trapped inside this East LA apartment
building.  In all, seven residents remain unaccounted for.  This is Andrea
Davis, for CNBC."

Matthew was about to change the channel when the desk anchor directed a
question to the field reporter.  "Andrea, have you heard a measurement for
tonight's earthquake?"

"Bill, experts are saying that tonight's quake registered a 6.5 on the
Richter scale, making this the second strongest to directly affect the Los
Angeles area, in the last ten years.  Only the 1994 Northridge quake
registered higher at 6.7."

"Katie," Matthew whispered.  He reached for the phone and dialed.
=============================

The phone rang and Katie grinned at Alex.  "Told you he'd be awake," she
said.

"You don't know that it's him," Alex replied, before picking up the phone. He
looked at the screen, rolled his eyes and handed her the phone.

 "Hi Kid.  We're fine," Katie said, trying not to giggle at Alex.

"Oh thank, God," Matthew said.  "I was so worried.  I didn't want to call you
on your honeymoon.  Promised myself I wouldn't, but when I saw the news..."

"What are you doing up so late anyway?  Is everything all right?"

Matthew hesitated.  "Yeah, everything's fine.  I just couldn't sleep."

"Kid, don't you know better than to lie to me by now?  I can tell something's
wrong without even looking at you.  Now spill it."

"No, really, everything's fine.  I got scared, that's all," he lied.

"Uh, huh.  OK, put Tyler on," she said.  "I'll ask him what's going on."

'Shit!' he thought.  "Um, I can't do that right now."

"Why not?  I know he didn't sleep through this, and don't even try to tell me
that he's in the bathroom."

"He's not here, Hanna," Matthew sighed.

"What do you mean, he's not there?" she asked.  "Where is he?"  Alex slid in
next to her.  'What's up?' he mouthed.  Katie shrugged her shoulders.  "Kid,
where is he?" she repeated.

Matthew knew he was screwed.  Katie and Tyler were both going to be mad at
him when this was over, Tyler, for calling her after promising that he
wouldn't and Katie for not calling her when Ty set off on his adventure with
Mulder.  This was a textbook, no-win situation.  "I'll tell you, but you're
not going to like it."

Katie listened as he explained, trying to come up with the words to make him
feel better.  "I know you're scared for him, Kid.  He'll be all right."

"You promise?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do.  I haven't broken a promise to you yet, have I?"

"Well..."

"Let me rephrase that.  I haven't broken an 'important' promise to you yet,
have I?"

"No."

"OK, then.  Look, I want you to try to get some sleep.  Ty will call as soon
as he can and after he does, I want you to call me back so I can gloat," she
said with a smile.

Matthew smiled in spite of himself.  "OK, I'll try.  Say hi to Alex for me."

"I will."

"And hey, I love you."

"I love you, too.  I'll talk to you in a little while.  Now say goodnight,
Gracie."

"Goodnight Gracie."

Matthew hung up the phone and went to bed, hoping that Katie was right,
knowing that she probably was.

Katie handed the phone back to Alex, who put it back on the nightstand.
"Mulder called Ty to go inspect a facility.  They're going in tonight and
Matthew's not handling it very well."

"They're going in so soon?" Alex asked.

"Why does that surprise you?  Isn't this how you expected Mulder to react,
once he decided to believe you?"

"Well, yeah, it's just that..." he paused.

"It's just that you expected to be going along, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess."

"You're going to have to learn to let them do their jobs, Alexei.  Mulder has
access to the plans and the services of the Lone Gunmen. Tyler has the
technical knowledge.  Sorry, but they're the ones best suited for this, don't
you think?"

"He's got those computer geeks involved in this?" Alex asked, rubbing his
head.

"You know these guys?"

"We've met."

"And?"

"They're the best," he sighed.  "A little strange, but they get the job done
and, most importantly, they can be trusted."

"A little strange?  Hmmm, I can't wait to meet them then," she grinned.

Alex chuckled.  "You'll like them, they're an interesting trio.  I just wish
Mulder had mentioned this to me."

"When, at the wedding?  Dana would have killed him if he'd so much as
mentioned it to you.  Hell, I would have killed him," she added.  "Let it go.
 We'll call them after we talk to Matthew later and find out how it went."
She smiled at him as the vibrating in her body started again.  'Aftershock,'
she thought.  A wicked idea entered her head.  "In the meantime, let's see if
we can find a way to distract you."  She pushed him down on the bed.  "If we
time this just right, the earth might really move for both of us," she
giggled.

"It's starting again?" he asked.

"Yeah, just now.  Should have known it wouldn't go away completely.  There
are still aftershocks to be dealt with."  She leaned down and kissed him.
"Think you can handle it, baby?"

"You or the aftershock?" he asked, with a grin.

"Both.  Tonight, we're a matched set," she answered.  "Who knows, maybe the
added motion will be lucky for us.  Might shake something loose."

He reached up and brushed the hair away from her face. "Don't get your hopes
up, Katya.  It's too early.  Scully said we're looking at mid-summer before
you'll be healed enough to conceive."

"I know.  It's just that, now that the possibility is here, I realize how
badly I wanted it all along.  Does that make sense?" she asked.

"It makes perfect sense to me," he answered.  He tugged at her shirt.  "Now
get these clothes off woman, time's a-wastin'."
=============================

"Mulder," Langly said into the microphone.  "Get out of there.  Mr.
Regularity is starting to wake up.  I knew that chili was gonna come back to
haunt us."

Mulder tapped Tyler's shoulder and motioned for him to follow.  "Where is he
now, Langly?"

"He's just getting off the couch.  Hold up, I'll tell you when it's safe to
move."  Langly watched as Mr. Regularity pushed himself up, made his way over
to the bathroom and shut the door.  "OK, he's in.  Go now."

Taking a deep breath, Mulder and Ty slipped quietly past the door to the
lounge and raced for the main entrance.  Scully was waiting for them.  "Come
on, Byers has the car running.  Let's get out of here."

Few words were exchanged in the car, but once they were back at the hotel,
Tyler gave them his report.  Mulder, Scully and the boys listened intently as
he ran through his technical analysis of the structure and the problems he
found.  As Tyler got deeper into his explanation, Mulder cut him off.  "I'm
not an architect or a structural engineer, Ty, so much of what you're saying
doesn't mean a lot to me.  Bottom line, is this facility safe for
habitation?"

"Bottom line?  Yes, it's usable.  It'll require some work, but it has
potential," Tyler answered.  "What do you think about the hospital, Scully?
Structurally, it's sound, but it looks woefully outdated.  How hard would it
be to update the equipment?"

"Actually, it's not too bad.  Some of the equipment is new, within the last
ten years, so we could make do with much of it, as is.  My biggest concern
would be making sure we had enough of the consumable items we'd need,
medicine, bandages, sutures, that kind of thing.  It looks like the bulk of
those kinds of item were removed when the facility stopped being used."

Mulder nodded at her.  "Then that's a place for you to start.  We'll need to
secure a storage unit somewhere and start stockpiling those things.  The
medicine will have to wait until later, but we can begin by storing the other
items you mentioned."  He looked over at Tyler.  "So we know that the main
power supply areas and the hospital are sound, what about living quarters?"

"The one area we looked at is in good shape.  We have enough living space to
accommodate a few hundred people.  Assuming the others are in the same
condition and if the plans are correct, theoretically, we have the space to
house over one hundred thousand people."

"We're not going to need all that space," Mulder said.  "Not for a very long
time anyway.  Hopefully, by the time we reach that stage, we should have a
way of defeating the aliens and be able to return to the surface."  He
glanced over at the Gunmen.  "All right boys, dig up everything you can find
on Raven Rock and get it to Tyler ASAP.  I also want the latest geological
survey of the area and anything else you might think of.  You're to stay in
close contact with him and set him up with whatever he needs; he's in
charge."

"Wait a minute, Mulder," Tyler said.  "What am I supposed to do with all of
this information?  What am I in charge of?"

"You're designing the first post-invasion, underground habitat," Mulder
answered, as if this should have been obvious to Tyler in the first place.

"Me?"

"Oh Christ, he's gonna go chickenshit on us," Frohike frowned.

Tyler turned and glared at Frohike.  "I'm not going chickenshit on anyone.
It would have been nice if I'd been informed about this before, however."

"Mulder, you mean to tell me that you never actually talked to Tyler about
doing this?" Scully asked.

"Katie's in, Matthew's in, I just assumed that Tyler would be in as well.  I
didn't think I needed to ask," he explained.  "Are you in, Tyler?"

"Yeah, of course I'm in.  You just caught me off guard," Tyler answered.

"Good.  See Scully, no problem."

"I think what Mulder means, is thank you, Tyler.  We appreciate your help,"
Scully said, raising an eyebrow at Mulder.

"Yeah, right, Ty.  Thanks," Mulder muttered.

"Just stepping in to do my part," Tyler replied.  "Besides, if I backed out,
Katie would kick my ass."

Byers and Langly grinned.  "Katie sounds like my kind of woman," Frohike
chuckled.

"Somehow, I have a feeling she's going to like you, as well, Frohike," Tyler
grinned.  "All right, if we're done here, I need to make a call and get some
sleep."

"Go ahead," Mulder nodded. "We'll see you in the morning.  Breakfast, say
ten?  That will give us time to answer any last minute questions before we
have to head home."

"See you then," Tyler answered.  "Good night everyone."

"'Night," Frohike, Byers and Langly said, in unison.

Tyler headed over to the door with Scully right behind him. "Sleep well,
Tyler.  Say hi to Matthew for me," she added.

Tyler smiled. "I will."
=============================

Matthew stared at the ceiling.  He'd tried to go to sleep, using every trick
he could think of, but nothing helped.  Katie said that Tyler would be all
right and he clung to that with every fiber of his being.  He knew she was
right and that he was being ridiculous, but until he heard Tyler's voice,
there would be no sleep.

He looked over at the clock.  The digital display read 4:55.  'Damn it, where
is he?'  Matthew covered his face with both hands and willed the phone to
ring.  He was startled when it did and reached over quickly to grab the
receiver, smacking himself on the head with it, in his haste.  "Ow, shit.
Tyler?"

"Yeah, it's me.  What happened?"

"Dropped the phone on my head," Matthew grumbled.  "Did everything go all
right?"

"Everything went as planned.  No problems.  Now, I'm going to get some sleep
and you need to do the same.  You haven't slept at all, have you?"

"No, I haven't.  It's been a long night.  There was an earthquake in Southern
California, so between worrying about you and worrying about Katie, there
wasn't much time for sleep."

"Are Katie and Alex all right?" Tyler asked.  "Have you heard from them?"

"Yeah, I finally broke down and called them, they're fine.  Now I have to
call them back and let them know that you're all right as well."

"You told them where I was?"

"I didn't mean to," Matthew protested.

Tyler sighed.  "It's a good thing you decided to go into medicine, baby.
You'd have made a lousy spy."

"You coming home soon?" he asked, hating the pathetic tone in his voice.

"Yeah, I'll be there when you get home from work and I'll fill you in on
everything," he answered.  "Now, call Katie and let her know all is well,
then you get some sleep.  Oh, Dana says hi."

"Tell her hi for me.  Drive carefully tomorrow.  I love you."

"I love you, too.  See you in a few hours."

"OK.  Bye."

"Bye."

They each hung up their phones.  Tyler crawled under the covers and went
straight to sleep.  Matthew dialed Katie's number.  "Hey Hanna.  He's fine.
He'll be home tonight."



"Everyone all right?" Alex mumbled.

"Everyone's safe and sound," she answered.  "Go back to sleep."

"Mmmm," was all he managed before drifting off.  Katie smiled and watched him
for a moment, before getting out of bed.  She padded across the floor and
picked up his shirt, haphazardly buttoning a few of the buttons.  An idea was
rolling around in her head and she wanted to write it down before she forgot.

She felt her way down the stairs, not wanting to turn on a light and risk
waking Alex.  The laptop was on the table in living room and she was fairly
certain she could manage to find it with the existing light coming from
outside.

Two hours later, the idea down, she crept back up to the bedroom and went to
sleep.

Alex woke and looked at Katie, asleep beside him.  He didn't get to watch her
sleep very often, usually only when she was sick.  Most of the time she was
awake before he was, depriving him of this simple pleasure.  He pulled back
the covers, saw that she was wearing his shirt and smiled at the misaligned
buttons.  'She's been writing,' he deduced.  His fingers touched the buttons,
slowly slipped each from its hole and pushed the shirt away from her body.
'Much better.'  Alex rose slowly, he should probably let her sleep, but he'd
awakened a few times lately, to the touch of his lady's mouth and he wanted
the opportunity to pay her back in kind.

Katie struggled out of her slumber and realized that this was not a vivid
dream, but a vivid reality.  She moaned as his tongue made another pass over
her.  "Hey buddy," she panted.  "Better make it quick, my husband should be
back any time now."

Alex looked up at her and chuckled.  "Let him watch.  Might teach him a thing
or two about reciprocity."  He slipped two fingers inside her, stroking
gently, letting his thumb caress her clit.

 She was close; he pushed a little further, then stopped, making her whimper
in frustration.  "Alex," she whined.

He grinned up at her.  "You love it and you know it," he whispered.

"If I say yes, will you go back to what you were doing?" she asked.

He answered, not with words, but with a thrust.  His mouth lowered and he
teased her with his tongue, never letting his fingers falter from their pace.
 Soon, she tightened around his fingers and he felt her release.  When she'd
stilled, he kissed her stomach.  "Nice way to wake up, isn't it?"

"There is a certain appeal, yes," she smiled.  "Now that I'm awake, what do
you plan on doing with me?"

Alex moved up so his face was inches from hers.  "I plan fucking you
senseless," he growled.

"Mmmm, good plan," she replied.  "But you have it wrong."  She pushed him on
to his back and straddled him.  "I'm driving this time."
=============================

Tyler put down the fork and wiped his mouth with the napkin.  "You know, the
hardest part is going to be convincing Katie to leave the loft and move into
the facility, when the time comes."

"I don't see that she's going to have much choice in the matter," Scully
said.  "Besides, I'm sure Alex will be able to make her see the logic in the
move."

"Logic has nothing to do with it," he replied.  "That place is her fortress
and I have a feeling she's not going to give it up without a fight."

"Well, we'll deal with that when the time comes," Mulder said.  "Right now,
that's the least of our concerns.  Speaking of Katie, when do they get back
from California?"

"Couple of weeks," Tyler answered.  "They had their own bit of excitement out
there last night," he added.  "Matthew says there was an earthquake.  The
news report I saw this morning said it hit 6.5."

"My God," said Scully.  "Are they all right?"

"Guess so," he answered.  "Matthew spoke to them last night and since he's
still home, I'm going to assume that everyone is fine.  If Katie had gotten
hurt, Matthew would have been on the first available flight.  Katie managed
to pry my whereabouts out of him, so I hope you weren't looking to keep this
a secret from Alex."  He looked at Mulder's pained expression.   "Oh, oh,
looks like you have some 'splainin' to do, Lucy," Tyler joked.

"I told you we should have let them in our plans," Mulder muttered.

"I'll take care of it when they get back, Mulder," Scully offered.  "It's my
fault they didn't know."

"That's not the point.  Krycek's going to blame this on me, accuse me of
sneaking around behind his back," he said, resting his head in his hand.

"You underestimate him, Mulder," Tyler said softly.  "He's not a bad guy.  If
you had mentioned this to him at the wedding, Katie would have been pissed.
We had a window of opportunity and we had to jump on it.  If we put it to him
that way, he'll understand."

"You don't know Krycek," Mulder grumbled.

"And you don't know Alex," Tyler countered.  "He's not the same man you knew;
I wish you'd believe that."

"I have to agree with him, Mulder," Scully said.  "Remember what you said to
me after Luther Lee Boggs was executed?  After all you've seen, after all the
evidence, why can't you believe?"

"Same reason you gave me at the time, Scully.  I'm afraid to believe.  My
question to you, is how can you believe so easily?"

"Sometimes you just have to make a leap.  In this case, I don't see it as
much of one.  I've watched him, Mulder, so have you.  Can you honestly tell
me you still think he's lying?"

"I can honestly say that I'm not as suspicious of him and that's the best I
can do, for now," Mulder answered.  =============================

"See what I mean about the water?" Alex asked.

"Yes!  My God, I never thought it would be that cold," Katie answered.  "All
thoughts of sex in the surf are hereby suspended, until the water warms up.
Maybe we should plan to come back in August."

"Sure.  Anytime you want."  Alex sat on the sand and gazed out at the water.
"I love it here."

Katie sat down beside him. "It's beautiful," she admitted.  "But I couldn't
live here all the time.  I like the change of seasons and the snow.  The sun
is nice, but I need the long, dark winters."

He turned to look at her. "Be careful what you wish for," Alex warned.  "When
it begins, you may have to eat those words.  A few years in Mulder's
underground facility and you're going to find yourself begging for a few
minutes of sunshine."  He looked back out at the water.  "I wish they'd let
me know what they were doing."

"I know you do." Katie got up and extended her hand to him.  "Come on."

He took her hand and got up.  "Where are we going?"

"Back to the house.  I want you to call Mulder and find out what happened
last night, so you'll stop moping about being left out."

"I'm not moping," he protested.

"OK, maybe moping isn't the right word.  You're feeling out of the loop.
We'll go in, you'll talk to Mulder, then you'll feel better."

They walked back to the house.  Alex went into the kitchen to get something
to drink, while Katie ran upstairs to grab the phone.  She considered dialing
the number herself, but decided against it.  She'd gotten them started, now
Alex and Mulder needed to work on communicating with one another on their
own.  She ran back down the stairs and handed him the phone.

"I poured you a drink.  It's on the counter," he said, as he took the phone
from her.

"Thanks.  Look, before you call him, I want you to think about what you're
going to say.  You two don't exactly have a good track record in the
conversation department.  You're not mad at him, are you?"

Alex shrugged. "No, I guess not.  Assuming that you're right and they didn't
know that they would be able to get into the facility until shortly before
the wedding, he was right not to say anything to me.  If he had, we would
have been there, instead of here," he said.

"And chances are, that in spite of how important I know this is, I would have
been royally pissed at both of you," Katie added.

"Something I'm sure that Scully would have stressed to Mulder," Alex
chuckled.

"OK, so we've established that the intent was not to go behind your back and
keep you from being involved, but to allow us a worry-free honeymoon.  Am I
right?" she asked.

"Yes, you're right," he agreed.

"So, no jumping down his throat for not keeping you informed."

"I won't.  I'll ask how it went and what they found out.  How does that
sound?" he asked.

"Just try not to sound pissed off, all right?"

"I'll try, but Mulder's going to hear what he wants to hear," he sighed, as
he dialed the number.

"I think you underestimate him, Alexei," Katie said quietly.

"Mulder? It's Alex."

Mulder glanced over to Scully.  'Krycek,' he mouthed.  "Shouldn't you be
playing in the surf or something, Krycek?"

Scully smacked him on the arm and frowned.  "Stop it," she hissed.

Alex bit his lower lip and paused before answering.  Katie gave him a puzzled
look, but he ignored her.  "Yeah, probably, Mulder, but the water's a little
too cool for my tastes.  You know why I'm calling."

Katie rolled her eyes at him and shook her head.  "Oh, great start."

'What?' Alex mouthed.  He closed his eyes and started again.  "OK, let me
rephrase that.  What did you find out last night?"

Katie nodded her approval, then went into the kitchen to grab her drink.

Mulder was poised with a snide comment, but Krycek surprised him by making a
second attempt at asking his question.  He was caught off-guard and the
remark died on his tongue.  "We were able to access the main power area, the
hospital and one of the apartment complexes.  Tyler says that this part of
the facility is structurally sound.  We'll have a lot of work to do to make
it feel like home, but it has potential."

"Hospital?  One of the apartment complexes?  Jesus, Mulder, how big is this
place?"

"The facility was originally designed to house one hundred and twenty
thousand."

Alex whistled.  "Where is this place?  I know facilities like that exist in
the southwest, but in the east?"

"It's about four hours north of DC, two hours east of Katie's place," Mulder
said.

"That's close.  Are we going to be able to secure it? That's got to be where
they intend to house the President in the event of a situation like this."

"Originally it was designed to house the President and Congress in case of
nuclear attack.  This isn't the same thing.  Chances are very good that there
won't be enough members of Congress left standing.  Think about it, Krycek,
if the numbers we've heard are accurate, we could come damn close to housing
the entire population of the world in this place.  I don't see the President
or Congress as being something we're going to have to worry about."

Katie returned, half-empty cup in hand.   Alex smiled at her. "You're
probably right," Alex agreed.  "Is Scully there?  Katie needs to talk to
her."

"Yeah, she's here.  Hang on."

"Tell him," Katie urged.

Alex frowned.  "Mulder, you still there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Um...thanks."

"For what?" Mulder asked.

Alex shifted uncomfortably. "You know, for not blowing our honeymoon."

For the second time in their conversation, Mulder was taken aback.  "Oh,
yeah, you're welcome.  I didn't think you'd see it that way, Krycek."

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you'd like to think, Mulder."

Mulder didn't respond to his last comment.  "Here's Scully," he said, handing
her the phone.

"Hi Alex," she said.  "Is everything all right with Katie?"

"I think so," he answered.  "She just a had strange experience and I wanted
her to tell you about it, just in case.  Here she is."  He handed the phone
to Katie.

Katie set the cup down on the table and took the phone.  "Hi Dana."

"What weird experience did you have?"  Scully asked her.

"I'm fine, the weather is lovely, thanks for asking," Katie replied.

"Katie."

"OK, fine.  You know about the earthquake we had out here, right?  Well,
before it happened, I spent most of the day feeling like my insides were
vibrating.  Alex wanted me to call you right away, but I didn't feel bad,
just strange.  It kept up all day, without getting worse, until we were on
our way home.  I made Alex pull off the road and I ran away from him, into a
field.  The vibrating was so bad and then the humming started.  I thought I
was going to lose my mind.  I think Alex thought I already had.  Anyway, all
of a sudden, the quake hit and the humming and vibrating went away."

Scully considered her words carefully before speaking.  "Are you trying to
say that your body predicted the earthquake?"

"No, just that it seemed to be tuned in to the changes.  Look, I know that
sounds bizarre, but the vibrating and humming stopped when it hit and came
back for the next three aftershocks.  What am I supposed to think?"

"Have you ever exhibited signs of being sensitive to earth changes before?"

"No, just to people," Katie answered.  "I was thinking that maybe the vaccine
had something to do with it."

"That's a stretch, Katie."

"This whole thing is a stretch, Dana.  Do you have a better explanation?"

"No," Scully admitted.  "Well, you'll be back in DC for follow up testing in
July.  We'll see what the scans show then.  In the meantime, keep me apprised
of any more changes, no matter how small."

"I will. Hang on a minute, Dana," Katie picked up her cup and handed it to
Alex.  "Would you pour me another drink?"  Alex nodded and left the room.
"Back.  I think our guys managed to carry off that conversation pretty well,
don't you?" she asked.

Scully looked over at Mulder, then turned her back to him.  "We're looking a
little shell-shocked on this end," Scully chuckled.  "I take it Alex wasn't
mad?"

"He was a little put out at first, but once I explained what probably
happened, he conceded the point.  I'm guessing that you put the fear of God
into Mulder, so that he wouldn't tell Alex before the wedding.  Am I right?"

"Yes you are.  He wasn't happy about it either.  He was sure that Alex would
see it as going behind his back.  You got through to him, Katie.  Mulder's
trying to accept, but it's going to take a while."

"I know.  Alex is trying too.  He wants Mulder as his ally, Dana.  More
importantly, he wants Mulder as his friend.  He won't admit, but he does."
Alex returned, carrying her drink in his hand.  "So anyway, I'll let you know
if anything else happens," she said.  "Hug Mulder for me," she added.

"Alex is back, I take it?"

"Yes."

Scully laughed.  "You two enjoy the rest of your honeymoon."

"We will.  Talk to you later, Dana."

Katie hung up the phone and put it down on the coffee table.  She took the
cup from him.  "Thank you," she said, before taking a sip.

"You could have just asked me to leave," he smirked.

"I could have," she agreed.  "But I was thirsty and asking you get me another
drink seemed nicer than shoving you out of the room."

Alex put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Mind if I ask
what you were talking about?"

"Just commenting on the surprising civility of your conversation with Mulder,
that's all."  She paused, took another sip, then looked up at him.  "She's
impressed, by the way.  So am I, the two of you are progressing nicely.  At
this rate, I foresee you being able to spend time alone with one another by
Christmas."

"We've spent time alone together before," Alex grumbled.

"You're right.  Let me try that again.  I foresee you being able to spend
time alone together, without either of you becoming a punching bag for the
other, winding up in a cell, losing a limb or ending up cuffed to a railing.
Is that better?"

Alex chuckled.  "Have I told you lately, that I love you?"

"Not in the last an hour," she grinned.  "Alex," she said, turning in his
arms.  "Will you do something for me?"

He kissed her softly.  "Anything."

Katie smiled.  "Good.  Feed me, I'm starving."
==============================

Tyler logged on and checked his email.  Just the usual stuff and nonsense he
always found there; no message from Miranda.  He frowned and tapped the
keyboard with his thumb.  It was still early, so he decided to hang around
and do a little surfing to kill some time.  After a few minutes, he decided
to go grab something to drink.  When he returned, he saw Miranda's name on
his buddy list.

TY1ON:  There you are!  You don't IM, you don't write.  Twenty-four whole
hours without a word. *g*
MIRA7:  sorry
TY1ON:  I was just kidding, Mira.
MIRA7:  oh
TY1ON:  Two one word answers in a row?  Uh oh, what's wrong?
MIRA7:  Sure you have the time?
TY1ON:  I always have time for you, kiddo.  Come on, spill it.
MIRA7:  Dad's company is sending him to Argentina for three months.
TY1ON:  When?
MIRA7:  Next week.
TY1ON:  That soon?  Talk about short notice.
MIRA7:  No kidding.  Now I'm stuck. I'm going to have to go with him or stay
with my mother.  Either way, I have to leave school and finish the year
somewhere else.  I don't want to go, Ty.  You know how I feel about my
mother.
MIRA7:  I love my dad, but I really don't want to leave school with only a
month left to go.  He's leaving it up to me to decide.  What should I do?
TY1ON:  Tough call.  Have you worked out the pros and cons of each choice?
Sounds dumb, but writing them down might help.
MIRA7:  Don't have to.  The only real option is to go with him.  I can't live
with her, not even for three months.  She doesn't want me anymore than I want
her, so why put us both through the heartache?
TY1ON:  Wish I could be more help. :-(
MIRA7:  Me too.  I hate this.

Tyler sat back in his chair, an idea forming in his head.  It was a long
shot, but he felt pretty sure that he could get Katie to agree.

TY1ON:  I need to run and do something for a couple of minutes.  Stick around
and wait for me?
MIRA7:  Sure, I have some research to do anyway.
TY1ON:  :-) OK, back in a few.
MIRA7:  :-)

Tyler got up, grabbed the phone and dialed.  He hoped that he wouldn't be
catching them at a bad time, but snickered at the thought.  When wasn't a
'bad time' with those two?

"Hello?"

"Hey Alex, sorry to bother you, but I really need to talk to you and Katie.
It's about Miranda."

"Hang on, let me get her," Alex said.  He yelled upstairs.  "Katie.  Tyler's
on the phone."

Katie ran down the stairs.  "What's wrong?" she asked Alex.  He shrugged and
handed her the phone.  "Hi sweetie.  What's wrong?"

"It's Miranda," Tyler answered.  He explained the situation and his idea for
an alternate solution.  "So, what do you think?"

"Let me run this by Alex."  Katie lowered the receiver and looked at Alex.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" he asked.

"It's not a bad thing," she answered.  "How would you feel about playing
surrogate father to an almost sixteen year-old girl for the summer?"

"Why?  Did something happen to Victor?"

Katie explained the situation, just as Tyler had explained it to her.  "I
know this is asking a lot, Alexei and if you don't want to take this on, it's
all right."

"But you really want to do this, don't you," he asked.

"I'd really like to give them another option," she answered, biting her lower
lip.  "It would only mean a month in Pittsburgh, then we could all go back to
the loft."

Alex took the phone from her hand.  "Ty?  Make the offer.  Tell Miranda we'll
be home tomorrow night and have Victor give us a call to talk about it."

Tyler grinned widely.  "I knew you'd come through, Alex."

Alex chuckled.  "Think you have me figured out, do you, Ty?"

"Yeah, baby.  I've got your number," Tyler teased.

"So I've noticed," Alex replied.  "Now do me a favor and don't use it again
tonight."

"I hear you.  No more calls tonight," he promised.  "Tell Katie I love her."

"I will.  See you tomorrow night.  You and Matthew still picking us up?"

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Do you have any idea how stupid that question is?"

Alex laughed.  "Just checking."

Tyler muttered something about too much sex rotting your brain as they said
their goodbyes.  He hung up the phone and went back to the computer.

TY1ON:  I'm back.
MIRA7:  Good. I was getting lonely in here all by myself. *g*
TY1ON:  Come up with any brilliant ideas while I was gone?
MIRA7:  No.
TY1ON:  Well, I did.
MIRA7:  You did?
TY1ON:  Yes. *g*
MIRA7:  Care to share or are you going to make me guess?
TY1ON:  How would you feel about staying with us for the summer?
MIRA7:  With you and Matthew?
TY1ON:  Well really, it would be with Katie and Alex, but where they are,
we're sure to follow. *g*
MIRA7:  I don't know, Ty.
TY1ON:  Just listen for a minute.  Katie and Alex would come to Pittsburgh
and stay with you, until school lets out.  This way, you wouldn't have to
miss the last month.  Once school is over, the three of you would come back
here and stay at the loft.  You can work for me in the store, if you want.
What do you think?
MIRA7:  You've already spoken to Katie and Alex?
TY1ON:  Yeah, that's what I've been doing.
MIRA7:  TYLER! They're on their honeymoon!  I can't believe you called them!
TY1ON:  Well, there really isn't much time and I was pretty sure they'd be
willing to help.  I'll ask again...what do you think?
MIRA7:  I love the idea.  It's the perfect solution as far as I'm concerned.
Don't know how my dad will feel about it though.
TY1ON:  Can't hurt to ask, can it?  Victor seems like a reasonable man.
MIRA7:  He is.
TY1ON:  So ask him.  Alex said to tell him to call tomorrow night, so they
can talk about it.  Their flight gets in around four tomorrow afternoon, so
have him call around seven or so.
MIRA7:  I'll go talk to him in a little while; he's busy right now.
TY1ON:  Think he'll go for it?
MIRA7:  I don't know.  He might.  He really likes Katie and Alex.
TY1ON:  Everyone likes Katie and Alex. *g*
MIRA7:  LOL.  Well, I'm going to get ready for bed, then see if I can talk to
him.  I'll send you an email later on and let you know what he said.
TY1ON:  K, kiddo.  Good luck.  Call us tomorrow night, even if he says no,
all right?
MIRA7:  I will.  No matter what happens, I love you for trying to help me.
TY1ON:  :-)  That's what friends are for.
MIRA7:  :-)  Night, Ty.
TY1ON:  Sleep well, sweetheart.

=============================

Alex stood on the balcony and took one last look at the water.  Their two
weeks were up and it was time to return home to face another one of Katie's
cycles.  He felt Katie slip in behind him and put her arms around his waist.
"Just taking one last look," he said.

"We don't have to go home, you know."

He turned around and took her face in his hands. "Yes we do.  Last month was
the worst yet and I want Matthew close by, just in case.  Besides, we offered
to take care of Miranda, remember?"

"I know."  She gave him a squeeze.  "Alexei, about the other thing, you know
Dana said it would get worse as we got closer to the end.  What do you expect
Matthew to do for me?  I've got pills, for all the good they do.  What's
next, an intravenous morphine drip?  I don't think so.  I'm just going to
have to gut it out until this is over.  We're talking three, maybe four more
times, right?  All I need is you to hold my hand and sing to me and I'll be
fine," she said.

Alex smiled at her and brushed the hair back behind her ears.  "Well, I need
Matthew to keep me calm, OK?  Who do you think keeps me from losing it when
you're in the bedroom crying and nothing I do helps?"

"Tyler?"

"Yeah well, him too," Alex grinned.  "Mostly it's Matthew and a syringe of
Valium that does the trick."

Katie looked surprised.  "He gives you Valium?  Oh baby, I'm sorry.  I had no
idea that you were taking it that badly.  How long has he been doing this?"

"Just once, last month when you were in so much pain.  I lost it one night.
You were so out of it that you didn't even know I was there with you.  I
couldn't handle it and I...well...I sort of broke down," he admitted.
"Matthew said it was probably caused by a combination of things, lack of
sleep, stress over the wedding and my being worried about you.  I hope that's
all it was, but I don't want to take any chances."

"So, you're not so much worried about me, as you are about yourself," she
teased.

"Yeah, that's it," he said sarcastically.  "This is a purely self-serving
move."

"I'm sorry this is so hard on you," she said softly.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?"  He smiled and kissed her.

"We can come back any time you want," she offered.

"As long as it doesn't interfere with baseball," he added.

"Well, that goes without saying," she grinned.  "But they have plenty of road
trips; we can work around that."

"I'm going to hold you to that," he warned.

"No problem.  Besides, I still want a shot at reenacting that beach scene,"
she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Alex laughed.  "You'll get your chance.  Come on, let's get going before we
miss our flight."
==============================

Victor handed the phone to Miranda.  She was grinning from ear to ear and
bouncing on the balls of her feet.  "Alex? Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
she shrieked into the receiver.

Alex laughed and held the phone away from his ear.  "I think she's happy," he
said to all present, before returning to his conversation with Miranda.
"You're welcome.  Want to talk to Katie?"

"Yes, please," she answered.

Katie took the phone from Alex.  "You do know my husband is now deaf in his
right ear," she joked.

"I'm sorry," Miranda giggled.  "I'm just so excited.  How can I ever thank
you for agreeing to do this for me?"

"Consider it a birthday present," Katie replied.  "I'm just sorry that we
won't be able to be there tomorrow to celebrate with you."

"That's OK.  Tyler told me.  I wish I could do something to make it better
for you."

"Me too," Katie answered.  "Don't worry about me; I'll be fine.  You have a
great day tomorrow and we'll see you in a few days."

"OK.  Is Tyler there?"

"Where else would he be?" Katie teased.  She held the phone out.  "Miranda
would like a word with you, Ty."

Tyler took the phone from Katie's hand.  "Still think I was wrong for calling
them on their honeymoon?" he asked Miranda.

"Yes," she answered.  "But thank you for doing it."

"Like I said, that's what friends are for."

"Will you be online tonight?"

"Not tonight.  Matthew and I are going to hang out here for a little while
longer, then head home.  Tomorrow's going to be long day.  Look for me Monday
night, all right?"

"OK.  Ty?"

"Yes, Mira?"

"Give Matthew a hug for me and tell him I said he's a lucky man."

Tyler looked over at Matthew and grinned.  "I've been telling him that for
years, but it bears repeating."

Miranda giggled.  "That's what I love about you, Ty, you have no ego
whatsoever."

"Well sweetheart, when you're as wonderful as me, it's hard to be humble,"
Tyler snickered.

"Oh brother.  Bye Tyler."

"Bye Mira."  Tyler handed the phone back to Alex, before turning to Matthew
and hugging him.

"What's that for?" Matthew asked.

"Orders from Miranda," he replied.  "Oh, I'm also supposed to tell you that
you're a lucky man."

"So that's what bears repeating," Matthew snickered.  "I wondered."

Katie stepped over and put her arms around both of her friends.  "As much as
I love you two lucky people, you need to go home.  I have just a few more
hours of honeymoon left and you'll have to excuse me for not wanting to turn
this into a group encounter."

Matthew looked at Katie, then at Tyler. "Katie to English translation. . . go
home so we can get naked."

"Why thank you, Mr. Berlitz.  I had no idea what she was talking about until
you intervened on my behalf.  Do you offer private lessons?" Tyler asked with
a wink.

"Certainly," Matthew answered, leading him toward the elevator.  "I'm
well-versed in a number of languages.  French.  Greek.  A few of the Eastern
tongues as well.  What were you looking for exactly?"

Tyler looked thoughtful as the elevator door opened.  "Hmmm, I'm not sure.
Let's start with French and work our way from there.  How many of those
Eastern tongues are you. . ." His final words were lost as the door closed.


Alex smiled as he watched the three go through their now familiar routine.
Parry and thrust, thrust and parry, each getting in a couple of good-natured
jabs at the other, while ending the exchange with some sexual banter.  He
almost offered a comment or two himself, but held back.  Not because he felt
his offering would be rejected, but because he knew it would be accepted
completely.  Acceptance, complete and total, had become a regular feature in
his life.  In that moment, he understood he'd finally come home, not
physically, but emotionally.  The realization caught him by surprise.

Katie reached out for Alex and pulled him close.  "I thought they'd never
leave," she whispered, before kissing him.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered.  "Just glad to be home."

She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. "We're not just talking
location, are we?"

He shook his head and brushed a lock of hair away from her face.  "No, not
just location."

Katie nodded her understanding and tugged at his hand.  "Then let's celebrate
your homecoming, shall we?"

"What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"A return to the scene of the crime," she said, nodding toward the fireplace
and the bearskin rugs.  "Deja vu all over again?"

Alex smiled.  "I'll start the fire."

"I'll kill the lights."

"No, you go wait by the window, just like last time.  I'll take care of the
lights."

"OK," she replied.  "Want a drink?"

"No, don't need one this time," he answered.

Katie smiled and walked over to the window.  The streetlight was dark; over
five months and the city still hadn't fixed it.  'Guess it would have to be
reported, wouldn't it?'  She chuckled softly and rested her head against the
glass.  The stars were shining brightly and she found herself staring at
them, making wishes on each and every one.

Alex put his arms around her and rested his chin on her head.  "What do you
see?"

"The stars are really bright.  I was just thinking how nice it was that the
streetlight is still out."

"Hey, when I fix something, it stays fixed," Alex said.

Katie turned and looked at him.  "You never did tell me how you managed it,
you know."

"I know," he answered.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"No, I'm not."  Alex bent down and kissed her.  "Time to stop thinking and
start doing," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Now where have I heard that before," Katie teased.  She rubbed her thumb
across his lower lip, imitating her actions from that first night.  Alex
sucked in the tip and bit down gently, letting his teeth rake gently across
it as she slid it from his mouth.  "Mmmm, you do remember," she murmured.

"Every second," he whispered, before kissing her again.  He pulled back and
took her hand.  "Come on, we have a roaring fire and bearskin rugs, let's not
let them go to waste."

"Definitely not."

They reached the fireplace and sat down on the rugs.  No shoes to remove this
time, so Katie reached for the front of her shirt and began to unbutton the
first few buttons.  Alex touched her hand, making her stop.  He pulled it
away and finished unbuttoning the shirt himself.  Once done, he removed the
shirt and tossed it to the side, before make short order of his own.

"That's not how it went last time, Alexei," Katie teased, as her fingertips
stroked his chest.

"Ah Katya, this is not last time, is it?" Alex answered.  "I reserve the
right to make substitutions as the mood strikes me."  He pushed her down on
the rug and popped the snap on her jeans.  She raised her hips to allow him
to slip them off her easily.  He tugged on her panties.  "These have got to
go," he said, all but ripping them off.

Katie bit her lower lip and tried to look shocked.  "Oh, you brute."

"I'm a man on a mission and those were in the way."  He growled, then lightly
bit her stomach.

She giggled and squirmed as he nipped his way down her stomach to her thighs.


Alex kissed his way back up to her stomach and stopped.  The long jagged scar
that had caused him to pause the first time, was now little more than an inch
long.  He traced what remained.  "Amazing," he whispered.  "It's almost
gone."

"All because of you," Katie whispered back.  "You made me whole again."

"Not me," he started to argue.

Katie put her fingers to his lips.  "Yes, you.  It all started with you.  Now
stop arguing and make love to me."

"Patience, Katya, I'm not through yet," he replied.  "You haven't given me
what I'm looking for."  He stared at her as he brushed his fingers over her
clit.  She stared back, then gave in with a whimper.  "That's it," he sighed.


Katie tugged on one of his belt loops.  "Off."

"As you wish."  He stopped his ministrations long enough to finish
undressing.

She pulled him down on top of her and wrapped her legs around him.  "In me
now," she ordered.

"Anything you say," he answered, as he plunged inside.

'Welcome home, Alexei,' she thought before losing herself in him once again.

=============================

"Alex. . .hurts," Katie cried.

He'd been awake for the last hour, listening to her moan.  She shifted on the
bed trying to kick her feet out from beneath the blanket.  "I know baby, I
know," he said, as he pulled the blanket away, freeing her from the confines
of the fabric.  Alex rubbed her legs in an effort to help her relax.  His
fingers touched the mattress and found it wet under her knees.  "Oh God,
Katya, please tell me you're just sweating," he said under his breath.  He
turned on the light to Katie's muffled protest.  "I'll turn it off in a
second, baby.  I just need to see something."  He took a breath, lifted the
blanket, then turned his head away from the sight in front of him. 'Don't
panic.'  "I'll be right back, Katya," he said.  He knew she wouldn't hear him
through her pain, but he said it anyway.  He got up, turned off the light and
closed the door behind him on his way to the phone.

"Matthew, come now.  She's bleeding bad."  He walked back to the bedroom and
cracked open the door to look at Katie.

Matthew could almost feel Alex shaking through the phone lines.  "We're on
our way.  You have to hold it together for a little while longer, buddy.  Can
you do that?"  He glanced up at Tyler and pointed to his bag.  Tyler tossed
it to him, then headed out the door to start the car.

"Yeah. . .I. . .uh. . .yeah.  Just hurry, OK?"

"We'll be there in twenty minutes.  Look Alex, hang up the phone and let me
call you back from the cell, all right?"

"You don't have to. . .just get here," Alex pleaded.

"We'll get there," Matthew assured him.  "I don't want you to be alone in
your head right now.  After you hang up, take the phone, go into the bedroom
and stay with her. I'm going to need you to give me some information about
her condition so I can be ready when we get there." Matthew opened his bag
and checked his supplies. "This is important, Alex," he continued.  "I need
you to keep cool just a little while longer.  I'm going to hang up now and I
want you to do the same.  Start counting, I promise you the phone will ring
before you get to twenty."

"OK," Alex said.  He disconnected the phone, went into the bedroom and
started counting.  The phone rang as Alex reached twelve.  "What do you need
me to do?"

"Check her temp.  Is she running a fever?"

Alex put his hand on her forehead.  "She feels normal.  She's sweating a
little, but I don't think she's running a fever."

"Is she still covered up?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah," Alex answered.

"Pull back the covers.  I need you to tell me how much she's bleeding."  He
could hear Alex's breathing pick up.  "Still with me, Alex?"

"Yeah, pulling back the blanket now."

"We're under fifteen minutes, just keep talking to me.  Is the blanket off?"

"Uh huh."

"Can you describe what you're seeing?"

Alex closed his eyes and tried to center himself.  He had to keep it going,
for Katie's sake.

"Alex?"

"I'm here.  OK, there's a lot of blood on the sheet underneath her.  Sort of
a circle going from just above her waist, to just below her knees.  It
spreads out about halfway across the bed.  Oh Jesus. . .Matthew. . ."

Matthew took a deep breath now and tried to remain objective and calm.  "I
know, Alex, stay with me. Now, is it all soaked into the sheet or is there a.
. ." He searched for the right word.

"Yeah. She's not in a puddle, Matthew, if that's what you're trying to ask."

Matthew breathed a sigh of relief.  "That's good.  The plastic mattress
protector is still on, right?"

"We put it on months ago, you know that," Alex answered.  "Why?"

"Because that tells me the bleeding isn't as bad as it looks.  If the
protector is on, the blood has nowhere to go, but into the sheet, so it's
going to spread outward instead of down.  It'll look scary, but it means she
probably hasn't lost as much blood as you think," he replied.  "Alex?  Have
you taken a look at yourself since you got up?"

"No," he said, then he looked down at himself.  "Oh shit."

"That's what I thought.  Look, we're under ten now.  She's all right.  Put
the blanket back over her and go get cleaned up.  Ty and I will be there by
the time you get out of the shower, all right?"

"I don't want to leave her alone," Alex protested.

"It'll only be for a few minutes and she'll never know you're gone.  I need
you to get cleaned up while you're still thinking.  If we get there and
you're not in the shower, I'm going to let Tyler give you a bath," he
threatened.

Tyler chuckled and leaned over to get closer to the phone.  "Sounds good to
me, Alex.  I know just the thing to keep your mind off Katie."

Alex smiled in spite of himself.  "You play dirty, Matthew."  He heard
Matthew chuckled.  "All right, I'm going to hang up and take a shower now.
You'll be here when I get out?"

"We're just a few blocks away."

Alex nodded and cut the connection.  He put the phone on the table next to
the bed.  "Matthew will be here in a few minutes.  I have to go get cleaned
up now, but I won't be far away," he told Katie.  He knew she wasn't aware of
anything outside of herself, but he felt the need to explain before leaving
the room.  He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.  "I'll be right back.
 I promise."
=============================

"All right, we're going to need some damp washcloths, the large changing pads
from the laundry room and a complete change of bedding," Matthew said to
Tyler, before entering the bedroom.  "I want to try and get this cleaned up
before he gets out of the shower."

"Be right back," Tyler replied.  "Need anything else?"

"Won't know until I see her."

Tyler nodded and set off to get the requested supplies.

Matthew pushed the door open and approached the bed.  Katie was sleeping, but
fitful.  "Hey Hanna," he said quietly.  "Doctor in the house."  He put his
bag down on the nightstand, took out his thermometer and took her
temperature.  "Not bad, kiddo, under 100 right now."  He put the thermometer
away and checked her pulse.  "Good and strong.  You're doing fine on this
end.  Now I'm going to see what kind of damage you've done to the sheets."
He pulled back the blanket and dropped it off to one side.  "Damn!  You don't
do anything halfway, do you?"

Katie whimpered and tried to curl up into a ball.  Matthew pulled her legs
straight. "Sorry sweetheart, but I need to roll you over so I can change the
bedding now."  Katie's leg shot out and Matthew moved quickly away from its
path. "Hey, no fair kicking me," he warned.  "I still have bruises from last
month."

"Oh geez!"  Tyler stood in the doorway, arms full, shocked look on his face.
"Is that as bad as it looks?"

Matthew sighed.  "Please don't let Alex hear you ask that; he's at the
breaking point already and it's early yet."

"The water's still running in the shower.  You didn't answer my question."

"She's lost a lot of blood, more than last time, but her color looks pretty
good and she's not running much of a fever, so I think we're all right for
now.  You're sure the water is still running in the bathroom?"

Tyler leaned out the door and listened.  "I don't hear anything now."

"Come on, help me get the sheets changed before he gets here."

Together they worked; finishing the job just before Alex came into the room.
Tyler took the bundle of soiled bed items to the laundry room and put them to
soak.  He jumped when Alex appeared behind him.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Alex said.  He held up a t-shirt and
pajama pants.  "These need to go in, too," he explained.

Tyler took the garments from Alex's hand and dropped them in the washing
machine.  "You know that strap is a mess, don't you?"

Alex glanced at his prosthesis.  "Yeah, I know."

Tyler reached over to undo the first strap, but Alex backed away.  "Come on,
you can't wear it like this," Tyler said.  "I'll get it clean and dry in no
time."  Alex didn't move, so Tyler took a step forward.  "Let me take care of
this for you, please?"

Alex looked down, then nodded his head.   He reached up to undo the first
strap, but his fingers refused to cooperate. "Shit," he muttered.

Tyler put one hand over Alex's, stilling his movement.  "Hold still."  He
quickly undid the straps and removed prosthesis, then handed Alex a clean
shirt from the top of the dryer.

"Thanks," Alex said, trying to hide his embarrassment.  He slipped the shirt
over his head.  "I can usually manage to do that on my own, you know."

"No big deal," Tyler assured him.  "We all need a little help once in a
while."  At that moment, they heard Katie cry out.  "Right now she's at the
top of the list.  Go on, I'll take care of things out here."
=============================

Tyler paced the living room.  He could handle anything but standing around
being helpless, so when they didn't need his help with Katie, he busied
himself around the apartment; the kitchen and bathroom had never been so
clean.  Now, with nothing left to scrub or straighten, he decided to check on
Alex and Katie.

Matthew came out of the bedroom and saw Tyler walking toward him.  "She's all
right.  Still bleeding more than I'd like, but I think it's starting to ease
up a little now.  Alex has her calmed down, finally, so maybe they'll both
take a nap."  He rolled his head from side to side to loosen up his neck
muscles.

Tyler slipped in behind him and began rubbing his shoulders.  "How's Alex?"

"Not good. I had to sedate him, too."  Matthew dropped his head.  "A little
to the left," he said, humming when Tyler hit the sore spot.  " I don't know
what to do about him, Ty.  Last month I chalked it up to exhaustion and weddi
ng stress, but what excuse do I use this month?"

"Helplessness?" Tyler offered.

"Maybe," Matthew agreed.  "And exhaustion, too, I suppose.  They probably
haven't gotten much sleep the last couple of weeks."

"That's probably it," Tyler agreed.  "Alex is a strong man, Matty; he'll be
fine."

"I know.  It's just that. . .he's been so hard on her for falling apart in
the past and now he's doing the same thing."

Tyler put his hands down and rested his chin on Matthew's shoulder. "At the
risk of sounding like a cheap romance novel. . .she's his world.  She's
everything that's good in his life.  She saved him from just surviving and
taught him how to live.  He's scared of losing her, of becoming that other
guy again."

"Oh, stop before you get to the part about heaving breasts and throbbing
members," Matthew groaned.

Tyler grumbled and smacked the back of his lover's head. "You have no sense
of romance."

"So you keep telling me," Matthew said with a chuckle.
=============================

"Make it stop," Katie cried.  "Alex, get Matthew.  Tell him to make it go
away."  She turned in his arms and looked at him, tears streaming down her
cheeks.  "Please."

Alex kissed her softly.  "I'll go get him."

"'K," she whispered.  Katie wrapped herself around his pillow when Alex got
up.  She closed her eyes and whimpered as her abdominal muscles clenched.

"Matthew?" Alex called from the doorway.

Tyler emerged from the kitchen.  "He's in the bathroom.  How is she?"

"Hurting and asking for Matthew to make it go away, but she's through the
incoherent phase."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine."

Tyler frowned.  "Liar.  You look lousy."  He stepped closer and put his hand
on Alex's forehead.  "You're hot."

"So you keep telling me," Alex snickered weakly.

"Well, that too," Tyler snorted.  "No, really, you feel like you're running a
fever."

Matthew opened the bathroom door and saw Tyler touching Alex's head.  "What's
wrong?"

"He feels hot to me," Tyler answered.  "And no cracks, he's already taken
care of the obvious, thank you."

"Sometimes you make it too easy, Ty."  Matthew touched Alex's forehead and
frowned.  "Great, two patients.  Your timing leaves something to be desired,
Alex."

"I'm fine," Alex argued.  "Katie's asking for you."

"All right, let's take care of her first.  Sit down, I'll deal with you in a
bit," Matthew said, as he made his way to the bedroom.  He pushed the door
open and went to the side of the bed.  "Hey Hanna."

"Hurts bad, Kid," she sobbed.

"I know, kiddo.  Ready to let me dope you up?  I've got the good stuff right
here in my bag."

"Yes, anything.  Just make it stop."

Matthew opened his bag and took out the small bottle he'd put in more than a
month ago, just for this purpose.  She had refused last month, but he was
certain that she would need it this time.  He pushed the needle into the
bottle, slowly drew the liquid into the syringe, then put everything down on
the table.  "Give me your arm."  She slid one over to him.  He lifted it and
tapped to raise a vein.  Resting the arm on his leg, he reached for the
syringe.  "Next stop Wonderland, Alice," he said, as he pushed the needle
into her vein.

"Thanks for the tea, Hatter," she joked weakly.  "Full strength, no milk or
lemon, right?"

"Strongest in town.  Now close your eyes and don't fight the feeling."

"'K.  Ow!" she groaned.  "Where's Alex?"

"He's in the other room not feeling real well himself."

"This is so hard on him, Kid.  I hate that."  Katie looked up at him, tears
in her eyes.

Matthew kissed her cheek.  "I know you do.  If it makes you feel any better,
he's running a fever, so it's not just you causing it this time."

"He's sick?"

"'Fraid so.  I need to go check him out and see just how bad it is, all
right?  Give me a few minutes to check his temp and do the usual doctor
stuff, then I'll bring him back to bed.  I'd put you in separate rooms, but
knowing the two of you, that would only make things worse."

"Ow!"  Katie winced and rubbed her stomach.  "Go take care of him.  I think
the meds are starting to kick in; it only hurts a lot now."

"We're down to 'a lot'?  That's a start," he said, giving her a sympathetic
smile.  "OK, we'll be in soon."  He got up, grabbed his bag, then stopped at
the door.  "Oh, if you see any white rabbits, stay put.  I do NOT want to
have to be chasing you down any rabbit holes," he warned with mock
seriousness.

Katie stuck her tongue out at him.  "You're no fun."

Matthew laughed and left the room.

Alex was sitting at the kitchen table, arms crossed, head resting on top.
Matthew put the bag down next to him and pulled out the thermometer. He
gently nudged Alex's head to one side, so he could insert the tip into Alex's
ear.  Matthew pushed the button, then removed the instrument to read his
temp.  "Oh yeah, you're fine.  It's 102, Alex.  How long have you been
feeling bad?"

"Since before I called you," Alex answered.  "I thought it was just Katie and
everything."

"Spill it pal.  What else is wrong?"

"Head hurts, throat hurts, eyes burn, everything aches."

"Sit up, let me have look at your throat," Matthew said.

Alex sat up and slumped back in the chair.  "It's probably just the flu."

"Thank you, Dr. Krycek," Matthew said with a smirk.  "Mind if I offer a
second opinion?"  He waited for Alex's reply and when he didn't get one, he
continued.  "Open wide, let me take a look."  Alex opened his mouth.  "That
doesn't look too bad.  You're not prone to Strep, are you?"

"Never had it."

"All right then, we'll go with your initial diagnosis.  Now, take two aspirin
and go back to bed."

"How's Katie doing?" he asked, as he struggled to his feet.

"With any luck, she's flying high and feeling no pain.  I told her you were
sick, so she might try to take care of you for a while."

Alex frowned.  "Why'd you do that?  She has enough to deal with."

"She needs something to focus on, besides herself.  Come on, let's get you in
bed."

Matthew helped Alex back to the bedroom and into bed.  Katie immediately
rolled over and snuggled against Alex.  "He's not the white rabbit.  Can I
follow him down the rabbit hole?" Katie asked with a sleepy grin.

"You can follow him anywhere you want," Matthew answered.  "As long as it
doesn't involve getting out of bed."

"I like the way you think, Kid," Katie giggled.

"I knew you would," he chuckled.  "All right you two, get some sleep.  I'm
going to try to catch a little myself, so yell if you need anything."

"Thanks, Matthew," Alex said.

"Thanks, Hatter," Katie giggled.

Matthew grinned and shook his head.  "Sleep well you two.  Nighty night,
Alice."
=============================

Alex woke up and saw Katie pulling clothes out of the dresser. "What are you
doing up?"

Katie turned and smiled. "Hey sleepyhead. How are you feeling?" She put down
the shirt in her hand and slid into bed next to him.

"Like someone's been using my head for soccer practice. How are you? Why are
you out of bed? Are you all right?"

 He tried to sit up, but she held him down. "I'm fine. Matthew and his liquid
Wonderland got me through." The confused look on Alex's face made her giggle.
"Sweetheart, what day is this?"

"What? Oh, Sunday, Sunday night?"

She kissed his forehead. "Yeah, that's what I thought. It's Monday afternoon,
Alexei. You've been in and out since Sunday morning."

"I've been out since yesterday morning?"

"You had some help," Matthew said. "I heard you talking and thought I'd check
on the patient," he said to Katie.  He looked back at Alex. "Your fever was a
little high. I made you take some aspirin and get back in bed. You, refused
to stay still or try to sleep, so I had to knock you out."

Alex frowned. "Matthew. . ."

"Don't start," Matthew warned. "You were upsetting Katie and you weren't
doing yourself any favors either. Besides, I only gave you one injection; you
slept the rest of time away on your own."

"Gave me lots of time to watch you sleep," Katie added.

"I wasn't there for you," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

Katie kissed his cheek. "We were here for each other this time, OK?"

"OK."

"I called Scully this morning to talk about moving up the tests. After we
discussed what happened yesterday, she agreed that it would be a good idea to
run a few now, just to see how far along in the healing process you really
are," Matthew said. "She knows you're going to be in Pittsburgh for the next
month, so she's making arrangements to use a facility in Sewickly. Seems
there's this friend who owes her a favor. . ."

Katie nodded and sighed. "Whatever. Is this going to be another overnighter,
or just a day trip?"

"Just a day trip," Matthew assured her. "Right now, we're looking at doing an
internal exam, ultrasound and an MRI."

"Oh," Katie groaned. "I hate that MRI machine."

Alex took her hand in his and squeezed it. "I'll be right there with you," he
whispered.

"I know," she answered.

"It won't be as bad this time, Hanna," Matthew continued. "We'll only be
scanning your reproductive organs, not your entire body.  I promise. We'll
probably have you in and out before Miranda gets home from school."

"Oh no, Miranda," Alex exclaimed. "Shit, we're supposed to be there tomorrow
morning."

"And we will be," Katie said. "Take it easy. You need another day to rest,
but Matthew says you should be ready to go tomorrow. Tyler and I already have
you packed, I was just getting the last of my stuff together when you woke
up. Everything's taken care of."

"Where is Tyler?" Alex asked. "It's not like him to stay away from all the
excitement."

"He's at work, which is where I need to be getting to myself," Matthew
answered. "As much as I love being your private physician, it doesn't pay the
bills." He leaned over and gave Katie a kiss. "He's bringing dinner over
tonight, so you'll see him then. I'll call you later, Hanna."

"OK. Hey, Hatter, can I still follow him anywhere I want, as long as it
doesn't involve getting out of bed?" Katie asked with an evil grin.

"He's still a little small for that right now, don't you think, Alice?"
Matthew asked, crossing his arms and staring at her.

"Ah, but you forget, I have the power to make him tall," Katie replied,
staring back at him.

"Yes my dear, but you must use it wisely and never in haste." Matthew
countered.

Alex raised his hand. "Can I get a translator? I have a feeling I'm missing
something really dirty here and I hate being left out."

"I'll leave it to her to explain it to you, Alex, but if she offers you a
bottle that says 'drink me' on it, think twice before partaking, all right?"

"All right," Alex answered, looking a little confused.

Katie snickered as Matthew left the room.
=============================

"Mr. MacCready.  Phone call."

Tyler took the phone from Lisa's hand.  "Thanks, Lisa.  Hello?  Yes, this is
he.  I see.  When is the service?  Oh, of course, I should have known.  She
did what?  You're kidding.  No, of course you're not kidding.  All right,
I'll be there Friday afternoon.  Thank you."  He hung up the phone and leaned
back against the wall.

"Everything all right, Mr. MacCready?" Lisa asked.  She wiped her hands on
her ever-present towel and put a hand to his forehead.  "You don't look so
good."

"I'm fine, Lisa," he assured her.  "Just got some strange news, that's all.
I'm going to have go out of town on Friday and I'll probably be gone all
weekend.  I'd better go look at the schedule and see who I need to juggle
around."

"Well, you just let me know.  I've got nothing planned, so I can be here if
you need me," Lisa said.

"I know I can always count on you," Tyler said, with a smile.  He left the
kitchen and wandered back through the store to his office, closing the door
behind him.  He sat down at his desk and stared at the wall.  His mother was
dead.  He felt strangely numb inside, almost devoid of emotion.  In what was
surely a joke of cosmic proportions, this new lawyer informed him that not
only was his mother now deceased, but that she'd left him everything.  His
mother, a woman who hadn't contacted him or given him a second thought in the
last twenty-five years, except to have her lawyer deliver news of his
father's death nine years ago, was now gone as well.  This woman who, along
with his father, had thought of him as nothing more than an inconvenient tax
write-off for his entire childhood, who had never once said, "I'm proud of
you" or  "Good job" or anything remotely complimentary had now died, leaving
him everything.  He shook his head at the absurdity of it all and pulled out
the schedule for the rest of the week.


"OK, we have fried rice, shrimp Szechuan style and egg rolls for us.  Alex,
brought you some Won Ton soup.  Didn't know if you'd be up to eating the
shrimp, but there's plenty if that sounds good to you," Tyler said, as he put
the food on the table.

"Soup will be fine," Alex replied.

Katie brought plates, a bowl and silverware to the table.  "Ginger ale,
Alexei?"  Alex nodded and handed her his glass.  "Tyler?"

"Ginger ale's fine," he answered.

Tyler served the food, while Katie took care of the drinks.  When she
returned, they began to eat.  Alex and Katie went over final plans for the
trip the next day, while Tyler sat quietly, listening and thinking.

"What do you think, Ty?  Weebles wobble but they don't fall down; fact or
fiction?" Katie asked for the second time.

"Huh?  Oh, sorry, what did you say?"

Alex chuckled.

"See, I told you he wasn't paying attention," Katie laughed.  "Where are you
tonight?"

"Sorry, just working some things out in my head," Tyler answered.

"Can we help?" Katie asked.

Tyler glanced at her, then at Alex and shook his head.  "Not just yet.  I
think I need to work this out for myself first."

Alex got up and kissed Katie.  "I'm going back to bed."

"You all right?"  Katie asked.

"Yeah, just tired."  He put his hand on Tyler's shoulder.  "If you need
anything. . ."

Tyler put his hand on top of Alex's and gave it a squeeze.  "Thanks."

From behind Tyler's back, Alex mouthed 'talk to him.'  Katie smiled.  "Sleep
well, sweetheart."  'Message received.'  When the door closed behind Alex,
Katie confronted Tyler.  "OK, what gives?  Alex just gave you the perfect
opening for the perfect smarmy remark and all you had to say was 'thanks'?
Who died?" she chuckled.

"My mother."

Katie's mouth fell open and she stared back at him.  "Oh my God.  Ty, I'm so
sorry.  I had no idea."

"That's all right.  No big deal, really."

She got up and put her arms around him.  "No big deal?  Come on, Ty, this is
your mother we're talking about."

Tyler kissed her cheek.  "And you know how much love there was between the
two of us.  She may have given birth to me, sweetheart, but that woman was
never a 'mother'."

Katie sat down beside him.  "How did you find out?"

"Her lawyer called me this afternoon.  Want to hear the real kicker?  She
left me everything."  He laughed and shook his head.  "The witch went and
left me everything.  Can you believe that?"

"That has to mean something, Ty."

"Yeah, means the cat must have died before she did and she didn't bother to
replace him."

Katie sighed at the bitterness in his voice.  "When are the services?"

Tyler laughed again.  "No services.  She didn't believe in wasting time or
money on something as trivial as that.  'People die.  You dispose of the
corpse and move on.'  Lovely sentiment, isn't it?  She sure had a way with
words.  The only reason my dad had a service was that the lawyer wanted to
preserve mom's standing in the community.  He advised her that it would be
bad business to not show a bit of public mourning, so she played the grieving
widow for a few weeks, then got on with her life."

"Are you going up?"

"Yeah, Friday.  I told the lawyer I'd be there to go over the will and take a
look at my inheritance.  Spent the afternoon revising the schedule at the
store to be sure I had the weekend covered."

"Is Matthew going with you?"

Tyler looked at the floor.  "He doesn't know yet.  I didn't want to call him
at work, especially tonight.  He's pulling a double shift and he doesn't need
to have to deal with this."

"You're probably right, but I'm not sure he'll see it that way.  You feel
like talking about it?  I'm a good listener.  Taught Matthew everything he
knows," she said with a grin.

"That explains a lot," he chuckled.  "No, you had a loving, caring mother.
Sweetie, don't take this the wrong way, but you couldn't possibly
understand."

"You're right.  I can empathize, but I probably can't fully understand.  I
know someone who could; someone who's been there and would be more than
willing to listen, especially to you," she hinted.

"She's just a kid, Katie," Tyler protested.

"She's been there, Ty.  She's still there.  You've talked to her enough to
know that she isn't 'just a kid'."  Katie got up, grabbed the phone and held
it out to him.  "Call her."

He pushed the phone away.  "Not right now and not on the phone."  Tyler got
up and began gathering the leftover food.  "Can I crash here tonight?" he
asked quietly.

"Of course you can," Katie answered.

He smiled and put the food in the refrigerator.  "Katie?  Can I use your
computer later on?"

Katie chuckled.  "My, we're being courteous tonight.  Yes, of course, what's
mine is yours."

They worked together in silence, washing and putting away the dinner dishes.
Tyler wiped the table, while Katie tied the trash bag.

"I'll take that down later," he offered.

"Thanks."

Tyler watched her place the bag by the elevator door.  He walked over and put
his arms around her. "You know, I'm really gonna miss you."

Katie hugged him tight.  "It's only going to be for a month and we'll be an
hour and a half away.  Besides, you and Matthew will be making trips over to
see us and catch game or two, right?"

"Yeah, but it's not the same."

"I know.  It's going to be weird not having you close."

Tyler took her hand and walked her back to the kitchen.  "Katie?  Earlier,
when you said what's mine is yours, did you mean it?"

Katie looked at him with a puzzled expression.  "You know I did."

"Then, can I borrow Alex tonight?"

Alex came out of the bedroom, glass in hand, just in time to hear Tyler's
request.  He held back a snicker and walked quietly toward them, hoping for
the element of surprise.  "Isn't that something you should be asking me?"

The two jumped at the sound of his voice.  Katie started laughing as Tyler's
face turned crimson.  "Your timing is impeccable," she giggled.

"I got thirsty, thought I'd come out and get something to drink," Alex
explained.  He put the glass down on the counter, opened the refrigerator and
poured a small amount of ginger ale.  When he finished his drink, he put the
glass in the sink and walked over to Tyler.  "Look, I don't know what's been
going on out here since I left, but I can see that something's bothering you.
 You wouldn't talk to me before, so maybe this will help."  He looked over at
Katie and winked.

Katie's eyes widened as she realized Alex's intentions.  She smiled and
shrugged her shoulders, barely suppressing a laugh.  'Go for it, baby,' she
thought, hoping he would see the message in her eyes.

With only a split second's hesitation, Alex placed his hand on the back of
Tyler's neck, pulled him over and kissed him, hard and full on the mouth.  He
pulled away and patted Tyler's stunned face.  "There.  Did that help?"

Tyler nodded; all thought processes temporarily suspended by Alex's surprise
maneuver.

"Good," Alex said, grinning slightly.  "Katya, I'm getting really lonely in
that room all by myself.  Care to join me?  Suddenly, I'm not that tired."

"Be right there, White Rabbit," Katie replied.

Alex grinned wider and returned to the bedroom, leaving the door open behind
him.

Katie walked over to Tyler and put her arms around him.

"He just. . ." Tyler sputtered.

"Yes, he did," Katie agreed.  "I hope you were paying attention, because that
was most certainly a one-time performance."  She kissed him on the cheek.
"Talk to Miranda.  When you regain your powers of speech, that is," she
teased.

"Yeah, I will," Tyler said.  "Katie?"

"Yes, Tyler?"

"Tell Alex I said thanks."

Katie chuckled and nodded her head.  "Sweet dreams, Ty."
=============================

"So what's going on?" Alex asked, as Katie climbed into bed.

"His mother died," she answered.  "He's suffering from an acute case of mixed
emotions."

Alex put his hand on his head and sighed.  "Oh great.  He's just lost his
mother and I choose tonight to shock him into silence.  Good move, Alex."

Katie pressed close and kissed him gently.  "Don't worry about it; they were
never close.  According to both Ty and Matthew, she was a cold-hearted woman
who never once expressed anything remotely resembling a positive emotion
toward her only child."  She put her head on the pillow, folding both arms
underneath.   "I can't understand how a woman could act that way toward her
own child; it boggles the mind.   Ty's never said it out loud, but Matthew
gave me the impression that his mother got pregnant in order to trap Ty's dad
into marrying her; the poor girl's get-rich-quick plan.  I could be wrong;
I've never asked Tyler about her, but the way Matthew talks, that's the
feeling I get."

"Some people don't deserve to have kids," Alex said.

"Ours will know how much we love them," Katie whispered, turning her head to
look at him.

Alex nodded.  "Come here." Katie rolled over and wrapped her arms around him.
 "I love you, Katya.  If I was feeling better, I'd show you just how much."

Katie smiled against his chest.  "That's ok.  I'll take a rain check.  I'm
too tired to be much fun anyway.  Besides," she yawned.  "After that little
display out there, I'd be drifting into some deep, dark fantasies anyway."
She snuggled in closer.

Alex looked down at the top of her head.  "Don't tell me you have some
fantasy about me and Tyler," he groaned.  "Haven't we covered this before?"

"No, baby, no fantasies about you and Tyler." She yawned again.  "Now you and
Mulder. . ." she murmured, before falling asleep.

Alex's eyes widened.  "You are kidding?"  No response.  "Katya, please tell
me you're kidding."  She didn't answer and he soon realized that she was
asleep.  "Oh baby, please tell me you' re not serious," he groaned.
=============================

Tyler sat down at the computer and logged in to his account.  He was greeted
immediately.

MIRA7:  I've been waiting for you.
TY1ON:  Sorry.  Were we supposed to meet tonight?
MIRA7:  Yes, remember?  On Saturday you said I should look for you Monday
night.  Last time I checked, this was Monday night.  *g*
TY1ON:   Oh yeah, I did say that, didn't I?  This has been quite the day.
I'm a little distracted.
MIRA7:   What happened?
TY1ON:   This might take a while.
MIRA7:    I'm not going anywhere.
TY1ON:   Remember that night we talked about our mothers?
MIRA7:    Yeah.
TY1ON:   Mine died the other day.
MIRA7:   And you're feeling guilty for not feeling terrible about it.
TY1ON:   Yeah.
MIRA7:    What else?
TY1ON:    She left me everything.
MIRA7:    Insult to injury?

Tyler hesitated.  Insult to injury was exactly what it felt like.  Suddenly
he was furious with his mother for leaving him to deal with her earthly
remains.

MIRA7:   Ty?

He took a breath, trying to tamp down the anger.

MIRA7:   Where are you?
TY1ON:   I'm here.
MIRA7:   Good.  Are you at home?
TY1ON:   No.  Matthew's pulling a double shift; I'm staying at the loft.
MIRA7:    Are Katie and Alex with you now?
TY1ON:   No, they're in bed.
MIRA7:   We need to talk.
TY1ON:   We are talking.
MIRA7:   No, we need to talk for real.  I'm dialing now, so you better go
grab the phone; wouldn't want to wake Katie and Alex.

Tyler got up and grabbed the phone on the first ring.
=============================

Katie kissed Alex's shoulder.  "I'm going to take a shower," she whispered.
"You coming?"

"Be there in a minute," he answered sleepily.

"Sure you will," she chuckled, as he went back to sleep.  Climbing out of bed
carefully, she grabbed her robe, then quietly closed the door behind her.
She crossed the room and saw Tyler asleep on the couch, phone still in his
hand.  Katie took it from him and put it back on the charger.

"Morning," Tyler yawned and struggled to sit up.

Katie sat down on the couch next to him.  "How come you slept on the couch?"

"I was talking to Miranda.  After we hung up, I closed my eyes and crashed, I
guess," he answered.

"Did she help?"

"Yeah, she did."  Tyler pushed his fingers through his hair and rubbed the
back of his neck.  "She wants to go to Boston with me on Friday.  You know,
moral support."

"What did you say?"

"I told her I'd think about it, but you and Alex really had final say in the
matter."

"But you like the idea?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, I do.  I don't want to go alone and I don't want Matthew to come with
me," he answered, not looking at her.

Katie moved over and put a hand on his face, making him turn his face toward
her.  "You don't want Matthew go?"

"No."  Tyler stared back at her.  "I can't take him there, sweetie; too many
bad memories, too much pain.  If I take him with me, he'll try to make it
right."

"And that would be a bad thing?"

"Yes.  There's nothing he can say or do to make it better, I don't even want
him to try.  I need to be able to go back there and wallow in self-pity and
anger without him trying to rationalize my feelings."  Tyler hung his head.
"I know that sounds selfish and I know it's going to hurt him, but I need to
do this my way."

Katie put an arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder.  "I know you
do.  For what it's worth, I think you're right.  I think you should go
without him."

Tyler sat up in surprise.  "You do?"

"I do.  You're right, he'll try to fix it for you.  He tries to fix things
for everyone, it's one of the things we both love about him, but it's also
one of his most annoying traits.  Matthew's never understood that some things
can't be fixed, that sometimes all we need is someone to listen to us while
we unload."  Katie leaned in and kissed his cheek.  "He's still going to be
hurt, but he'll get over it.  I'll explain it to him."

"What about Miranda?"

"What about her?"

"I'm seriously considering her offer," he answered.  "What do you think?"

Katie frowned.  "I don't know, Ty.  That one won't be as easy to explain to
Matthew.  I mean, you don't want him to go, but you do want to take her?
He's not going to be happy about that at all."

"Is that your only objection?"

"Well, it would mean that she'd miss another day of school this week, I
suppose. Other than that, I don't see a problem."

Tyler shook his head.  "The girl is only sixteen and you don't see a problem
with letting her go away for the weekend with a middle-aged man?  For
heaven's sake, Katie, where's your brain?"

Katie rubbed her head.  "Tyler, are you deliberately trying to start a
fight?" she sighed.  "Look, I'm not letting her go away for the weekend with
some strange middle-aged man, I'm saying it would be all right for her to
offer comfort and support to a friend.  Given the circumstances, I think
she's the right person for the job.  Am I missing something here?  You're not
going straight on me, are you, because I really don't want to have to explain
that to Matthew."

"No, I'm not going straight," he chuckled.  "But you should be thinking about
these things."

"Ty, if anyone else asked me to do this, I'd turn them down flat.  You know
me better than that.  If you don't want company on this trip, just say so and
I'll tell her no.  I need to start practicing being the bad guy for when Alex
and I have kids," she grinned.

"You?  The bad guy?  Riiiight," Tyler snickered.  "We all know who the
disciplinarian is going to be when the kids start coming."

"Oh, so you think Alex is going to have to be the one to keep the kiddies in
line?" Katie asked, eyebrows raised.

Tyler laughed out loud.  "Alex?  No way, I was talking about Matty and me.
You two just pop 'em out, we'll take care of making them civilized," he
grinned.

Katie laughed in spite of herself.  "You're such an ass, Tyler."

"Yeah, it's one of my most annoying, yet most endearing qualities," he added.
 "Weren't you on your way into the shower?"

"I was stalling to see if Alex was going to join to me," she answered,
looking back at the bedroom door.  "Looks like he fell back asleep."

"His loss," Tyler said.  "Go on, I'll start breakfast.  Maybe that will wake
up our Sleeping Beauty."
=============================

Alex's nose twitched as the aroma of cooking bacon filled the room.  He
opened his eyes and tried to get his bearings.  "Katie?"  She wasn't there,
which confused him.  'I was just talking to her,' he thought.  Then he
remembered.  "Oh shit," he groaned.  He got out of bed, pulled on a pair of
jeans and wandered out to the kitchen.

"Well there you are," Tyler scolded.

Alex yawned and scratched his head.  "Is she mad at me?" he asked, as he
reached for a piece of bacon from the paper towel on the counter.

Tyler slapped his hand.  "No, she's not mad at you, but I'm going to be, if
you don't get your hands off the food."  Alex gave him his best hurt look.
"Oh no you don't.  Wipe that expression off your face, it won't work with me.
 Besides, I know you; you're nothing but a tease.  You proved that to me last
night"

"Ty, about that," Alex said, looking down at the floor.  "I didn't know about
your mother.  I'm sorry.  I never would have. . ."

"Stop," Tyler said.  "The last thing I want is for you to feel bad about
trying to make me feel better.  And it did make me feel better, in case you
were wondering," he added.

Alex nodded.  "So we're good?"

"We're good," Tyler answered.

"All right."  Alex straightened up and pulled three glasses out of the
cabinet.  "Ty, can I ask you a question?"

Tyler sighed.  "Yes dear, you're a wonderful kisser," he said, rolling his
eyes.

Alex groaned, then chuckled.  "Thanks, but that's not what I was going to
ask."

"What do you want to know?"

"Has Katie. . .ah, never mind," Alex said, shaking his head.

"Has Katie what?  Come on, don't stop now."

"She was probably just playing with my head.  Forget I said anything."

Tyler took the last slice of bacon out of the frying pan and put it on the
paper towel.  He reached back and turned off the burner.  "Oh no, now you
have to finish asking," he said.   He leaned against the counter and crossed
his arms. "Come on, ask Uncle Ty."

"Uncle Ty?"  Alex asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Just trying it on for size.  Your kids have to call me something, you know.
Don't change the subject.  Has Katie ever, what?"

Alex shifted uncomfortably.  "It's just that. . .last night, when she came
in, she said something about drifting into some deep, dark fantasies after my
performance out here.  So I asked her if she meant about the two of us and
she said no.  Then, just before she fell asleep, she added, 'now you and
Mulder'."

Tyler looked at Alex's pained expression and tried to suppress his laughter.
He failed miserably, much to Alex's chagrin.

"Well thank you, Ty, you've been no help whatsoever," Alex growled.

"Oh Alex," Tyler choked out.  "I'm sorry.  Hang on."  He worked hard to
stifle the giggles.  "I'm trying not to laugh, really," he snickered.  He
took a couple of deep breaths and fought to regain his composure.  "OK, OK,
I'm fine now.  I'm sure she was just pulling your leg," he said, trying to
sound sympathetic and reassuring.

"You think so?"

"Sure."   He turned to start the eggs.  "Unless. . ."

"Unless what?" Alex asked, feeling his heart sink in his chest.

"Well, Mulder is an attractive man," he started.

"If you say so," Alex grumbled.

"Oh stop.  He's an attractive man and you know it," Tyler snapped.

"So what's your point?"

"Maybe it wasn't just you and Mulder she was having those deep, dark
fantasies about," he hinted.

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning maybe she hadn't finished her sentence before she fell asleep," he
said with a grin.

"Damn it, Tyler, will you tell me what you're getting at?"  Alex crossed his
arms in front of him, wrapping his hand tightly around the shoulder strap of
his prosthesis.

"Maybe our Katie is having fantasies about the three of you.  Ever think
about that, loverboy?"

"Oh great!  Thank you for that lovely visual, Tyler.  I feel so much better
now," Alex said sarcastically.  "Where in the hell did that come from?"

"Well, you three did spend an afternoon in bed together," Tyler reminded him.
 "And she did fall asleep and then wake up to find that both of you were
still there.  Doesn't take a giant leap of imagination, Alex.  And like I
said, Mulder is an attractive man."

Alex grimaced.  "You don't think she'd want to follow through on that, do
you?  I mean, if that's really what she meant to say?"

"Lighten up, Alex.  There's a big difference between what we fantasize about
and what we'd really want to have happen," Tyler answered.  He walked over
and pressed his forehead against Alex's.  "Look, she loves you and she's not
about to share your favors with anyone, under any circumstances.  The woman
is as selfish as the day is long where you're concerned."  He smiled, then
planted a soft kiss on Alex's forehead.  "Stop worrying about this; she's
yours and no one will ever take her away from you."  Tyler let go and took a
step back. "And next time, talk to her about this stuff, it might lead you
down some interesting roads."

Alex gave him a half-smile.  "Thanks, Ty.  I'll try to remember that."

"You do that. And Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Go put a shirt on before I start having fantasies about you," Tyler teased.

Alex chuckled, then walked away shaking his head.
=============================

Matthew dropped his head and rubbed his eyes.  "Let me get this straight.
You don't want me to go to Boston with you, but you do want to take this. .
.child?"

"I knew you wouldn't understand," Tyler sighed.

"You're right, I don't understand," Matthew said, throwing his hands up in
the air.  "I don't understand any of this."

"Will you let me explain?"

"Yeah, sure, explain away.  I'm dying to know why you'd rather have Miranda
by your side through this, than me, your so-called life partner.  Please,
fill me in."

Tyler got up off the couch and sat down on the coffee table so he could face
Matthew head on.  "Just listen and try not to interrupt for a few minutes."
He paused and waited for Matthew to look at him.  "All right.  I need someone
there who understands what I'm feeling.  You can't do that, Matty.  You can
sympathize, but you can't understand."  Matthew opened his mouth to protest,
but Tyler cut him off.  "No, you don't get to talk yet.  I know you; you'll
try to fix things, try to make it all better for me.  You can't argue,
because you know it's true.  I love you for it, but I don't need that this
time.  What I want. . .what I need, is someone who will let me cry or yell or
feel whatever it is I need to feel, without trying to placate me."

"I can do that," Matthew said.  He placed his hands on Tyler's thighs and
began gently caressing them.  "I can let you do all those things."

"No, you can't," Tyler snapped.  He pushed Matthew's hands from his legs and
stood up.  "You couldn't even manage to let half a second go by before you
started trying to make me feel better.  Damn it, Matthew!"  He stood there
staring at his partner, wanting to say more, but giving up before the words
found their way to his tongue.

"What is so wrong about my wanting to make you to feel better?" Matthew
asked, obviously exasperated with the whole conversation.  "When did this
become some horrible character flaw?"

"For crying out loud, Matthew; this has nothing to do with you, so stop the
woe-is-me bullshit.  This is about me and what I need."  He paused again.
"Oh, fuck it.  I give up."  Tyler stormed over to the door and opened it.  He
grabbed his jacket from the coat hook and slammed the door behind him.

"Oh, that's just fucking great," Matthew yelled at the door.  "Just walk
away.  That'll solve everything, won't it?"  He leaned forward and snagged
the remote from the coffee table.  "Fine, go have your tantrum" he muttered,
turning on the television.  "I don't need this shit."

=============================

"I didn't think he'd take me seriously," Miranda said.  "I mean, I was
serious when I said it and I do want to go, but I never thought he'd really
consider it."

"Well, I have to say I was a little surprised at first," Katie admitted.
"But when I thought about it, it made sense.  You're the only one he knows
who can honestly understand how he feels.  He needs that right now," she
said.

"Tyler's done so much for me, Katie and I'm not just talking about getting
you and Alex to agree to stay with me either.  He's. . ." Miranda stopped and
looked down at her feet.  "He doesn't know it, but he's my best friend."

"He feels the same way about you," Katie said with a smile.

Miranda looked up.  "Did he tell you that?"

"Didn't have to.  I've known Ty a long time. I know the signs."

"So, if he asks me to go, I can?" Miranda asked.

"When he asks, you can tell him it's ok," Katie confirmed.
=============================


Matthew found him sitting on a bench in the park.  An hour of flipping
channels had given him plenty of time to play their conversation over and
over in his head.  After the initial anger started to subside, Matthew
understood what Tyler had been trying to say.  He didn't like it and it still
hurt, but he understood.

Tyler felt Matthew's presence behind him, but didn't turn around to
acknowledge him.  He stayed still, staring straight ahead and waited, not
sure of what Matthew was going to do or say.  He felt a hand in his hair,
then two arms draped over his shoulders.

"She can do that for you?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah," Tyler answered.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Just the weekend."

Matthew rested his chin on the top of Tyler's head.  "Will you let me try to
make it better for you in the meantime?" he asked softly.

Tyler chuckled.  "You really can't help it, can you doc?"

Matthew shrugged.  "Would you believe 'occupational hazard'?"

Tyler grinned, the game was afoot. "Would you accept 'serious character
flaw'?"

Matthew leaned over and looked at him. "Are you trying to start a fight?"

"Are you?"  Tyler countered, still grinning.

Matthew smirked. "Is this a cheap ploy to get make-up sex?"

"Wanna have make-up sex?"  Tyler asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Matthew pretended to be shocked. "Right here?"

Tyler shrugged. "Why not?"

"Can you say 'public indecency'?"

Tyler stood up and faced Matthew.  "Race you home?"

Matthew glanced down, then back up at Tyler's face.  "Think you can run in
that condition?"

Tyler peered over the back of the bench at his lover.  "Can you?"

Matthew opened his mouth, then closed it again.  'Come on, there has to be a
question in there somewhere.  Think, Matthew, think.'  He looked over at
Tyler, who was smiling victoriously.  "Ah shit.  You always win that stupid
game."

Tyler walked around the bench and took Matthew's hand.  "Does that piss you
off?"

"Yes."

"Just can't stand to lose, can you?"  Tyler asked as they began to walk home.

"No.  And you can cut it out now."

"Cut what out?"

Matthew started to smile.  "You are so going to pay for that."

Tyler stopped walking and pulled Matthew into his arms.  "Is that a promise
or a threat?"

"Oh, that's a promise, baby," he answered.  Matthew slid his hand down the
front of Tyler's jeans and gave him a quick squeeze, eliciting a yelp from
his partner.  "That's definitely a promise."
=============================

"You're sure you have everything?" Katie asked Miranda and Tyler for the
third time.

Miranda and Tyler exchanged amused glances.  "Yes, mother!" they answered in
unison.

Alex put his arms around her.  "Leave them alone, Katie.  If they've
forgotten anything, I'm sure they'll manage.  Besides, I hear they have
stores in Boston now," he teased.

"Yessiree," Tyler chimed in.  "They done built us one of them great big
dee-partment stores just up the road a piece."

"And didn't you tell me that they have one of them supermarkets up there,
too?" Miranda added.

Tyler turned to Miranda and nodded.  "Yeah, you can buy milk right from one
of them great big refrigerators and everything."

Alex and Matthew snickered.  Katie rolled her eyes and sighed.  "Ha, ha.  I
get it.  I'll stop hovering."

"No you won't," all in attendance replied.

"OK, fine, screw all of you," Katie huffed.  "I'm just going to go sit in the
car now.  Have a nice flight you two," she said, as she turned and started
walking.

The four stood and watched for a second.  Alex looked over at Matthew.
Miranda put her hand on Alex's arm.  Tyler shook his head and chuckled.  "One
of us better stop her," Tyler said, staring pointedly at Alex.

"Why me?" Alex asked.  "You two pissed her off; I didn't."

Matthew and Tyler stared at him, not wanting to say what was begging to be
said, in front of Miranda.

Miranda squeezed his arm.  "Alex," she said sweetly.  "You're going to have
the house to yourselves this weekend, so if you plan on getting any, you'd
better go after her."

"Miranda!" Matthew exclaimed, looking properly shocked.

"Oh, like you weren't thinking the same thing," she answered.

"God, Matthew.  You are such a prude," Tyler said.  "Besides, you know she's
right, on both counts.  Katie's halfway down the concourse, Alex.  Better get
your ass in gear."

Alex grinned at Miranda and shook his head.  "It's always the quiet ones."
He looked down the concourse, then at his friends.  "Be right back."
=============================

"What are you smiling about?"  Matthew asked Katie.

"You," she answered.

"What about me?"

"You actually managed to keep your mouth shut."

"I'm pretty impressed myself, Matthew," Alex added.  "I didn't think you'd be
able to carry it off."

Matthew huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.  "I can keep a secret."

"Well, you kept this one anyway," Katie smirked.

"Yes I did.  And I'm never going to let you forget it either," Matthew shot
back.  "Now stop stalling.  We need to get going or we'll be late."

"He's right, patience isn't one of Mulder's virtues either," Alex said,
giving Katie a wink.

=============================

"Shouldn't they be here already?" Mulder asked, pacing the floor nervously.

"Mulder.  They'll be here as soon as they can.  Maybe the flight was delayed.
 Besides, they're not late yet," Scully said.

"No we're not," Alex said, startling both of them.  "I'm never late; you
should know that by now."  He playfully slapped Mulder's arm.  "You're losing
it, Mulder.  I saw you jump."

"I did not jump," Mulder snapped.

"Yes, you did," Katie snickered.

"That's ridiculous," Mulder said, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

Katie grinned.  She walked over to Mulder and put her arms around him.  "Good
to see you again, Mulder."

Mulder returned the hug with a smile.  "You too, Katie."

"Let's get this show on the road, gang," Matthew said.  "I'm on call this
weekend, so I don't have all day."

Katie let go of Mulder and started toward Matthew and Dana.  "Let's do it,"
she said.  Alex stepped up beside her and put his arms around her shoulders.
She turned her head slightly and kissed his hand.  "Oh Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"For the record, you jumped," Katie said, giving him a wink.

Mulder frowned.  "Scully, I'll go check in to the hotel and meet you back
here in a little while."

"Hotel?" Katie asked.  "What hotel?  I know this visit isn't on the FBI's
tab.  You can stay with us."

"Katie, I don't think that's such a good idea," Mulder responded.

"Was I asking?  That wasn't a request, Mulder," Katie said, looking amused.

"Scully?" Mulder asked, looking to his partner for support.

Scully shrugged.  "It would be nice to sleep in a real bed, Mulder.  Those
hotel beds leave something to be desired."

"There, it's settled," Katie said.  "You can buy dinner tonight, Mulder, if
that will make you feel better."

"Yeah, Mulder.  How about ribs?" Alex grinned.

"Alex," Katie warned.

"What?  It's a joke.  Right, Mulder?" Alex said, appealing to Mulder's sense
of humor.

"Yeah, right, just a joke," Mulder answered, rolling his eyes.  "So anyway,
Scully, how long do you think this will take?"

"Maybe an hour," Scully replied.  "We'll do an ultrasound and a pelvic exam.
If that gives us enough information, then we'll forego the rest of the tests
for now.  Why don't you just hang tight for a little while?  You can keep
Alex company while I do the pelvic exam."

"They always kick me out for that part," Alex complained.

"Poor baby," Katie crooned sarcastically.

Matthew reached over and grabbed Katie's hand, pulling her away from Alex.
"All right, Hanna, you've stalled long enough.  You're coming back with us
now.  Alex, lead, follow or get out of the way."

"Mulder, want to see the ultrasound?" Katie asked, as she was being dragged
away.

"NO!" Alex snapped, before Mulder could answer.

Mulder snickered as he sat down on the couch.  He only had to wait about
fifteen minutes before Alex returned to the waiting room.  "That was fast.
Did they see anything in the ultrasound?"

Alex sighed.  "I don't know, neither of them would tell me anything."

Mulder closed the magazine he was reading and tossed it on the table. "They
probably want time to look over the results before giving you any conclusive
answers.  You know how Scully is about checking every last detail before
rendering a decision."

"Matthew's the same way."  Alex tapped his feet nervously and looked at the
door to the examining room.  "I really hate this, Mulder," he said quietly.

"I know you do."  Mulder sat back on the couch and watched Alex fidget.  He
knew that Alex wanted someone to talk to, a friend.  He also knew Alex was
hoping that, someday, he might be that friend.  Mulder wrestled with the
idea, replaying the events of the last few months in his head, looking for
evidence of deception on Alex's part.  When he couldn't find any, he took a
deep breath and decided to take that first plunge into friendly conversation.
 Before he could say anything, Matthew came out of the examining room.

"Katie's getting dressed.  Dana and I need a little time to look over the
pictures from the ultrasound and discuss our findings.  Why don't you two
take her out of here and we'll meet you back at the house later on."

"She's all right?  You didn't find anything. . ." Alex stopped mid-sentence.

"She's fine, Alex," Matthew reassured him.  "We didn't find anything bad, we
just need some time to look at the pictures, compare them to last time and
double-check a few things so we can be sure.  The three of you need to go
out, get some lunch, go grocery shopping, see a movie, something, anything,
as long as you get out of here and let us do our job.  We'll see you back at
the house in a few hours."

Alex reached into his pocket and handed Matthew the car keys.  "Here.  I'll
let Mulder chauffeur us around.  I'm sure he'd prefer to be in control of the
vehicle anyway."

Mulder lowered his eyes at Alex.  "Last time you drove, it cost me my
favorite shirt."

"Hey, we replaced the shirt," Alex snapped.  "I can't believe you're still
pissed about that."

Matthew slipped the keys into his pocket.  "Look, you two try to get along,
all right.  She's already started giving me and Dana shit back there for not
giving her any answers; one cross word from either of you is liable to send
her over the edge."
=============================

"How about this one?" Mulder asked, plucking a box from the shelf and holding
it up.

Alex spotted the title on the box and stifled a snicker.  He considered going
to Mulder's aid, but decided to let him face the wrath of Katie on his own.

Katie shook her head in disgust and stared at Mulder. "Oh man, not you, too,
Mulder!

"What?"  Mulder asked.

 "Why is it that all the men in my life feel the need to torment me with that
wretched waste of celluloid?"

"Waste of celluloid!  How can you call Plan 9 a waste of celluloid?   Ed Wood
encompassed the very essence of profound absurdity with this film." Mulder
said, returning her stare.

"Oh, Mulder.  Ed Wood was not the Wayfarer, tied to the foot of the Divine
Elephant with golden chains.  He was a nutcase who probably never even heard
of Daniel Ladinsky and couldn't have cared less about the 'profound
absurdity' of anything," Katie exclaimed.  "Plan 9 is merely a testament to
the depths of his insatiable ego and total lack of film-making skills."

Mulder raised his eyebrows.  "You know Ladinsky?  I'm impressed."

"I may not have been Oxford educated, but I am fairly well-read," Katie
answered.  She cleared her throat and began.  "Wayfarer, Your whole mind and
body have been tied to the foot of the Divine Elephant with a thousand golden
chains. Now, begin to rain intelligence and compassion on your tender,
wounded cells. And realize the profound absurdity of thinking that you can
ever go anywhere or do anything without God's will."  Katie leveled a glare
at him.  "Any questions?"

Mulder returned the box to the shelf.  "Fine, no Ed Wood.  Scully wouldn't
want to sit through it again anyway," he sighed.  "I didn't have you pegged
as a poetry lover, Katie."

Katie smiled.  "I'm not.  Honestly, with a few exceptions, I avoid poetry at
all costs."

"Then how did you learn Wayfarer?" Mulder asked.  "Or is that one of your
exceptions?"

"College assignment.  We had to take a random phrase and search for a poem
that used it; I chose 'profound absurdity'.  I never did understand the point
of the assignment and it could have been a real pain in the ass to research.
As luck would have it, my roommate was into religious poetry and when I
showed her the assignment, she pulled out this poem.  For some reason, it's
stuck with me all these years," Katie explained.

Alex slipped in behind Katie and wrapped his arms around her.  "As
fascinating as this conversation is, we really need to find something and get
going.  I don't think we want to keep Scully and Matthew waiting."

Katie nodded and pointed to a box a few shelves down.  "What about that one,
Mulder?  Still staying in science fiction, but going for quality over
profound absurdity."

Mulder leaned over and plucked the box from the shelf.  "Silent Running?
Sure.  Scully might enjoy this one."

=============================

"This is it?" Miranda asked.  She got out of the rental car and stopped on
the sidewalk, staring at the townhouse in front of her.

Tyler put the bags on the sidewalk, closed the trunk, then climbed the three
steps to unlock the front door.  "Yeah, this is the place," he answered.
"Come on, let's go inside and I'll give you the grand tour."

Miranda grabbed the bags and followed him up the steps and inside.

"Here, let me take those," Tyler said.  "OK, follow me.  Over to your left we
have the living room.  Not that any 'living' ever went on in that room.  It
was mostly used for hosting numerous parties.  I was rarely allowed in there,
you understand.  Little boys are hideously dirty and we wouldn't want
anything to get on the expensive furniture.  On the right, the formal dining
room.  That table seats twenty comfortably, in case you were wondering.
Couldn't prove it by me, since I mostly ate in the kitchen.  Back there," he
said, pointing behind the dining room, "is the downstairs kitchen.  Come on,
you've got to see this."  He led her into the kitchen.  "This is where the
party meals were prepared.  There's another kitchen upstairs, but since the
formal dining room was down here, mother had to have another fully stocked
kitchen down here.  Wouldn't want to chance any of the regular cooking
utensils mixing with any of the more expensive pieces used to prepare meals
for guests," he sneered.  "Back here, we have the pantry and a full
bathroom."

"A bathroom off the kitchen?" Miranda asked.

"Of course," Tyler answered.  "This door leads to the garden and the detached
garage.  Whenever I went outside to play, I had to take a shower before going
upstairs, so as not to track dirt through the house.  Mother hated dirt."

"I see."

"Ready for more?"

"Lead on, MacDuff," Miranda grinned.

She followed him up the stairs to the second floor, looking at the paintings
adorning the walls of the stairway.

"Up here we have the more informal living quarters.  The parlor, the second
kitchen, a front room and a back room with a small study.  The front room
opens up on to a wrought iron balcony that overlooks the Commons.  The back
room has one that overlooks the gardens.  Should be a beautiful view this
time of year, if you're interested," he said.

"Maybe later," Miranda answered.  "Come on, let's see the rest of the place.
I'll explore the nooks and crannies later."

Up another flight of stairs to the third story.  No pictures here, just a
simple, but elegant wallpaper pattern.

"Third floor.  To your right, the library.  To your left, the master bedroom.
 I'd rather not go into the bedroom right now, if you don't mind.  It's
spectacular, but I'm not ready to deal with mother's personal effects just
yet."

Miranda nodded.  "Let's keep moving then."

Another flight of stairs, same wallpaper design.

"Fourth floor, guest bedrooms.  Each room has its own fireplace and attached
bath.  Mother wasn't much for house guests, but my grandparents stayed here a
few times, before they died," Tyler said quietly.   He stared into the back
room for a second.  "Well, one more floor, then the tour will be officially
over."  He started climbing the last set of stairs, with Miranda close
behind.

"I'm hoping that your room is up here," Miranda said.

"Yeah, this was my sanctuary.  At first, I was scared to be so far away from
my parents, but by the time I was six and had realized that they didn't give
a damn about me, I began to feel that this was the only safe place in the
house."

Miranda put her hand on Tyler's arm.  "I'm sorry, Ty."

He smiled and shook his head. "Don't be.  It was a long time ago.  Besides, I
had the best floor in the house," he grinned.  "Over here was my room."  He
grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall.  When he opened the door, he
stood and stared for a minute, not believing what he was seeing.

"What's wrong?" Miranda asked.

"It's. . .uh. . .nothing, I guess.  I mean. . .it's all here," Tyler
stammered.

"What's all here?"

"Everything.  Everything is just the way it was when I left home," he
answered.  He walked cautiously into the room, dragging his fingers on the
furniture, checking for dust.  "It's been cleaned, but nothing's been taken
out."

"Does that surprise you?"

Tyler turned and faced her.  "Very much.  I thought that she'd have gotten
rid of everything a long time ago."

"Maybe she couldn't do it, Ty.  Maybe she loved you more than she was willing
to let on," Miranda offered.

"Maybe she couldn't be bothered, since no one used these rooms except me
anyway," Tyler retorted.

"So, what kind of secrets about your misspent youth are hidden in this room?"
Miranda asked, trying to change the subject.  She walked over to the closet
door and threw it open.  "What treasures lurk behind the doors?" She entered
the closet, with Tyler trailing behind.  "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, pulling
a shirt off the rack.  "Tell me your mother picked this out."

"Hey, that was quite stylish in its day," Tyler said, snatching the shirt
from her hands.  "Besides, it used to horrify her whenever I'd go out of the
house wearing it."

"I find myself in the awkward position of having to defend your mother on
that one," Miranda giggled.  "It's awful."

"I suppose it is," Tyler grinned.  "Come on, let's get out of here and go see
what's in the kitchen that's edible.  We'll eat, then figure out how we're
going to get rid of all this stuff."

"Deal.  I'm starving."

The second floor kitchen still had plenty of food in the pantry, so between
the two of them, Miranda and Tyler were able put together a hearty dinner.
The only thing lacking was milk and snack food, so while Miranda cleaned up
the dinner dishes, Tyler took a trip to the grocery store.  Forty-five
minutes later, he returned with groceries in hand.

"Good grief, Tyler.  We're only going to be here for a few days," Miranda
exclaimed, when she saw the bags.

"This is stress food," he explained.  "Cookies, crackers, chips, all the
necessities for stress eating."

"No M&M's ?" she asked.

Tyler smiled and reached into the last bag.  "Plain all right?"

"Perfect," she chuckled.  "OK, I've been thinking about how to approach this
mess simply and easily and I think I have a solution."

"Great, because I've been thinking about this all week and drawing a complete
blank."

"This is what I'm thinking," she started.  "You said that nothing in this
house, except the stuff in your bedroom, means anything to you, right?"  He
nodded.  "Well, I've been looking around and there are some really nice
things here, things that maybe you'd like to have, right?"

"Yeah, there are a few things that I wouldn't mind having," he admitted.

"Good, then let's go shopping," she said, grinning at his puzzled expression.
 "Look, we'll start with your room and make sure we get all the things that
mean something to you.  Then, we'll hit each room in the house and go
shopping for anything you might like to have.  Consider this your own
personal mall.  We'll pick up some boxes from a moving company tomorrow; pack
up the stuff you want and have it shipped home.  The rest of the stuff you
can leave for the lawyer and realtor to sort out."

Tyler leaned back against the counter.  "That's not a bad idea."

"I'm glad you like it."

"Just one thing," he added.

"What?"

"I'm not shopping by myself."

Now it was Miranda's turn to be puzzled.  "What are you talking about,
Tyler?"

"You're going to be shopping, too," he answered.  "Anything you see that you
want, you're to pack up for yourself, all right?"

Miranda started to protest. "Ty. . ."

"Don't start with me.  Look, I know you didn't come here to get anything and
I know you don't 'need' anything, so just forget giving me that argument
right now.  We're trapped in this private mall for the next two days, so
we're going to take full advantage of it and shop 'til we drop.  If you see
something you want, take it.  I don't care what it is, jewelry, books,
clothing, paintings, whatever.  Anything we don't want is just going to get
donated or sold or disposed anyway, so we might as well get first pick."

Miranda shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.  "I don't know.
Everything in this place is worth so much and it's not like I'm family or
anything."

Tyler pushed himself off the counter and wrapped his arms around her.  "What
do you mean, you're not family?  You're as much a part of my family, as
Matthew, Katie and Alex.  You're the only one I could have brought here, you
know.  I'd be trying to do this by myself, if it wasn't for you."  He
released her, took a step back and lifted her chin.  "You're my best friend,
Mira, so don't ever think you're not family."

"You're my best friend, too," she whispered.

He chuckled and reached for a bag of snacks.  "Good.  Now that that's
settled, what do you want to do tonight, watch TV or start shopping?"

"Shopping.  Definitely shopping," she answered.  "This place is huge and we
don't have that much time."

"OK, meet you upstairs.  First stop, my room."


Mulder drew back the curtain and peered into the backyard.  "Think she's all
right?" he asked Scully.

"Go out and check on her, if you're worried," she replied.

He let the curtain fall into place and turned to face her.  "I don't know if
that's such a good idea.  Alex might take it the wrong way."

Scully sighed.  "Look, Mulder.  First, Alex isn't here.  Second, the two of
you are going to have to get over this nonsense.  We have to put the past
behind us.  He's trying and I know you are as well, but it isn't enough.
We're going to have to learn to trust and rely on one another sooner or
later, so why not start now?"  She put her hand on his shoulder, rubbing
gently.   "If you're worried about Katie, go out and check on her.  When Alex
gets back, if you're still out there, I'll talk to him."  She reached up and
gave him a kiss.  "Go on.  I have a feeling she'd like the chance to talk to
you, too."

Mulder shifted uncomfortably, feeling the need to explain himself. "She's
just sitting there," he said.

"And you're concerned about her.  You don't have to rationalize for me. Go,"
she said, pushing the sliding glass door open.

Mulder turned and walked out.  Scully closed the door behind him.  He looked
back at her, hesitantly, until she motioned for him to keep going.

He stepped off the porch and made his way over to the picnic table in the
middle of the yard.  Katie was sitting on the table, staring up into the sky.
At first, he wasn't sure she was that he was there.

"Why do they hate us?" Katie asked, as he approached the table.

"I don't know," he answered.  "Maybe they don't hate us at all.  Maybe it has
nothing to do with hate."

Katie looked at him.  "What do you mean?"

"Maybe we're just in the way.  May I?" he asked, pointing to the table.

"Sure."

He sat down beside her and stared up at the stars.  "Maybe we're just in the
way," he repeated.   "We were fun to play with for a while, but now we're
just an annoyance to be dealt with."

"So as far as they're concerned, we're just bugs to be squashed?"

"That's one theory," Mulder answered.

Katie shrugged and shook her head, before turning her eyes upward again.
They sat together, feeling no need to fill the space with idle conversation.
After a few minutes, Katie reached over and took Mulder's hand in hers.  He
was surprised, but didn't pull away.

"I need contact, Mulder, but if this makes you uncomfortable I'll let go,"
Katie said quietly.

Mulder slid closer and rested their hands on his knee.  He put his free hand
on top of the one in his other hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem."

Katie didn't say anything for while, but Mulder could tell by her breathing,
that she was trying to figure out how to ask him something.  "What is it?"

She waited briefly, before speaking. "Are we doing the right thing, planning
to have a baby?"  She looked at him.  "Do we have the right to bring a child
into the world knowing we what we know?"

Mulder sighed.  "Katie, I'm the wrong one to ask.  If you're looking for
religious guidance, then Scully's the one you need to talk to."

"I don't want religious rhetoric.  I want to know what you think."

His head dropped and he stared at their hands.  "I think we need to keep
living.  We need to prepare and be prepared, but we have to keep living.  If
we stop doing that, then we might as well give up." He paused and took a deep
breath.  "I can't promise you that we're going to be all right, but I can
promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep everyone as safe as
possible."

"I know you will." Katie smiled at him.  "You know, Mulder, no one expects
you to do this all by yourself."

"That's what Scully keeps telling me."

"You should listen to her; she's a smart lady."  Katie glanced back at the
house and saw that Alex and Scully were watching them.  "Alex is home," she
said.  Mulder started to turn around.  "Don't you dare.  I'm tired of this
crap from the two of you.  I rely on my friends for comfort and Alex is going
to have to accept that you're my friend, Mulder.  Just as you're going to
have to accept that he's trying to be yours."  Katie squeezed his hand.
"Stay here with me?" she asked.  "Please?"

Mulder gave her a half-grin and bumped her shoulder.  "OK, but if he takes a
swing, I expect you to protect me."

Katie threw back her head and laughed.  "You got it, baby."
=============================

"How long have they been out there?" Alex asked Scully.

"Since about fifteen minutes after you left."

He checked his watch and did a little mental addition.  "About forty-five
minutes then.  Why are they out there?"

"Oh, for crying out loud, Alex.  Look, Katie went outside just after you
left, while Mulder and I were busy cleaning up.  He was worried about her, so
I sent him out to see if she was all right.  No mystery, no covert operation,
he was merely concerned.  I don't know for sure why she went out there, but
my guess is that she needed some time to think."

Alex rested his head against the door.  "She used to walk when she needed to
think."

Scully put her hand on Alex's back.  "One thing I've learned about Katie is
that she needs her friends.  Looking at them right now, I'd say that Mulder's
on that list for good."

"He is," Alex said.  "So are you, you know."

Scully smiled.  "Come on, let's go see what they're up to."

"No, if I go out there, they'll both think it's because I don't trust
Mulder."

"Not if I go out there with you," Scully said.  She opened the door and
pushed him through.  "Come on, I'll cover you," she joked.

Alex chuckled.  "Thanks Dana, I feel much safer now."

They walked out to the picnic table together.  "Is this a private party or
can anyone join?" Scully asked.

"Sit, there's plenty of room," Katie answered.

Scully slipped in next to Mulder, while Alex took his place next to Katie.
He noticed that she made no move to let go of Mulder's hand.  Instead of
making a comment, he simply took her other hand in his.  "You all right?"

Katie smiled up at him. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answered.  "Just needed a
little help from my friends.  Right, Mulder?"

Mulder nodded and squeezed her hand.  "Right."

Alex's eyes shifted from Katie to Mulder.  He almost expected to see a
challenge in Mulder's expression, a dare to push things to some sort of
confrontation.  What he saw instead, was a man at peace. He glanced over at
Scully, who gave him a barely perceptible smile, then looked at Katie.  "OK,"
he said softly.
=============================

"Well if you don't want it I do," Miranda declared.  She pulled the slightly
faded MIT sweatshirt on over her head.  "There, perfect fit."

"That thing's older than you are," Tyler chuckled.

"So are you," she countered.  "What's your point?"

"Ouch!  No more candy for you tonight; you get nasty when you've had too much
sugar," Tyler said, snatching the bag from the table.

"I wasn't being nasty," she argued.  "I was merely stating a fact.  Just
because you're insecure about your age, is no reason to call me names."

"I'm not insecure about my age," he protested.

Miranda snickered and shook her head.  "Right, that's why every other
sentence out of your mouth for the last two hours has started with  'I was so
young back then' or 'Oh man, that seems like a lifetime ago' or. . ."

Tyler raised his arms in surrender. "OK, stop, I get the point.  This is
weird, you know?  I haven't seen this stuff in almost twenty years.  I feel
like I've walked into the museum of my youth."

Miranda closed the closet door.  "You have," she said, giving him a little
smile.  "And I think the museum needs to be closed to visitors right now, so
the curator can enjoy his things in private."  She walked over and kissed his
cheek.  "I'm going to bed."

"You don't have to go, Mira.  That's not what I meant."

"I know, but I think you could use the time alone.  See you in the morning,
Ty."

"Sleep well sweetie."
=============================

Never in the depths of his imagination would Alex have come up with the
scenario before him.  The four of them, linked like a human chain, sitting
atop a picnic table, staring up into the stars.  The only links he and Mulder
had ever been bound with were metal and the scene usually involved one of
them beating the shit out of the other.  'Well, usually involved Mulder
beating the shit of me,' he amended.  He leaned over and gave Katie a kiss on
the top of her head.  Mulder saw him and, was that a smile?  Alex couldn't be
sure, but three minutes later, Mulder extracted his hand from Katie's.  He
and Scully said their good nights and disappeared inside the house, leaving
Katie and Alex alone.

"I thought they'd never leave," Alex whispered.

"I thought you were enjoying yourself, Alexei."

"I was, but. . ."

"But what?"

"Promise you won't get mad?"

Katie grinned and turned to face him.  "Nope, you'll just have to take your
chances."

Alex bit his lower lip, trying to look fearful.  "I was getting a little
tired of sharing you with him."

"You are so full of shit," Katie snickered.

He stood up and placed himself between her legs. "No, really," Alex
protested.  "You wouldn't let go of his hand, so I couldn't do this."  He
took her face in his hands and kissed her gently.

"Oh," Katie whispered.  "What else couldn't you do with him here?"

"This, for starters."  Alex pushed her hair up and nipped her neck.  Katie
hummed as he alternately nipped and kissed his way from the base of her neck
to the back of her ear.  "And I certainly couldn't do this," he murmured,
letting his hand slip to her breast.

"That would have been wholly inappropriate," she agreed, arching into his
touch.

"As would this," he added, as he unbuttoned her shirt and pushed it open.

"What are you doing, Alexei?" Katie asked.

"Trying to seduce my wife?"  He answered with a grin.

"What about the neighbors?"

"Let them seduce their own wives," he quipped, before sealing his lips to her
right nipple.

Katie reluctantly pulled his head away.  "What if someone sees us?  Victor
has to live next to these people."

His hands moved up to where his mouth had been.  He felt her react to the
coolness of the prosthesis.  "It's dark, it's late and there's a six foot
privacy fence all around the yard. Who's going to see us?"  Alex lowered his
mouth to hers.  "And don't even think about saying his name right now."

"Whose name?" Katie teased, just before pressing her lips to his.  Her hands
grabbed his shirt and pulled it free from his jeans.  She pushed her hands up
underneath, stroking his chest.  "Off," she ordered.

"You first," he whispered, pushing her shirt off of her shoulders.

Katie pulled her shirt off and dropped it on the table beside her.  "Your
turn."

Alex's shirt joined hers in short order.  He pulled her off the table and
quickly unsnapped her jeans.  "Ever been fucked in the great outdoors,
Katya?" he asked, as he tugged at the zipper.

"No.  I tried to get this guy to do me on the beach one time, but he whined
about the water being too cold," she replied.

"There's no water here," he whispered, as he pushed her jeans down.  "And the
temperature is just right." His fingers grazed her hips, then shoved her
panties down as well.  "Turn around."

"Do I get any say in this?" she asked, as she began to turn around.

Alex pushed her down until her hands were braced on the tabletop. "You get
plenty of say," he answered.  His fingers traveled lower and found her wet
and willing.  "You get to say 'oh Alex'," he teased, as he pushed his fingers
inside her.  Katie gasped, making him smile.  "You get to say, 'more',
'harder, baby' and 'don't stop'."  His fingers stroked inside her, his thumb
grazing her clit, making her whimper.  "Oh yeah, you get to make that noise."

"How about 'now'?" Katie panted.  "Do I get to say that?"

"As long as you say it with conviction," he answered.

"How's this?  Get those jeans off and do me now!" she growled.  She pushed
her ass against his jeans to drive the point home.  "Is that enough
conviction for you?"  She heard the unmistakable sound of a zipper being
released and the soft sound of fabric falling behind her.

He pressed against her.  "Say it again."

"Alex," she grumbled.  "You're making me crazy."

"Uh oh, baby.  Now you're going to have to say please."

"Alex."

"Say it baby."

"Ratboy."

"Close enough."

He pushed inside her with such force that she almost lost her hold on the
table.  "God, yes," she cried.  "What is it I'm allowed to say again?"

Alex bit her shoulder. "'More', 'harder', don't stop'," he repeated.

"Don't stop.  That's the one I was looking for.  Don't stop, baby, don't you
dare stop."

He slowed down, stroking in and out as slowly as he could stand.  She tried
to back into him, force him to move more quickly, but he held her still.  "Oh
no you don't," he murmured.  "Not after calling me that name."

"Why are you being so mean, Alexei," Katie pouted.

"Because you love it," he answered.  "You love it when I push you like this,
don't you?"  He pulled out, then pushed in hard.  "Don't you?"  When she
didn't answer, he did it again, hearing her soft cry of pleasure.  "Don't
you, Katya?"

"Yes," she admitted.  His fingers touched her thigh and she sighed, waiting
for them to move higher.  He didn't disappoint her.  Soon, the familiar
tingling became overwhelming.  "God, Alex, I'm so close."

"I know baby.  Let go."

Katie was not exactly known for following orders, but this one sounded pretty
good to her, so she willing complied.  She was pleased to note that Alex
wasn't far behind.  He fell on top of her, crushing her to the table.  Not
that she minded.  "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that this was not a
first for you."  She felt him smile against her neck.  "Not by a long shot,"
she added.

"This was my first picnic table," he said, still smiling.  "But definitely
not my first outdoor experience."  He pushed up and stretched, then reached
down to hike up his pants.  Katie did the same, haphazardly pulling on her
shirt as well.

"So?" she asked.

"So what?"

"So just how much experience do you have in the great outdoors?"

Alex raised his eyebrows.  "You really want to go there?"

"I asked, didn't I?"

"Just checking," he said.  "You know that most of my adult life I've been on
the road and you know how I spent most of it."

"Yeah, go on."

"So you know that I didn't really have any one place to call home for any
length of time."

"You're stalling, Alexei."

Alex looked at the ground, then turned his head sideways toward her.  "Would
you believe most of it?"

It took her a minute to follow his train of thought.  "You're telling me that
most of your encounters were of the outdoors variety?"

"I told you that most of them were hit and run, remember?"

"Well yeah, but I assumed. . ."

"Never assume, Katya."

"So where did you go?"

Alex closed his eyes and groaned.  "You're really going to make me tell you?"

"Oh yeah, I love seeing you squirm," she grinned.  "Spill it, baby."

"Remember, you asked for it," he warned.  "OK, once in a tanker when I was
holding that Russian kid hostage, right after this happened," he said lifting
his left shoulder.

"You told Matthew that you hadn't had sex since that happened," she reminded
him.

"That was the only time," he answered, not looking at her.  "Marita's final
insult.  I tend to block that one out."

"Sorry.  Go on."

"Well, numerous parks in a variety of European countries, more back alleys
than I can count and a couple of hotel railings."

"Wait," Katie said, holding up her hands.  "If you were in a hotel, why use
the railing?"

"Because the lady's husband was inside, asleep in the bed."

"Oh."

Katie didn't say anything for a little while.  Alex wasn't sure how to read
the silence, but he chose to let it be until she was ready to continue the
conversation.

"If you've spent most of your time doing this outdoors, how come we've never.
. ."

Alex stopped her with a kiss.  "Because I love you.  Because I thought that
you deserved better.  Partly because using the bed felt so kinky."  He winked
at her and touched her cheek.  "And because, up until now, it's been too
damned cold," he chuckled.

Katie stared at him and folded her arms against her chest. "So this is purely
weather related and not a by-product of Mulder holding my hand while sitting
on this very table?"

"This has nothing to do with Mulder!" he huffed.

"Liar," she challenged.

"Katya, he had nothing. . ." Katie stopped him with a look he'd never seen
from her before.  Damn it, that's Scully's look, the one that always stops
Mulder dead in his tracks.  Alex found it had the same effect on him.
'Thanks, Scully.'  He frowned and forced out a breath.  "OK, maybe it had a
little to do with Mulder."

"Color me surprised," she responded, rolling her eyes.  "You know baby," she
said, pulling him close.  "Mulder also had his thigh pressed right up against
mine, before you came out here."

"This one?" he asked, running his hand up her right thigh.

"That's the one," she answered, as she brought her hand up to his cheek.  "He
pressed right up against me while were talking about babies."

"Yours and mine, I hope," Alex whispered, before turning his head to kiss the
palm of her hand.

"Yours and mine," she echoed.

Alex's hands traveled to her belly.  "I still can't believe we're there.
They're really sure you're healed?"

"They are," she confirmed.  "Boggles the mind, doesn't it?  Two months faster
than we'd originally thought, too."

"Can I tell you something, Katya?"

"Anything, you know that."

"When we started all this talk about babies, and I know that I'm the one who
first brought it up, it was just an idea, you know?  Then the healing started
and the idea became more of a possibility.  I thought. . .I was afraid, that
if it became a reality, I'd panic."

Katie laughed.  "Can I tell you something, Alexei?"

"Anything."

"Me, too.  I thought for sure I'd panic and look for an out."

Alex laughed with her.  "Are you looking for an out?"

Katie shook her head.  "Are you?"

He took her head in his hands and stared into her eyes.  "Wanna go make a
baby?"

She nodded, then closed her eyes as he kissed her.  "You know, it doesn't
always happen right away."

"Then we'll just have to keep trying until we get it right," he grinned.
"Come on, let's go inside."

"Why, it's dark, it's late, we have a six-foot privacy fence."

"The picnic table is hard, the ground is too.  Next time we'll bring sleeping
bags and do this right, but for now, I want you inside, in bed.  Bending over
a table is good, but for what I have in mind, we're going to need a softer
surface."

"But we will conduct further outdoor studies, right?"

"Absolutely.  I promised you a roll in the surf, didn't I?"

"Yes you did."

"All right then, let's go inside."

Katie picked up his shirt and handed it to him.  He reached over and buttoned
a couple of buttons on hers.  "They're probably in bed," she snickered.  "Or
watching us from the bedroom window."

Alex's head whipped around and looked at the window in question.  "No way,
Scully would kill him."

"Think so?"

"You don't?"

"I don't know, Alexei.  Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn't.  Dana puts up a
good front, but underneath it all, I have a feeling she's just as likely to
watch as any of us."  Katie walked up to the sliding glass door and put her
hand on the handle.

"Scully?  Dana Scully?  Are we talking about the same person?"

"How can someone so world weary, be so naive?" she grinned, as she pulled the
door open.  Katie walked through and saw Mulder in the kitchen, shirtless.
"Hey, Mulder."

"Nice try, Katya," Alex snickered.  "You're not going to get me. . ." He
stopped short when he saw Mulder.  "Oh, hi Mulder."

Mulder closed the refrigerator door.  "I was just getting Scully something to
drink," he explained.

"Sure, whatever you need, you know that," Katie said, trying hard not to
giggle.  "I'm sure she's thirsty, it is a little warm in here."

"Just ignore her, Mulder.  Her mind's in the gutter tonight," Alex said,
shaking his head.

Mulder found himself fighting a grin.  He took his glass, strolled over to
Katie and dropped a kiss on her cheek.  "Gutter's a step up for you, isn't
it, Ratboy?"

Katie burst into giggles.  Mulder let the grin creep across his face.  Alex
looked at both of them. "Fuck you, Mulder," he chuckled.

"Watch it you two," Katie teased. "That could almost be construed as friendly
banter."

Mulder shook his head, still grinning.  Alex wrapped his arms around Katie
and smiled at him over her head.  "Sleep well, Mulder," he said.

"You too," Mulder replied.  He disappeared down the hall.

"Still think they weren't watching out the window, Ratboy," Katie smirked.

"He always calls me that," Alex said.

"He hasn't called you that in months," Katie countered.

"It was just a response to the gutter comment, Katya."

"If that gets you through the night, Alexei."

"The only thing I need to get me through the night, is you," he said softly.
"We have some business to attend to," he reminded her.

Katie turned in his arms.  "Yes we do."

Alex smiled and took her hand.  They walked down the hall to their room.
Alex closed and locked the door behind him.  Katie raised an eyebrow when she
heard the lock fall into place.  "Insurance," he winked.

Katie crooked her finger, motioning him over.  "Show me what you had in
mind."

His fingers flew to the buttons on her shirt, popping the few that were still
fastened from their moorings.  Bending down, he kissed the exposed skin
between the two sides of the open shirt, stopping only when he reached the
top of her jeans.  He paused for a moment, the worked his way back up to her
neck.  His hands pushed the shirt from her body; his mouth latched on to her
right breast as the shirt fell to the floor.   Katie closed her eyes, fingers
in his hair, body shuddering as his tongue flicked across the nipple;
complaining softly when he removed his mouth from her breast, moaning when he
made contact with the other.  He moved her back until her knees hit the edge
of the bed, then lowered her to the mattress.

Katie scooted backwards to get her entire body centered on the bed.  Alex
crawled on top of her, straddling her body without actually touching her,
until he lowered his mouth to her collarbone.  She let her head fall to one
side to give him better access, but soon ached for more.  "Alex," she
whispered.

"What?"

She pulled at his shirt. "Too many clothes."

"I like it this way," he teased.  He crushed his lips to hers, slipping his
tongue inside her mouth.

She was ready for him and when his tongue flicked upwards, she bit down
gently.  Not enough to hurt, but just enough to make his tongue retreat,
allowing her to take control of his mouth.  Alex sank down, pressing against
her to show her the effect this was having on him.  When they came up for
air, Alex slid down her body.  Katie sat up and moved forward, thwarting his
efforts.

He stood before her, waiting to see what she was going to do.  "I said, too
many clothes."  She reached for the button on his jeans and undid it.  The
zipper followed.  Jeans were pushed to the floor and kicked off.  "These
too," she said, slipping her hands under the elastic of his boxers and
yanking them down.  "Much better."  Her hands slipped up his hips and around
to his ass.  It was only then, that she redirected her eyes to what was in
front of her.  "So beautiful," she whispered.  Katie scooted closer and let
her tongue trail down his length, coming back to lick the first few drops of
moisture from the tip, before taking him in her mouth.  She felt his fingers
in her hair, not holding her in place, just combing through, encouraging her
to continue.  Soon he gently pushed her away.  She looked up, silently
questioning.

"Too much," he answered.

"Feel good?"

He nodded and dropped to the floor.  Alex picked up her legs and placed them
over his shoulders.  "Let me show you."

"Be my guest."

Alex's hands moved up her legs, then slipped under her ass to lift her
slightly.  He kissed and nipped his way up one inner thigh, then brushed
across her mons to the other thigh to give it the same treatment, before
coming back to her center.  He parted her with his fingers then blew warm air
across her clit.  "Like that?"

"Oh yeah."

He smiled and did it again, then put his mouth on her, licking and sucking
until he felt her start to quiver.  At the last minute, he plunged two
fingers inside her, sending her flying.  When her body stopped shaking, he
withdrew his fingers, stood and leaned over her, putting his hands on either
side of her head. "You all right?" he asked, looking quite pleased with
himself.

"Uh huh," Katie answered.

"Oh, loss of coherent speech," Alex grinned.  "That's always a good sign."

"Uh huh," Katie agreed.  She smiled and sat up.

Alex pulled her into his arms and walked her to the head of the bed.  He
pulled back the covers and they crawled into bed together.  He stretched out
next to her, rolling on his side to look at her.  "Last chance to bail out,"
he said.

"I'm not going anywhere."

He rolled on top of her, positioning himself between her legs.  "I was hoping
you'd say that."  He flexed his hips; she could feel him hot and hard against
her. "Now?" he whispered.

"Now," she answered, tilting upward.

He let out a breath, then sank into her inch by precious inch.  "Oh God!" he
moaned when he'd filled her completely.  Katie tightened around him.  "Don't.
 I need a minute."

"Take your time.  I'm not going anywhere," she whispered.

"Thank God for that," he answered.  His mouth captured hers in a soft, almost
chaste kiss.  Silly, given the circumstances, but somehow right all the same.
 One sweet kiss led to another, then a telltale grin, a pelvic thrust and the
mood changed dramatically.

She met him thrust for thrust, loving the feel of him deep inside her. She
always loved having him inside her, but tonight was different. Tonight was a
confirmation of their decision to start a family and that made everything
seem new.

"What are thinking?" he asked.

"I'm thinking how much I love you," she answered.

"I love you, too," he answered back.  "This one's gonna take, I can feel it."

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Katie teased.  He thrust hard into her
and she gasped.  "Do that again."

"Anything you say, baby," he whispered, thrusting again and again, until she
finally cried out.  A few more strokes and he was right there with her,
calling out God's name and hers in the same breath.  He rolled off her and
she started to follow.  "Oh no you don't," he said.  "You stay flat on your
back."  He sat up and lifted her legs, positioning them so that her knees
were bent.  "Now, stay just like that until I tell you otherwise."

"What are you doing?" Katie giggled.

"I told you, this one is going to take.  Scully said if you stay like this
for fifteen minutes afterwards, that it would help the little guys get to
where they need to go."

"You're not serious?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

Katie scanned his face for the punchline, but didn't find one.  "I guess not.
  I can't believe you discussed this with Dana already."

Alex put his hand on her stomach and rubbed small circles over what remained
of the exterior scar tissue.  "I'm serious about this, Katya.  I wanted to
make sure I did everything possible to make it happen for us."

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" Katie asked, tears starting to form
in her eyes.

"I think you just did," he smiled.
=============================

"Scully?"

"Yes, Mulder?"

"What did you say to him?"

"Mulder," Scully groaned.

"Come on, I want to know what you said to keep him from getting upset."

Scully rolled over and stared at him.  "Mulder, I told him basically the same
thing I told you.  Do we have to talk about this right now?"

"No, I guess not."

"Good."  She rolled back over and closed her eyes.

"Scully?"

"Yes, Mulder," she sighed.

"Marry me."

Scully snickered.  "Yeah right, good one, Mulder."

Mulder sat up and snapped on the light.  "No, I'm serious.  Let's get
married."

Scully stared up at him, not moving.  "Mulder.  We can't, you know that.
We'd be reassigned, the X-Files would be closed and we'd be cut off from the
very resources we need to ensure our safety.  The timing is all wrong."

"So we wouldn't tell anyone," he argued.

"Then what would be the point?" she countered.  Scully sat up and faced him.
"When we get married, I want to be able to tell everyone, not hide it away
like some dirty little secret.  I want a ceremony, Mulder.  I want my family
to be there.  I want the people I care most about in the world to see us
exchange our vows.  Most of all, I want us to be able to go home together
without worrying about who might be watching.  Do you understand all of that,
Mulder?"

"I understand," he said, pulling her into his arms.  "It's just that this
feels so good.  I want this for us.  I want what they have."

Scully smiled against his shoulder.  "I never thought I'd live long enough to
hear you admit that you're jealous of Alex Krycek."
=============================

Tyler awoke to the smell of breakfast cooking downstairs.  He tossed on a
pair of jeans and a shirt, before following his nose to the second floor
kitchen.

"Oh good, I was hoping I wouldn't have to pound on the door to wake you up,"
Miranda said.  "Have a seat."

"You didn't have to do this."

Miranda grinned as she put a plate down in front of him.  "I know I didn't
have to, but I figured that since I was the first one up, I'd go ahead.
Besides, I was starving."

"They say you should never go shopping on an empty stomach," Tyler offered,
between mouthfuls.

"I think that's intended more for grocery shopping, Ty."

"Whatever," he answered, waving her off.  "So, where are we going to begin?"

"I've been giving that a lot of thought actually," Miranda said, putting down
her fork.  "I think we should start on the first floor.  You said that there
wasn't much down there that you cared about, so that whole floor shouldn't
take too long.  And, if we clear off that ridiculous table, then we can start
piling the things we want on top of it, so everything ends up in one place.
Anything that needs to be shipped can also go in the same room and it will
make things easier on the lawyer."

Tyler nodded his approval.  "You have given this a lot of thought.  So, did
you also take care of getting boxes and packing supplies while I was asleep?"
he teased.

Miranda stuck her tongue out at him.  "No, smartass, but I did look in the
phone book and found a couple of places that sell boxes.  You'll have to
figure out which one is the closest, since I have no idea where anything is
here."  She looked at her watch.  "Most of the places don't open for another
hour."


"Well, I guess we'd better get started so we can decide just how many boxes
we're going to need."  Tyler got up and put his plate in the sink.

Miranda finished the last bite of her eggs and did the same.  "Go ahead, I'll
be there after I wash the dishes."

"Leave 'em.  We'll take care of that after lunch," Tyler said.

"Sounds good to me," she said, as she placed her plate in the sink.

Once downstairs, Tyler wandered into the living room.  He dragged his fingers
along the back of the couch as he scanned the room.  "What a bunch of useless
crap," he muttered.

"Not exactly my taste either," Miranda agreed.  "Any of this stuff interest
you?"

"Not really," he admitted.  "You?"

Miranda eyed the pictures on the mantle, staged pictures of a seemingly happy
family, the only evidence of Tyler's presence outside of his room, that she'd
seen in the house.  She walked over and picked one of them up. "Your
parents?" she asked, curious to see his reaction.

"Yeah," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.  "Those were strictly for show,
you understand.  I remember my mother hissing at me to sit still and stop
playing with my tie and my father wanting to get it over with so he could go
play golf."  Tyler turned his back to her and started to walk out of the
room.  "Nothing in here I want.  I'm going hit the dining room."

She replaced the picture, then picked up each of the others.  Tyler may not
want these, but she did.  Knowing that he wouldn't say no, but not wanting to
make her intentions known, she left them sitting on the mantle and joined him
in the dining room.

"I thought about taking some of the table linen," he said, "but everything's
too damned big."

"If it was all made to fit this table, I guess so," Miranda snickered.  She
peered into the open drawer where the linen had been stored.  "Beautiful
lace.  Was it handmade?"

Tyler picked up the top tablecloth.  "I'm sure it was.  It's very pretty.
Seems a shame to let it go to waste."

"It is pretty," Miranda agreed.

"Let's take it," he said, dropping it on the table.

"And do what with it?"

"Might make a nice christening gown," he answered.

"I thought that Katie didn't go for religious ceremonies," she said.

"OK, so maybe it would make a pretty wedding dress," he said, giving her a
wink.

Miranda stared at him.  "Katie's already married, in case that slipped your
mind."

Tyler smiled.  "You're not."

"And I never will be," she said, giving a half laugh.  "I need a drink.  Want
something?"

"No, thanks."  He frowned as she left the room.  The water came on in the
kitchen, followed shortly by the sound of a glass being set down on the
counter.  He turned away so she wouldn't know that he'd been waiting for her.

"So, find anything else you want to keep?" she asked.

"Not really." He put the tablecloth down and closed the drawer.  "What did
you mean by that?" he asked quietly.

"By what?"

"And I never will be," Tyler echoed.  "What did you mean by that?  I thought
you believed in marriage."

"I do."

"Then why would you say something like that?"

"I just don't see it happening for me," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"You're only sixteen.  Don't write off the possibilities already."

"I'm not writing anything off, Ty."  Miranda looked at her watch.  "The box
places are open now.  You'd better get going."

"OK.  Coming with me or are you staying here?"

"Staying here.  I think I'd like to check out the garden for a little while."

"Back in a bit," Tyler said.

Miranda waited until she heard the car pull away, peeking out behind the
curtains to be sure, before going back into the living room.  She carefully
removed all of the pictures from the frames on the mantle, then went upstairs
to put them in her suitcase.  'He doesn't want these now, but someday he may
regret having left them behind,' she thought, as she put the suitcase back on
the dresser.
=============================

Katie woke up shaking, covered in sweat.  She looked at Alex and found that
he was still asleep, then looked at the time.  Slipping out of bed quietly,
so as not to wake him, she pulled on her jeans and his t-shirt from
yesterday, before leaving the bedroom.  The smell of freshly brewing coffee
hit her hard, signaling that she was not the only one up.

"Morning," Scully said.

"Hi," Katie answered.  She moved quickly past Scully and out the sliding
glass door for some fresh air.  The coffee was overwhelming her already
frayed senses and she knew that if she didn't get away from it, she'd be
sick.  She headed straight for the picnic table and sat down, willing her
nerves and stomach to settle.

Scully put her cup down on the counter and followed Katie outside.  She
hadn't liked the way Katie looked and the short greeting, followed by her
hasty retreat, was completely out of character for the woman she'd come to
know.  "What's wrong?" she asked, as she sat down next to Katie.

Katie lifted her head off the table.  "Nothing."

Scully frowned and glared at her.  "Try again."

"I'm fine.  The smell of the coffee was too strong, that's all."

"You're sure that's all?" Scully asked.

"Yeah, that's all," Katie answered, giving a little smile to prove she was
telling the truth.

"Liar," Scully replied.  "I saw the look on your face as you blew by me in
the house.  You looked scared, not sick."

"I had a bad dream, all right?"

"About?"

Katie stared off into the distance, ignoring Scully's question.

"That won't work, you know," Scully said.  "I've been ignored by people far
more skilled at ignoring.  Now, what was the dream about?"

"The baby," Katie whispered.

Scully smiled.  "Aren't you jumping the gun a little?"

"Not after last night."

"In spite of what they told us in high school, Katie, it doesn't always
happen right away."

Katie touched her abdomen gently.  "And sometimes it does.  I can feel him,
Dana.  I know he's in there."

Scully thought about arguing the point, but there was something in Katie's
tone of voice that told her to let it go.  "What about the baby?  What
happened in your dream?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"If it's upsetting you, you need to talk about it."

Katie looked Scully and bit her bottom lip.  "I'm scared, Dana."

"Of what?  Tell me what's got you so scared."

"Will it go to term?  I mean, we've never even thought about the other
possibilities."  Katie started tapping her fingers nervously on the table.
"What if this healing process sees the baby as something to be 'healed' and
rejects it?  That could happen, couldn't it? I mean, you hear about bodies
rejecting organs and skin grafts and stuff like that, what if this healing
factor decides that the baby is a threatening growth and works to remove it?
Or, what if everything is fine with the baby, but the pregnancy is
accelerated?  I heal so fast now; what if this applies to pregnancy as well?
Jesus, Dana, if the healing rate holds, I could have this baby in three
months instead of nine. And what about the baby's growth rate once it's born?
 Will the healing factor pass on to him?  Couldn't it accelerate his growth
as well?"

Scully reached out and put her arms around Katie.  "Slow down. Are you
hearing what you're saying?  We have every reason to believe that your
impending pregnancy will be normal. This isn't some Hollywood science fiction
movie, Katie."

"But it is, Dana, don't you see that?  Everything about this is straight out
of speculative fiction.  So far, everything's been fine, the heroine is
healing and things are going well, everyone's happy.  This is the point in
the film where the other shoe drops and the horror begins."

Scully tightened her hold on Katie, rocking her gently as Katie began to cry.
 "Shhh, it's all right.  Everything's going to be fine."

Mulder stumbled into the kitchen, following his nose to the sacred beverage
waiting in the kitchen.  He poured a cup, savoring the smell, before taking
that first sip of the morning.  His eyes drifted to the sliding glass door
and beyond where he saw Scully holding Katie in her arms.  He walked over to
the door, opened it and stepped out onto the porch.

Scully looked up and saw Mulder standing there.  'Go get Alex,' she mouthed.

Mulder went back in, not bothering to close the door behind him.  He set down
his cup, then ran down the hall and banged on Alex's door.  When Alex didn't
answer the door immediately, he threw the door open. "Get up, Katie needs
you."

Alex tossed off the blanket and grabbed his jeans.  "What's wrong," he asked,
as he pulled them on.

"I don't know.  She's outside crying in Scully's arms. I didn't get close
enough to find out before Scully sent me in to get you."

Alex raced through the bedroom door, practically knocking Mulder over in his
haste.  He flew down the hall and out the door, not stopping until he'd
pulled Katie from Scully's arms into his own.  "What's wrong baby?" he asked.
 Katie didn't answer.  "What happened, Dana?"

"She had a nightmare about the baby.  She's scared that something will go
wrong.  I tried to calm her down, but. . ."

Alex nodded and stroked Katie's hair.  "Talk to me, Katya."

"I'm so scared, Alexei," she whispered.  "It was so real."

"But it was just a dream, right?"  When she didn't answer right away, he
lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.  "Do you have a feeling about this
one?"

"No, no feeling," she answered.

Alex hugged her tight, resting his cheek on her head.  "Why didn't you wake
me up, instead of just stealing my shirt?" he teased, tugging on the hem.
"Don't hold all that fear inside, baby."

Katie smiled.  "I thought I could handle it, make it go away once I woke up,"
she explained.

"Hey Katie, no one expects you to handle this all by yourself," Mulder said,
winking at her.

"You fight dirty, Mulder," Katie said with a grin.  "I knew there was
something I liked about you."

"And all this time I thought it was my boyish good looks," Mulder quipped.

=============================

Tyler and Miranda finished the first and second floor before stopping for
lunch at one.  The second floor had yielded a little more than the first,
mostly things from the kitchen.  In all, they'd managed to barely fill one
medium-sized box.

"How are you holding up?" Miranda asked.

"I'm all right," Tyler answered.  "Downstairs was the easy part, it's the
third floor I'm not looking forward to.  I really don't want to go through
her personal things."

"Then don't.  I'll take care of that room," she offered.

"No, I can't ask you to go through all that by yourself," he said.  "I walked
around in there last night.  It's overwhelming."

"So you'll help me in spurts.  I'll go into the bedroom; you work on the
library for a while, then come in and help me sort through things for a bit.
We'll get it done in no time."

"You really want to do that?"

"Sure.  Nothing in there has any memories for me, so it'll be easy."  She
grinned at him.  "Besides, how often do you get the chance to rummage through
the dirty laundry of the social elite?  Who knows what scandals I'll turn
up."

Tyler laughed.  "If you find anything incriminating there, let me know.  I
can't imagine my mother involved in anything remotely scandalous."

"You got it," Miranda said.  She pushed her chair away from the table.
"Let's get started."

Tyler picked up a handful of boxes and the tape, and followed her up the
stairs.  He dropped most of them in the hall between the two rooms and
assembled one for each of them to start with.  Miranda took hers and went
straight for the closet in the master bedroom.  Tyler stood outside the door
briefly, before going into the library.

Miranda put the box just inside the door of the large walk-in closet and
turned on the light.  She put her hands on her hips, surveying the scene
before her.  'So much stuff,' she thought.  Over in the corner was a step
stool.  She walked over and carried back to one side, deciding to start with
the things on the top shelf and work her way around the closet from the top
down.  The first section contained a ridiculous assortment of handbags.
Miranda's first instinct was to pass on them and move on, she remembered how
often she'd put one of her two purses away, leaving things inside, and
decided she'd better look through each one.  By the time she'd made her way
through the thirty-seven assorted bags, she'd netted four pairs of earrings,
seven bracelets, assorted mints and tissues, and $84.78. She shoved the
jewelry and cash into a Greek shoulder bag she'd found shoved in the back of
the shelf, leaving the tissues and mints to be disposed of later.  The bag
was hopelessly out of place in the assortment of designer names that adorned
the shelf, which made it all the more appealing to her.

"Find anything interesting?" Tyler asked.

Miranda jumped.  "Geez Ty, give me some warning will you?"

"Sorry, I thought you heard me come in."

"So far I've only managed to go through the handbags."  She handed him the
bag.  "Here, everything I found is inside this one. There's some cash and a
few pieces of jewelry."

Tyler dropped the purse into the box.  "Keep the cash, keep the jewelry if
you want it.  Leave whatever you don't want on the dresser."

"But Ty, there's almost eighty-five bucks in there," she protested.  "I can't
keep that."

"Consider it hazard pay.  Finders keepers and all that.  Seriously Mira,
shove it in your pocket and forget about it."  He paused and looked around
the closet.  "Well, I just thought I'd see how you were doing.  Yell if you
need me."

"OK.  This closet is going to take me awhile.  I'm going to have to go
through all the pockets and check lapels for jewelry.  Your mother sure had a
lot of clothes."

"Don't make yourself crazy over it," he said.

"I won't."

Miranda worked for another two hours in the closet and when she was done,
she'd added three brooches and a bracelet with a broken clasp to the box.
Nothing else in the closet was of any interest to her, so she closed the door
when she was done.  Next up, the dressers.  To make things go quicker, she
decided to simply rummage through each drawer, ignoring the clothing and
concentrating on finding anything of value or interest.  She put the few
velvet boxes she found on top of the dresser without bothering to look
inside. The jewelry would come last.  After surveying the room, Miranda
decided the only place left to look was under the bed.  She knelt down and
lifted the bedspread.  Against the back wall, under what she assumed was
mother's side of the bed, she found a small metal box.  She put it on the
bed, lifted the lid and sifted through the contents.  "Oh my," she whispered.

"What's that?" Tyler asked from the doorway.

"You better come have a look, Ty," Miranda answered.

Tyler sat on the edge of the bed and looked inside the box.  He lifted the
paper on top and read it, not believing what he was seeing.  "It's the
article the paper did when I got accepted to MIT."  He lifted a few more
things out of the box.  "My school pictures, science fair ribbons,
commencement invitation, letters home, where did you find this?"

"Under the bed.  Against the wall."  She pointed to the spot and watched as
he stared at where she pointed.  "Ty, maybe. . ."

"No.  I know what you're thinking.  That was my father's side of the bed.
This probably belonged to him."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry.  At least I know he cared."  Tyler smiled and closed the
box.  "How's it going in here?"

"I'm done, except for going through the jewelry.  I figured we could take it
downstairs and go through it after dinner," she answered.  "How's library
coming along?"

"All finished.  I've packed up everything I wanted from there, mostly the
first editions and some older, out of print stuff.  Most of what's left isn't
worth bothering with."  He closed the box and stood up.  "Well, should we go
see about getting some dinner?"

"How about we go through the guest bedrooms on the next floor first?  That
shouldn't take long and then all we'll have left is your room."

"Sounds like a plan."
=============================

"Stupid park," Katie grumbled, as they left PNC after yet another Pirate
loss.

"Yeah, that's it baby.  It's the new field's fault that the boys are losing
this season," Alex snickered.

Katie scowled. "Of course it is.  They never sucked this bad at Three River."

Alex shook his head.  "I'm sure they did, you just don't want to remember."

"Actually, this is the worst season they've had in the past thirty years,
Alex," Mulder said.

Katie smiled at Mulder, then turned to Alex.  "Told you," she taunted.  "What
do you think, Mulder?  Is this an x-file?"

"More like a string of bad luck," Scully answered.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Katie sighed.  "Hey gang, I need to make a pit
stop before we leave.  How about you, Dana?"

Scully started to say no, but the look on Katie's face made her change her
mind.  "Yeah, sure."

"Why is it that women are incapable of going to the bathroom by themselves?"
Mulder asked.  "What secret ritual takes place behind the walls of the ladies
room that requires you to enter in pairs?"

"Yeah, what does go on in there?" Alex chimed in.

"Can we trust them, Dana?" Katie asked.

"I don't know, Katie, this is pretty sacred ground," Scully answered.  "But,
they're both good at keeping secrets."

"All right, but what I'm about to tell you must never be revealed to another
male.  Do you promise not to tell?"

Alex and Mulder crossed their hearts and vowed to keep mum.

"OK, here it is.  The reason we go to the bathroom in pairs, is so we can
snicker about leaving you guys to wonder why we always go to the bathroom in
pairs."

Alex groaned and Mulder rolled his eyes at her answer.

Katie tapped Scully on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow. "You know
what they say, Mulder, ask a stupid question. . ." she said over her
shoulder.

Scully walked with Katie until the boys were out of sight.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to ask you something, away from Alex."

"And that would be?"

"How soon can we tell if I'm pregnant?"

Scully crossed her arms and smiled.  "You don't really think you're pregnant
already, do you?"

"Did you not understand me this morning, Dana?  I don't think I'm pregnant, I
know I am; I can feel him inside me.  How long do we have to wait to
confirm?"

"Katie, there's no way you can possibly feel anything inside you this early,
even if you are pregnant, which I seriously doubt.  It's almost absurd to be
even considering the possibility right now."

Katie smiled and crossed her arms, waiting patiently for Scully to finish.
"Thank you, Dr. Scully.  Now, how long before we can confirm?"

Scully stared back her, dumbfounded by the total disregard for reason.  She
started to argue her point again, but decided that it would only fall on deaf
ears.  "We can do a blood test for HCG in ten days.  But I think you're
setting yourself up for disappointment, Katie."

Katie grinned, an evil thought forming in her head. "Want to put your money
where your mouth is, Dana?"

"Excuse me?"

"A bet.  How strongly do you believe that you're right and I'm wrong?"

"You're not serious?"

"Of course I am. Let's make the wait interesting, shall we?  How about if I'm
pregnant, you marry Mulder on Halloween, in the loft?  If I'm not, then. .
.well, you'll have to figure something out.  Doesn't matter what, because I
know I'm right."

Scully's eyes were all but popping out of her head at Katie's suggestion.
Speech eluded her.

"Is that a flicker of self doubt I see, Dana?" Katie chuckled.  "I'll let you
off the hook, this time.  Just remember this ten days from now, when Matthew
calls you with the good news."
=============================

"The three boxes are already addressed and sitting on the dining room table,
everything else is to be sold at the estate sale.  Put the townhouse on the
market as soon as possible, I don't want it." Tyler frowned as he listened to
the lawyer drone on about property values and profits.  "I realize it's
valuable property in a prime location and that it's probably worth a
considerable sum, but quite frankly, I don't care.  Just get rid of the damn
thing for me."

"Tyler," Miranda whispered.

He shook his head at her and mouthed 'I'm all right.'  "Yeah, fine, whatever.
 You do what you have to do, as long as it ends with a sale.  Pardon me?
You're right, she would be disappointed that I don't want to keep the place.
Why break with tradition?  Notify me when you need papers signed."  Tyler
slammed the phone down and took a deep breath.  "Bastard!"

"He had no right to bring your mother into this, Ty."

"They must have gotten along beautifully," he scoffed.  "Same
fuck-the-world-I-got-mine attitude."

Miranda held out her hand to him.  "Forget about it.  Let the petty little
jerk wallow in his greed.  We don't need this.  We know what's important."

Tyler took her hand and squeezed it.  "And what might that be, oh wise one?"

She held up their linked hands.  "This," she said.  "Friendship.  Can't be
rich without it."

"You know, Mira, if I wasn't more than twice your age, already married and
gay, I'd probably marry you," Tyler said, with a wink.

"Yeah, yeah, that 's what they all say," Mira replied, with a mock huff,
followed by a burst of laughter.  "Come on, let's go home."
=============================****

Matthew spotted Scully and the rest of the gang as they approached the
security gates and walked over to meet them.  "Hey Dana, I didn't think you
and Mulder would still be here," he said, giving her a hug.

"We didn't expect to be," she answered.  "Skinner called last night and said
we were needed in Philadelphia Monday morning, so we decided to stay a little
longer."  Scully turned and saw that Katie, Alex and Mulder were deep in
conversation.  "Besides, I wanted a minute to talk to you about something,"
she said quietly.

"What's up?  Something wrong with her?"

"No."  Scully recounted the conversation with Katie from the night before,
including the proposed bet.

"And you don't believe her?"

"Matthew!  You and I both know that it's medically impossible for her to be
feeling anything this soon," Scully said.

Matthew grinned.  "Dana, did you take that bet?"

"No, I didn't take the bet.  Why?"

"Too bad, that Halloween wedding would have been fun," he said, chuckling at
her look of complete exasperation.  "If Katie says she feels him, she feels
him, medically impossible or not.  As long as I've known her, she's never
been wrong about something this important."

"Never?"

"Never."

Mulder slipped behind Scully and put his arms around her.  "What are you two
talking about?"

"Doctor stuff," Matthew answered.  He watched Scully sink back against
Mulder. "Sure you don't want to take that bet anyway, Dana?" he asked, giving
her a wink.  "Looks like you win, either way."

"Not yet," she answered.  "The timing's not right."

"What bet?" Mulder asked.

"Private joke, Mulder," Matthew answered.  "You had to be there."

"Hi, Kid," Katie said, giving him a hug.  "Come on.  Their flight should be
in any minute now. Let's get down to the gate."
=============================

They drove for the first half-hour in silence, neither knowing quite how to
start the conversation they felt hanging between them.

"Did you get what you needed?" Matthew asked.

"Yes," Tyler answered.

"And I couldn't have done it for you?"

"No."

"Then I'm glad she was there."

Tyler smiled at him.  "Thanks, Matty.  I needed to hear that from you."  He
reached over and put his hand on Matthew's leg.  "As much as I love you and
Katie. . ."

"And Alex," Matthew added.

"And Alex," Tyler echoed, with a chuckle.  "You guys can't understand what
it's like.  Mira knows.  I don't have to explain or justify my feelings to
her, she just knows."

"Then you should hold on to her," Matthew said.

"It doesn't bother you?"

"No.  She makes you happy, Ty.  I'll admit I was a little jealous, at first,
but I realized that she does for you, what Katie does for me."

"You should get to know her, Matty.  I know you'll like her, once you spend
some time with her."

"The rest of you seem awfully fond of her; I'm sure I'll fall in line
quickly," Matthew said.  "I'll start in a few weeks when they come home for
Katie's blood work."
=============================

"Katie, will you please sit down.  Geez! Good thing you didn't carpet the
loft, you'd have worn holes in it by now."

"Can't.  I'm too anxious."  Katie checked her watch again.  "Where are they?"

"Chill out.  They'll be here soon."

"This was a heck of a day for Kid's car to break down," she grumbled.

"It's a conspiracy, Katie.  Want me to call Mulder for you?"

"Smartass."

"Then cut it out.  I'm sure Alex is just as anxious to find out as you are.
At least you don't have to suffer through the entire trip home from the
hospital with Matthew."

The elevator whirred and Katie ran for the door.  "So, what's the. . .Oh, hi
Ty."

"Not who you expected?" Tyler asked.  "I'll try not to take it personally.
Where are Matthew and Alex?"

"Not here yet," Miranda answered.  "Matthew's car died, so Alex went to pick
him up.  She's been pacing ever since."

"You have my deepest sympathies, Mira," Tyler said, giving her a kiss on the
cheek.  "Ordinarily, I'd suggest opening a bottle of wine, but I don't think
that's appropriate in this particular situation."

Katie peered out the window.  "Where are they?"

Miranda rubbed her temples.  "Your turn, Ty.  I give up."

"I'll try, but it won't do any good."  He walked over to the window and
pulled Katie into his arms.  "You know what they say about a watched window."

"It never boils?"

"Good, you still have your sense of humor." Tyler chuckled and kissed the top
of her head.  "Why are you so tied up in knots about this?  You already know
the answer.  Or are you having doubts?"

"No doubts.  I need to know for sure though.  I need proof to back up my
beliefs."

"I think you're about to get your proof," Tyler said, nodding toward the
elevator door.

"I'm not going to run this time," Katie said.  "I'm just going to walk
casually over to the couch and sit down."

"Oh yeah, they'll believe that," Tyler snickered.

"Not helping, Tyler," Katie warned.  The elevator door opened.  "Hi guys,"
she called out.

"Sorry we took so long," Matthew said.  "We had to wait forever for the
damned tow truck to show up.  What's for dinner?  I'm starving?"

"Lasagna," Miranda answered.  "It'll be ready in about fifteen minutes."

"Hi," Alex said to Katie.  "Miss me?"

"Always," she answered.  "Did he tell you anything?"

"Not yet."

They looked over at Tyler and Matthew, who were busy with their own
conversation.

"He's doing this on purpose," Katie huffed.

"I know."

"Hanna, do you mind if I use your phone?" Matthew asked.

She looked at him as if he'd grown a third eye.  "No, of course not.  Since
when do you have to ask?"

Matthew grinned and punched in the number.  "Hi, it's me.  Yeah, they're in.
No, I haven't told them yet.  I thought everyone should hear the news at the
same time.  Is he there with you?  Good.  OK, I'm going to switch to speaker
so everyone can hear."  Matthew clicked the speakerphone button.  "Can you
hear me, Dana?"

"Loud and clear," she answered.

"Say hi Mulder, so we know you're really there," Matthew said.

"Hi."

"OK, good.  Are you ready?"  Katie and Alex moved closer to the phone.  Tyler
and Miranda sat down on the couch.  Everyone stared at Matthew who seemed to
be enjoying his newfound power.  "As you know, I drew blood from Katie this
morning to look for the presence of HCG."

"I was there, Kid.  Get on with it," Katie said, tapping her foot
impatiently.

"Well, the results are in."  He paused for a second.  "Could I get a drink?
I'm really thirsty."

"Matthew," came a collective cry from both Alex and Scully.  Katie just
glared at him, while Tyler and Miranda snickered.

"OK, OK.  I'll wait," he said with a grin.  "I sure wish you'd taken that
bet, Dana.  Halloween is quite an event in the loft."

"What bet?" Mulder asked.

"I'll tell you later, Mulder," Scully said.  "Are you saying what I think
you're saying, Matthew?"

Katie's hand flew to her mouth.  "Say it, Kid.  I need to hear it out loud."

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Krycek; you're pregnant."

Alex grabbed Katie and kissed her until both were forced to come up for air.
"We did it," he whispered.

"Yes we did," she whispered back.  "Hey Dana?"

"Yes, Katie?"

"I told you so."