TITLE:   A VAMPIRE'S TALE: STEEPED IN BLOOD
AUTHOR:  Donnilee
E-MAIL:  Donnilee@snet.net
WEBSITE: http://donnilee.tripod.com
RATING:  NC-17
CATEGORY: MSR - Kr/Other-Slash.
SUMMARY:  A mysterious man manipulates the lives of Mulder and
Scully. Is he their benefactor, or their enemy?
SPOILERS: Umm, not really. Takes place near the end of Season 7.
Requiem never happened.
DISCLAIMER: I think I can plead temporary insanity for trying some of
these sex toys. ... Oh, you mean the X-Files characters? Nope. Not
mine. Used shamelessly and without remorse. They belong to Chris
Carter, Ten Thirteen, and Fox Broadcasting.
DEDICATION: To all the readers, whose feedback keeps me wanting to
continue writing.
THANKS: To my beta reader, Fran Hartman, for stepping up when I
was in a pinch. Thanks bunches!

AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: The sex between vampires in this story is "supposed"
to be fantastic and unrealistic. It is pure fantasy and not meant to
be picked apart with tweezers! The "endowments" of the participants
are "supposed" to lean toward the ridiculous to give a feel of
separating human sex from vampiric sex.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: When characters speak to each other telepathically,
those words are between asterisks **, rather than quotes.

WARNING: Here there be M/M slash between Krycek and a secondary
character. There is M&S horizontal mambo too. If this isn't your cup
of tea, you can skip those parts. I've rated each chapter AND marked
the beginning of the descriptive sex, so that you can tell which
chapters contain the descriptive sex and skip over them if you wish.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx
PART 1 (PG-13)
HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON, D.C.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON

I've been watching them for a long time. They can be so stupid.

I've lived for a long time and have come to know this thing. Once in
a generation there comes a love so strong and so bright that it can
blot out the rest of the world and heal all the ills of a human being.

Theirs is such a love. It is deep, true and rooted in trust. But
they don't see it. No, that's not right. They see it, but fear
prevents them from acknowledging it. I can read his innermost
thoughts, even ones he is not aware of.

Who am I?

I am a murderer. A lover of the macabre. They will be looking for
me, but they won't find me until I am ready to show myself to them.
The man is the smart one. If anyone could find me, it would be him.
She is smart too, but her logic prevents her from seeing the unseen.
He has no such barrier.

I have many gifts. I can read minds. I have acute hearing and an
acute sense of smell. I can move so fast that the naked eye cannot
detect me. I can take to the air with the ease of a bird, thus
rendering my capture nearly impossible for most human mortals.

That's right. I am not mortal. I am immortal. I have lived for
centuries. I have lived through many eras in history.

I was born in Egypt in 1500 BC, during the reign of Hatshepsut. I was
of a royal family and enjoyed the benefits of court life. I was made
the creature I am at the age of 25, in the prime of my life. Later,
I migrated to Scotland in the early 1600s and watched James IV of
Scotland ascend to the British throne after the death of Elizabeth I,
becoming the first of the Stuart line to rule England.  I stayed there
a long time.  After the death of my master, I then migrated north to
Iceland where I became entangled with the Vikings and did duty with
Leif Erikson, and later, with Eric the Red. These bloody battles were
a veritable buffet for me. I could feed on the dying and no one was
the wiser. No one wanted night duty; I always volunteered, thus
gaining the favor of our leader.

I left them eventually, when their warring died down, and by the late
1600's, I was living in Spain when the Bourbons became a dynasty; I
was there when Charles II died and left his throne to Philip of Anjou,
son of one of France's great kings, Louis XIV. I was involved in the
Spanish War of Succession that broke out that year.  The war ended in
1713, and I moved on again, this time migrating to the other continent
and landing in what is now known as Mexico. By 1825, Mexico had won
independence from Spain under General Augustin Iturbide and modeled
their constitution after the United States.

1900 found me back in the fertile crescent of Persia, which is now
known as Iran and Iraq.  I loved the bone inlay artwork of the period
and studied it obsessively. Every country in Europe has seen me as a
resident at one time or another.

I watched the rise and fall of Stalin in Russia, the rise and fall of
Hitler in Germany, the First and Second World Wars and the Vietnam
War, as well as the more recent fall of the Berlin Wall and the cold
war. But enough with the history lesson.

Civilization has changed in many ways throughout the centuries. But
one thing stays the same; human nature. It is so fraught with
frailties, and yet it is the backbone of every civilization. Some are
enlightened, some are ignorant and backwards.  Today, the world is a
technological place, filled with both the enlightened and the
ignorant.  Everything from the software genius, to the Dalai Lama, to
ignorant rednecks in the Michigan Militia, and every type in between.

I've found the Internet to be a most interesting tool to lure my
victims, although I must admit the challenge wore thin in a very
short time. I prefer the hunt. I like to hit the pavement, so to
speak. I like the exhilaration of the chase. I even like to
feel their fear as I kill them.

I love blood. I love the smell of it, the feel of it, the sight of
it, the taste of it. The sound of it, too. Yes, blood has a sound.  I
can hear the dull whoosh of it pumping through the body if I stand
close enough. It is nectar to me. I don't need it as much as I used
to, but I still need it now and again to survive.  But I don't pillage
and rape the remote country sides like I used to; it's harder these
days to go undetected.

Ah, you must think me an evil creature. I suppose some would think
so. Truly though, I do not consider myself evil. In fact, I've
contributed much to the societies in which I have lived. I take what
I need, but I give as well.

I am rich. My wealth is nearly incalculable. I have many identities
and many fortunes spread all over the world. I own everything from
castles to condos.  I am one of the fortunate few that has not
succumbed to the boredom or depression of the ages.  Acquiring
'things' has helped to keep me interested in life.

There are not many of my kind left. Most have fallen into the
depression of eternity and destroyed themselves out of despair. They
were fools. The secret is to stay busy and continue to learn. An idle
mind is a depressed mind. Oh, there have been periods where I was
bored and had to make a concerted effort to find something I was
interested in.  But there is always something new to learn.

I'm a genius. Does that sound arrogant? Well, I'm that too, but with
good reason, I assure you. By virtue of centuries of education and a
flawless memory, I would have had to be retarded not to have amassed a
wealth of knowledge and intelligence on a plethora of subjects.

I am one of the lucky ones. I was born with the dark skin of an
Egyptian. Although I grow paler as the years go by, I still can pass
for human. I suppose there will come a day when I will have to wear
makeup, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

To see me, you would not know what I am. A killer, and yet ... a
righter of wrongs. I choose those whom I will care for and I watch
out for them with eyes that see more than you can imagine. Of course,
being able to read minds and hear through walls doesn't hurt.

These two humans have intrigued me since the day I found them. I
can't even really tell you why. But over the last seven years, my
interest has not waned. I've followed them on many of their
investigations. They have no idea how many times I've saved their
behinds. I've snatched pursuers off their trail. I've distracted
those that meant them harm. I have to be careful not to interfere too
much lest I be discovered. However, there is much I can do.

There are many myths about my kind. Most of them are nonsense. I
need no invitation to trespass on your territory and there isn't a
talisman in the world that will stop me or repel me.  Burnt flesh is
the only smell that repels me, and that will not harm me; it merely
makes me turn and walk the other way. My acute sense of smell can't
handle that for too long. It brings back bad memories as well.

I've been a good boy for a while now. However, I feel the urge to
kill coming on me again. I haven't quite chosen my target yet. There
are several to choose from. I'm very fussy. I like to find the most
evil creature I can and take them down. None so far has been a match
for me.

I cannot be harmed by knives, bullets, gases, diseases, or drugs.
Crosses are pretty, but they are just metal to me. Garlic stinks, but
doesn't repel me or protect the wearer. I am nearly invulnerable. Even
the aliens' green blood does not destroy me. It burns my skin some,
but I absorb it like everything else.  The wound heals quickly,
usually within a day, and I move on.  A side benefit is that I rid the
world of another evil creature that would harm the humans.

Since I kill mortals, you would think I don't care for them, but you
would be wrong. I love mortals. They are a source of never-ending
entertainment for me.

My greatest defense in the world is simply that most people do not
believe in me. I used to resent that, until I realized what an
advantage it is. Humans will come up with every other possibility or
unexplained phenomenon before they will concede the reality that
there are monsters among them that they do not understand. Special
Agent Dana Scully, M.D., is the quintessence of this type of
person.

My humans, and I do consider them mine, have been near to death
several times from those green-blooded bastards, but I have saved
them. Why, you ask? Because they are special. Because they have the
one thing I don't have. I had a chance and I blew it. There is one
other of my kind who has lived as long and is as strong as I.
Unfortunately, I made the mistake of taking her for granted, and now
she is gone. I don't know where.  I have searched the world over for
her.

She is the only one who could ever have eluded my grasp for this long.
She probably thinks I mean to try and take her by force, but I won't;
that would be foolish. She is older and stronger than I. I intend to
apologize, but I'm sure this has never crossed her mind.  In fact, I
can't remember myself the last time I apologized for anything.  We do
have unfinished business, though.

I am actually thinking of having the humans help me find her. I know
it sounds ridiculous, but sometimes the heart interferes. Combining
their talents, they may succeed where I have failed. If any human
could find her, it would be Fox Mulder. They wouldn't even need to
contact her, just lead me to her and I could do the rest. I want what
they have. I want that love of a lifetime; or in my case, the love of
many lifetimes. I am creating that love. But I need to remove the
threat to that love.  And that means finding her before she finds me.

Maybe I can figure out a way to make an exchange.  Perhaps I can help
them to realize their love and take advantage of all the benefits it
has to offer before it is too late for them. And I will get help
protecting the love of my life.

Zebrosia. That's her name. Exotic, isn't it? Who knows what she
calls herself in the real world, if indeed she even lives among
mortals as I do. In the meantime, I am making a lover for the ages.
I've had many temporary lovers, but it's been at least a century since
I brought one to me, and by that I mean sharing my blood and making
them what I am. He is almost ready.

In the past, I have just hypnotized them and taken advantage with no
thought to turn them to me but to slake my lust, which is
considerable. As the years go by, however, I am finding that this is
not enough. I am lonely and want a companion. I have no guarantee of
ever finding Zebrosia. The threat of her may always be there. While
this makes my heart ache, I am excited about creating my own
companion. I can wait no longer for permission.

It took me a long time to find one suitable for this. I needed a
human that could endure pain, could keep my secrets, was well versed
in subversive activities and would have a reason to be lured into
immortality. He or she had to be attractive to me as well. I have
found him and have been working for some months on grooming him for
the change. But I'll get to that later.

My name you ask? Which one?

Ahh, here comes evil. I can smell him from down the hall. The smell
of smoke and dust precedes him. I can't stand this man. He is more
evil and self-serving than I have ever thought of being. His arrogance
is most annoying and he thinks he owns me. What a joke. If he only
knew how few days he had left. I nearly killed him when he took my
Dana. But I did negotiate her release.

He is one of the many I could choose from to satisfy my need for
blood.  He is going to die anyway. He is riddled with cancer and
doesn't know it, because he refuses to see a doctor. He knows what
they will tell him. The fool is hoping alien technology will save
him.  Let's see what he has to say today.

Ahh, he knocks. He must want something from me. Generally, he just
barges in like he owns the place. No doubt, he thinks he's surprising
me when in fact, I hear and smell him coming from a mile
away. I know it irritates him that I'm always sitting calmly as
though I were waiting for his arrival.

"Come in," I answer to his knock.

He enters and closes the door behind him.

"May I have a word?"

"Certainly. What's on your mind?"

He sits on the leather sofa facing my desk. "We are meeting on
Friday."

"Tomorrow.  I'm aware of that," I say with thinly disguised sarcasm,
urging him to get to the point without saying so.

"Do you know what we are discussing?"

"I have an idea."

"Is it about who will lead the Consortium now?"

Ah, so he's wondering whose ass he is going to have to kiss now. I
smile indulgently at him, which I know annoys the hell out of him.
"Maybe," I answer cryptically.

"I should like to be prepared."

"For what?" I ask facetiously.

"Don't jerk me around!" he says suddenly, losing his grip on his
thinly veiled control.

"I'm not. There's nothing to prepare for. There are new members."

"Who?"

I smile again. "You will meet them tomorrow. The old consortium is
gone, so put it out of your head. This is a new society. It will
have a new leader and a new purpose."

"Do you plan to lead now that Strughold is gone?"

I tilt my head, contemplating how much to tell him. Should I frighten
him? No. I don't want him making mischief before we meet tomorrow
night.

"Unless someone can give me a good reason why I shouldn't. Or unless
someone makes a case why they should."

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"I think I've shown my loyalty. I have no real desire to lead the
pack."

Bullshit, I think to myself, easily reading his thoughts. He thinks
I'm a young, arrogant fool that he can bring down given time.

"No?" I taunt.

"No, but I think I may have earned my place as the Second."

"It's a real possibility," I say, baiting him and ensuring that he
will mind his P's and Q's until tomorrow. Go ahead, kiss my
ass a little more before I kill you. He does.

He's smiling now and nodding his head with pleasure. "I would be equal
to the task, I assure you. My actions speak for themselves, but I
wanted you to know that I would be loyal in the extreme to you. I
believe in you ... more than in the others."

What a brown-noser, I think in disgust.

"I appreciate that.  But there is also the matter of Agents Mulder and
Scully."

"What about them?" he asks, his face growing slightly paler.

"Nothing at the moment. But I don't want them harmed in any way."

"I didn't know that," he said. "I didn't know you had any interest in
them one way or another."

"Of course I do. The aliens are interested in them.  That
automatically makes them of interest to me."

"Of course."

"I mean it, Spender. Stay away from them. I have specific plans for
Mulder and Scully and I won't tolerate ANY interference."

"I understand," he says immediately. I can read his swirling
thoughts, wondering what my plans are.

"Will you let us know, or let me know, what those plans are?"

"Probably, when the time is right."

"And when will that be?" he asks, pushing his luck.

"Not now," I say with finality. "No more interference from you. I
mean it. I'm still working on correcting the damage you did last time
in turning them over to those green-blooded bastards. Dana was left
barren and Mulder was almost killed during his abduction. Unless
there is a serious shift in leadership, they are now under my
protection. No one goes near them without my permission. Is that
understood?"

He understands now. He swallows, finally registering my irritation
with his questions. He stands up. "I understand. Well, I guess I'll
see you tomorrow night."

"Yes."

"At the warehouse?"

I wait a beat or two as if thinking. "No. I think we will meet at my
house in Falls Church."

He looks startled. "Isn't it dangerous for us all to be seen at
your home?"

"My staff is discreet and loyal. You will all arrive 15 minutes
apart. Krycek is due at 7:30. I want you there at 7:45 PM, sharp.
Is that clear?"

"Yes."

"I'll take care of security. It will be the last time we all meet for
quite some time."

He nods. "As you wish."

He stops at the door and says, "I never meant for Mulder to be hurt."

"Really," I say, my skepticism apparent.

"He's my son," he states boldly.

"Got news, Smokey," I reply. He hates it when I call him that.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're wrong. You have no sons."

He opens his mouth, then thinks better of the retort that is on his
lips. I know Mulder is not his son. He is truly convinced that he
is, but he's wrong. Bill Mulder is Fox's father, without a doubt.
And guess what? Bill Mulder is Jeffrey Spender's father as well.
How's that for irony?  And how do I know this? I'll get to that later
too.

He turns on his heel and leaves, taking no further notice of me, which
annoys me as well. People have no fucking manners these days.  He no
sooner leaves when I smell my favorite agent coming down the hall. I
wonder if they speak to each other when they bump into each other
accidentally. I listen. No words are spoken.

But I hear my favorite human. He's thinking in stereo. 'Cigarette
Smoking Bastard. Is he in cahoots with the Deputy?' I hear him
hesitate and consider whether to come to me now. I reach out with my
mind and soothe his fears. I whisper into the silence of the room.
"Come to me, my boy. I won't hurt you."

He is in motion again and I hear him approach my secretary, Kelli, a
delectable little morsel that I would love to sample someday. I could
hypnotize her easily, but I've held off. I like to tease myself.
Another advantage of my immortality is the ability to become aroused
on demand. I merely will it and my cock rises like the sun. It's a
good size too. It was never small, but immortality has physical
benefits too, and one of them was the ridiculous increased size of my
anatomy. But the best part ... it's hard as marble when erect.

I hear him in the vestibule to my office. "Kelli, hi."

"Hello,  Agent Mulder."

"May I have a word with Deputy Director Fair?"

"One moment, let me tell him you're here."

My intercom buzzes as I chuckle internally. My chosen name here is
Kendall Fair. All's fair in love and war. And I am fair too. A
little inside joke with myself.

"Sir, Agent Mulder would like a word with you. Do you have time?"

"Do I, Kelli? You tell me," I respond, knowing full well I have no
other appointments for an hour. I like to make her feel useful, and
she is. She doesn't know that I carry a filofax in my head of dates,
calendars, names, places and time zones, and more information than she
could possibly learn in a lifetime.

"Yes, sir. Your next appointment is with Deputy Director Kersh at
3:00 PM."

"Ah, well, then send him in."

"Yes, Sir."



PART 2 (PG)
DEPUTY DIRECTOR KENDALL FAIR'S OFFICE
HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON, D.C.
THURSDAY, 2:00 PM

I've been watching them for years, but am a new Deputy Director. A
little selective hypnosis made the powers that be believe that I
was a Deputy Director overseas and transferred to the United States.

I smile broadly as he walks in, and stand up from my chair. Goodness,
I forget how handsome he is sometimes. He smells good too. He wears
that cologne that smells like fresh air. I wish I knew the name of it.
His eyes widen a bit at my size like most people's do, but he recovers
quickly and gains points by not mentioning it. I hate that. 'Oh,
you're a big one, aren't you?' is a favorite among idiots. Or 'Oh, a
long tall drink of water, aren't you?' is another cliché that makes me
grind my teeth.

"Sir," he addresses me as he shakes my hand respectfully and then sits
down as I indicate the sofa.

"Good afternoon. Where is your partner, Agent Mulder?"

"She's doing an autopsy this afternoon at Quantico."

I knew that, but I like to test people just to see if they will lie to
me. So far, so good. I'd planted information in his mailbox and
hoped he would take the bait. Mission accomplished. He's here to ask
me about it. I sit down and adopt a relaxed pose.

"What can I do for you, Agent?"

"Well, I was told to ask you about this."

"By whom?"

"Assistant Director Skinner."

"Ah."

"I want to investigate an X-File in New England. Kent, Connecticut to
be exact."

"And the problem?"

"I want to go undercover with my partner."

"Undercover as what?"

"Husband and wife," he says tentatively.

Ooo, wonder what's brewing here? But I sense no romantic plans on
his part. Idiot. I love him, but he's an idiot where she's
concerned.

"What would you like to investigate?"

He looks sheepish for a minute and says, "A haunted house."

I raise my eyebrows. "A haunted house," I repeat.

"Not just any haunted house. One that has been haunted for years, and
has more solid evidence of ghost activity than most. The last few
people who've lived there have been found dead."

"So what do you need my permission for?"

"Well, it's up for sale."

"And you want the FBI to buy it?" I ask incredulously.

"No!" he protests immediately. "I just wondered if we could set it up
with the local police to make it look like we did. You know, make the
purchase on paper with bogus credit cards or whatever."

"And you would move in for the duration of your investigation."

"Yes."

"And if other cases need your attention in the meantime?"

"We would certainly return to Washington. But Agents Doggett and
Reyes are here and they can handle all but the most bizarre X-Files."

"I see."

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but there have been five murders and the
cops haven't got a clue."

"So it is indeed an X-File."

"Yes, all the bodies have been found completely drained of blood."

"Really? Isn't that interesting."

He nods. "I think so. I mean, exsanguination is an unusual way to
die."

"I agree. It seems as though there is more to this."

"There is.  It's odd.  An interesting pattern has developed; someone
new buys the house, and winds up dead shortly thereafter.  About three
years later, the cycle repeats.  And this has been going on for about
fifteen years. The same type of death. It makes no sense ... yet."

Ah, his charming passion and arrogance. He believes he can solve
this. "What do you think caused their deaths?"

"I'm not sure. It's too soon to speculate. I've read preliminary
case files from the police in the area, but there are conflicting
items in evidence."

"Is there a common denominator in the victims?" I ask. How quick are
you, my cerebral agent?

"Yes."

I raise my hand and wave for him to continue.

"Uh, they were all..."

"No need to be polite or politically correct, Agent."

He smiles.  "All right, then. Let's just say none of them would get
the citizen of the year award.  I don't even think their mothers will
miss these guys."

I laugh then, delighted that he'd discovered that so soon. He'd
obviously looked into their backgrounds, something the bumbling local
police had failed to do. They'd accepted the false identities
without prejudice, considering them victims and therefore not delving
too deeply. Mulder on the other hand, being the profiler that he was,
had immediately done a victimology study and turned up the aliases and
nasty backgrounds of the victims.

"I assume you mean they were lawbreakers."

"Of various kinds. One was New York Mob. One was a gun runner from
South America. One was a French spy.  One was a former Nazi."

"And the last one?"

He swallows.  "His name was Herman Walsh."

"What lovely crimes did he commit?"

"You won't believe it, Sir."

"Try me," I respond.

"His fingerprints have turned up a match in four unsolved murders in
the Bureau's computer system."

I raise my eyebrows. "How's that?"

"AFIS showed this same print turning up at four prior murder scenes
but there had never been a match with an identity."

"Ahh, so you've snagged yourself a serial killer."

"We think so."

"Well done."

He smiles at the praise. "Of course, more tests are being done," he
qualifies.

"Like what?"

"Well, actually, this death is fairly recent. He was found several
weeks ago, but he's been kept in a morgue freezer in Danbury. No
family has come forth to claim the body and the police asked them to
keep it for a while as they tried to investigate the case. That's the
autopsy Agent Scully is doing today. We had the body sent to
Quantico."

"The locals ran into dead ends, so you decided to step in and have a
body sent to Quantico before you knew if you had permission to
investigate the case."

"Yes, Sir. We wanted to help ... and I was interested ... and ..."
Clearly, he's wondering if I'm going to bust his ass about breaking
the rules.

I cut him off. "And you think you can succeed where the local police
have failed?" I ask calmly.

He straightens up in the chair. "I think my partner and I can, yes."

I smile. I know I surprise him when I say, "I think you may be
right, Agent Mulder."

He smiles broadly. "I know it's a lot of money to spend, and we
would need some things for the house, furniture and such ... but I
promise it'll be a full court press with us living there. We have
furniture and other things in storage we can use. The undercover unit
has tons of things we could requisition."

I smirk indulgently. "I have every faith that you will not waste the
tax-payers' money, Agent Mulder."

He chuckles.  "The accountants in this place wouldn't agree with
you." We laugh together then.

"Yes, well, I'm not too fond of them either." He grins, enjoying the
shared joke and thinking that I am not at all like he had expected.
We've actually never spoken alone like this.

"Send me the paperwork and I'll sign off on it. You'll need two cars,
and an expense account for groceries and sundries.  A.D. Skinner
should have the forms.  Requisition whatever you need, and I'll pass
it up.  I'll arrange myself for the house to be opened to you with
bogus purchases. A.D. Skinner can handle the rest."

"Yes, Sir! Thank you, Sir."

"You seem surprised," I say gently.

He nods. "I didn't really expect your approval," he admits.

"Why is that?"

He shrugs. "Most people don't take our work that seriously."  I can
tell that thought made him sadder than he was willing to admit.

"I do."

"How's that, Sir?"

"I may not know you personally, Agent Mulder, but I know the agents in
this building, and those under my supervision. I did my homework when
I got this job. I know you have a very high solve rate on cases no
one else can even begin to figure out."

He looks down and swallows, looking slightly embarrassed but proud
at the same time. "We try, Sir. But that hasn't stopped the brass
from trying to shut us down."

"You do a hell of a job, Agent. Some may not recognize the importance
of your job, and the cases you and Agent Scully investigate ... but I
do," I say with conviction.

The corner of his mouth turns up as he meets my gaze again. "Do you
believe in the paranormal, Sir?"

I smile widely now. "In fact, I do."

His eyes widen slightly. "Really?"

"Yes. I've always been a believer. Let's keep that between us
though, huh?"

He grins now, showing his beautiful teeth. I lick mine, feeling my
gums tingle. I'm excited by his expression and feel my groin stir
with a wonderful tingling warmth. "Your secret is safe with me," he
teases.

I chuckle softly. "Good, but you needn't fear as long as I'm here and
A.D. Skinner's your superior."

"Sir?"

"I was referring to your jobs, Agent Mulder, and the X-Files Division.
They are in no danger as long as I hold this job."

He smiles broadly again. "Thank you."

"No thanks needed. Just keep solving those cases."

"I'll do my best, Sir."

"I'll talk to you again, Agent Mulder. I'd be interesting in hearing
about more of your work, though I'm afraid I don't have time today."

"I'd like that. Just let me know when."

I nod my dismissal and he flashes a smile at me again and leaves the
office, a bounce in his step. I grin internally. He can be so
boyish sometimes. If I thought he would come over to me willingly,
I would take him. But I know he wouldn't. Not without her.
However, I am happy with my choice. I don't regret it.

Tonight I will meet with my lover. I can't wait. Conversing with
Mulder has made me horny as hell. Whenever I get enthusiastic about
anything, I get horny. I take a deep breath. Tonight, in just a few
more hours, I can take my latest lover and relieve some of my
stress.

Mulder has taken the bait as I knew he would. I feel contentment
steal over me. I love it when a plan comes together! Everything is
going exactly as I expected. My groin tingles again.

xxxxxxxxxx
THE X-FILES OFFICE
HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON, D.C.
THURSDAY - 02:30 PM

Even as he sits in his office in the bowels of the building, I can
locate him and tune in on him, blocking out the others. He is on the
phone.

"Scully! You're not going to believe this!"

[What now, Mulder?] I can hear her voice as it exits the headset
on his phone.

"Deputy Director Fair approved our case in Kent."

[You're kidding?]   She is obviously astonished. [How did you manage
that?]

"Well, I asked Skinner first. He was skeptical, but said he didn't
really have a problem with it."

[But ...]

"But it would require expenditures beyond what he was authorized to
approve. So he sent me to his boss, D.D. Fair."

[The new guy.]

"Yeah, and guess what?"

[What?]

"He's a *believer*, Scully!"

There is silence for a moment and then a definite tease in her voice
as she responds to his boyish enthusiasm. [Believer in what, Mulder?
Spending money?]

Mulder laughs at her jest. "No, in the paranormal, but it gets better
than that."

[What could be better than that, hypothetically speaking?] she asks,
still teasing.

"He believes in US, Scully."

[What do you mean?] The tease is gone now.

"He knows our work. He knows our solve rate. He thinks what we do is
important. I think this guy is going to take us seriously, Scully.
For the first time in our careers, we may have someone in the brass on
our side. He actually came right out and said that as long as he's
here, the X-Files are in no danger of being shut down."

[Be careful, Mulder. Don't let him get you to let your guard down.]
Ah, always the careful one, my Dana.

"I won't, but he seemed like a nice guy. He seemed sincere." I can
hear the doubt in his voice. She really needs to stop discouraging
him like that.

[They all seem nice at first.  Until they bring you up before the OPR
for a hearing on misconduct,] she deadpans.

"Killjoy," he teases.

She chuckles. [That's great, Mulder. We'll talk more tonight. I
have to finish up here and then I'm going home. I'm not going to go
back to the office, so could you grab my laptop and bring it over?]

"Sure thing, Scully. We'll make plans for the move."

[God help me. What HAVE I gotten myself into?] she teases again.

He chuckles again. "The adventure of a lifetime, Scully. We get to
play house together."

She groans in mock despair. [Been there, done that, Mulder.
Remember Arcadia?]

"Yeah, but you were no fun back then."

[Hey! I resemble that remark!] she jokes.

"See you about 6:00PM, Scully."

[O.K.]

She hangs up in his ear. I notice that they never say good bye and I
find that interesting.



PART 3 (NC-17)
KENDALL FAIR'S TOWNHOUSE
GEORGETOWN, D.C.
THURSDAY, 6:00 PM

God, I am thirsting tonight. That small contact with Mulder has set
me on edge. You may wonder if there is anything that can destroy me.
There is.

Fire or sunlight. But even that will have to be for a length of
time. I'm so old now that I have resistance I didn't have a couple
of centuries ago. I will burn and hurt and then lose my skin if left
in the sun, but I will have to be left out in it for a long time to be
killed by it. Fire can kill me if I don't put it out fairly quickly.

How do I solve this dilemma? I go into work before dawn, and I leave
after dark. I can do a quick sprint through the parking garage where
the exposure is low and not suffer any ill effects other than tingling
skin for a few moments. Inside, I have an office without a window. I
tell them I have Discoid Lupus Erythematosus, of which one symptom is
light sensitivity. If they only knew how sensitive. It's the UV that
burns me.

Mostly, I leave after dark and drive home as soon as the sun sinks
below the horizon. I'm considered very dedicated for the hours I put
in!

I do have a wide brimmed hat with cloth flaps that tie under my chin
and huge sunglasses that I can wear if I am ever forced to go out
during the day. I make sure that those trips are short. I usually hurt
for a few days afterwards, blame it on the Lupus and no one questions
me. Those excursions are rare, though.

I need very little sleep. A couple of hours a night is plenty.  I wake
about an hour before dawn, get ready and speed into work. So where
most of my kind sleep all day, I don't need to. I had that need when I
was young, but now I can go on very little sleep and lose none of my
powers.

Ahh, I can smell him. God, I hunger for him. He knocks and I holler,
"It's open."

He comes through the door, closing it behind him. "Hi, you wanted to
see me?"

"Yes, lock it behind you, would you?" I ask politely, rising from the
couch.

He does as asked and approaches me. "What's going on?"

"Will you be there tomorrow?"

"Of course. You told me to cleanse myself. Is that why you asked me
here? Just to ask me if I was going to show tomorrow?"

"No, of course not. I was making small talk. Remember how to do
that?" I snap testily. God, I need to calm down. My thirst is making
me cranky.

He sighs. "Are you in need?"

"Yeesss," I hiss. "I'm sorry I snapped. Would you like something to
drink first?"

"No."

"Good." I take his hands in mine and examine him. His green eyes are
shining with excitement. He loves this, the excitement. The thrill
and danger of it. He's rather an adrenaline junkie, my sexy little
morsel. My six foot, eight inch frame towers over him. I run my
hands through his soft brown hair, enjoying the texture.

"Do you want to go in the bedroom or stay here on the couch?" he
asked.

"Eager, are we?" I tease.

He smiles and shrugs. "Why wait?"

"Indeed. Do you need me to put you under?"

He swallows harshly. "No, I don't think so. I didn't need it until
the end last time. I think I can do it this time."

"All the way?"

"Yes."

"You please me, pet."

He smiles. "I'll try." I read his swirling thoughts and while there
is flicker of resentment at my dominance over him, he nonetheless is
excited and aroused by it as always.

"Come in the bedroom. If tonight is the night you stay with me, we
need room. I want you to be comfortable."

He follows me as I drop his hands and turn my back on him. I feel his
eyes on my ass and clench it purposely to tease him.  Once in
the bedroom, I turn and relieve him quickly of his clothes. He does
the same for me. He takes a moment to stare at my naked body as he
always does. My skin is caramel colored still, but you can see the odd
shade of whiteness underneath.

XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

He reaches out to touch my hard torso, running his hands over my cold,
bulging pectoral muscles and washboard abs. I respond, showing him my
pleasure by willing my cock erect. He gasps, as he always does at
this moment, and stares at it. His hand reaches out to grab it. His
fingers barely touch around its girth. He pumps gently, whispering,
"Oh God. You're always so fucking hard."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

He shakes his head. "Yes, I want this."

I have slowly brought him around. I totally hypnotized him in the
beginning.  The next few times, I let him realize what was happening
before I put him under. I gradually let the time increase that he was
left in control of himself before pulling him under my control. I
hoped tonight was the night he would remain awake and willing for the
whole thing, and I am more excited than usual. The last time he stayed
with me till near the end, but panicked when he saw my fangs and
I put him under.  I plan to take him from behind; this way he won't
see me coming, although I will warn him first.

I'd taken the *little drink* from him, just a small sip, on numerous
occasions. But I'd kept the blood lust at bay. He had to be awake
for me to succumb to it. It was an odd quirk of my abilities that I
couldn't hypnotize him and experience the blood lust at the same time.
I am so hungry for it now. I want this one for myself. I hope
tonight begins the process.

If he makes it through, it's the real beginning of the process of
changing him ... bringing him over to me. Unlike folklore, it's a
gradual thing.  I lost a finger as a mortal. Upon being steeped
in the blood, as we called it back then, my finger grew back.
Physical perfection is a benefit of immortality. This story was all
the hook and lure he needed to have him want what I had to offer.

I glance in the mirror, taking stock of myself. It is another myth
that we can't be seen in mirrors. I quite enjoy looking at myself in
the looking glass. I am a good looking man with an aquiline nose,
black eyes, high cheekbones, square jaw and caramel skin. My hair is
soft and jet black and I wear it long, curling around my collar. The
FBI won't tolerate it longer. I have to cut it every morning, as it
grows back at night. At the moment, it hangs to just below my shoulder
blades already. It will be down to my waist by morning. I was Persian
by birth, but I fancy I look American Indian now.

My shoulders are broad, matching my height proportionally. My lips
are full and sensuous for a man. I look like a body builder in my
prime. I positively bewitch myself sometimes! I chuckle internally
at my vanity. Then I turn my attention back to my apprentice lover.

I fondle his body from neck to ass. I cup his ass and easily
lift him off the floor. His legs spread wide around my waist. I
love his trim waistline. His cock is fully erect, its respectable
size for a human jutting up between our bodies, leaking pre-cum into
his navel. His arms go around my neck and I kiss him, holding him
aloft easily. He probably only weighs 200 pounds. I can easily lift
500 pounds without much effort. And I never sweat or smell, another
benefit of being what I am.

My tongue plunges into his mouth and he joins me in an oral dance,
moaning as I swallow the vibrations and feel them sweep through my
body.

"Keenndaall," he moans.

"Gareth," I correct him.

He pulls back looking startled. "Gareth?"

"That's my real name. The one I want you to use when we are together
like this. Can you do it and not mix them up?"

"Yes," he says without hesitation. He is well versed in the art of
intrigue and false identities. He has had practice in his line of
work.

"Good."

I walk easily to the bed and lay him on it. I crouch on all
fours and begin teasing his body with kisses, suckling sharply on his
nipples and feeling them rise up to hard little points of desire. I
stroke his shaft, feeling mine throb between my legs and grow a bit
wider and longer. It is always like this. The longer I prolong my
pleasure, the more I grow. Every throb of blood in my veins swells
my loins just a fraction more.

Always before, I have had him masturbate to excite himself first and
use a plug or dildo to loosen himself up. This way, I didn't have to
wait long before penetrating him, thus keeping my size reasonable.

He's in for a surprise tonight! He's never seen how big I can get,
although he is well acquainted with the smooth, extreme hardness of my
weapon. I have explained to him what will happen, but I don't think
he really comprehends it. I rub the wide flared glans against his
inner thigh, feeling the hairs on his legs scrape the sensitive skin.
I shiver in delight.

My body is completely hairless except for the hair on my head, another
side effect of becoming immortal. I love feeling his hair against my
smooth body.

His hands reach around to grab my ass cheeks, cheeks that are like
rocks in his hands. He squeezes them anyway, knowing I love it. I move
down and take his shaft into my mouth and down my throat easily. I
have no gag reflex at all.

He groans heavily as I swallow, making the muscles in my throat
undulate along his shaft. His hands grip my head and hold me in
place. I can pull away any time, but I let him have the illusion of
control. My tongue whips along the bottom of his shaft and I feel
him pulse hotly on my tongue.

I shudder and know I am reaching the next phase. I feel my gums
tingle and know my fangs are starting to descend already. That
usually doesn't happen this quickly. I am more excited than I
thought. I quickly lift off him, lest I nick him with my teeth. I
keep my mouth closed. I don't want to frighten him yet.

I flip him over onto his stomach and kiss down his back, letting
my tongue trail wetly down his spine. I reach his ass, my holy
grail, and knead his cheeks harshly. I spread them wide and sink my
mouth onto him, licking and sucking on his clean skin. He is soft and
smells of soap. He's done as asked, and I know he has taken a high
enema before coming over. His bowels will be soft and slippery.

He moans, "Oh, I'm so hot.  I can't wait to feel that marble rod
up my ass." He has no idea what this will be like. I love it when he
talks dirty. The crudeness excites me and brings out the animal in
me. I don't care for it in polite conversation, but I favor it in the
bedroom.

"Oh, you will, lover. I'll shove myself deeper than ever before." He
trembles slightly at my words.

"Oh man, I want you so badly. Rim me, please!"

I groan and make a spear of my sizeable tongue which can elongate
to about four inches beyond my lips. I let my saliva drip down onto
his puckered anus and watch it work its magic, softening the skin.
Without preliminaries, I spear my tongue into his ass. When held
out it is stiff as a human cock. He cries out in alarm as I sink a
good three inches into his ass. With preternatural control, I
begin moving my tongue in wide circles as I pull in and out, fucking
him with my tongue.

He shrieks once more and then just groans as I loosen him up and
he begins to feel pleasure. My saliva takes the pain away. He would
have pain soon, but now I want him to relax.

He does and soon I am plunging my tongue into him with ease. I
stop and hoist him up by the torso, surrounding him with my bulk,
my arm banded around his waist, my legs straddling his thighs.

His ass rests on his heels, his body cradled by mine. I feel another
shudder go through my body and my fangs extend further. I prick my
own tongue, tasting blood and shivering at the taste. There will be
new blood tonight.

My free hand reaches between us and pulls his ass cheek to the side,
bending him slightly forward. "Put your arms down, lover."

He does, supporting his weight on the bed. He must be willing. I
glance at his arms and say, "If you stay with me, it begins tonight.
Are you sure you want this?"

"YES!" he cries out without hesitation. I feel my lips curl into a
smile. I look down at my marble hard cock. A slow hard throb is
pulsing through my whole body, ending in my cock with a small
contraction and then further swelling again, expanding my sex still
longer and wider. I am at about ten inches now.

His hand reaches between his legs to grab my cock and guide
it to his ass. I moan gently, noticing that his fingers don't
touch anymore around the girth of my shaft and loving the feel of his
callused hand on the smooth skin. The helmet of my cock is flared
bluntly and broadly, nearly a quarter inch wider all around than my
shaft and as hard as cast bronze.

I'd better get inside him soon, or I am not going to be able to.
"Brace yourself, beautiful," I whisper into his ear, hearing his
blood pound in his veins with his excitement. His heart is pumping
hard. I let my saliva fall from my mouth in a steady stream, washing
over my cock, better than any lubricant. Then I let some more slide
down the crack of his waiting ass.

I put the head at his entrance and lean back, resting the weight of my
own butt on my heels and just hold him there, applying slight
pressure, letting his own weight bear him down. He groans, his
beautiful muscular ass cheeks flexing, then releasing as he forces
himself to relax, knowing what is in store for him. I push harder
and harder, panting harshly to leash my lust.

I can feel him finally giving way as I put enormous pressure on his
entrance and jerk my hips, popping the wide, flared glans into his
ass. I have to be at least 2-1/2 inches wide by now, which means my
head is even wider.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" he screams. I clench my ass muscles,
holding still, letting him get used to the feeling of being spread so
wide.

"I'm gonna stuff you so full, lover." I begin flexing my hips
slightly, easing a millimeter at a time inside him. I can feel his
anguish as I leave a trail of burning pain in my wake as my iron hard
cock tears and widens his distended sphincter muscle.

"Ohhh, yeah, little lover. Take it deeper, pretty pet," I coo to
him.

"Oh Ga ... reth, I do ... don't know if I c ...can," he stutters.

"Of course you can, lover, and you will.  I'm not going to stop
now. You've only got a few inches of me. You're going to take a
LOT more!" I push hard, roughly, and force another inch inside him,
ripping the soft tissues at his entrance.

My body and my cock are cold to the touch until I have a victim's
blood in my veins. Then I warm for a day or so. Right now, he
probably feels like he has an icicle up his ass.

"OOOOHHHH FFFUUUCCCKKK!" he screams in pain. I flex my hips again,
easing in and out, in and out. I know what my cock feels like. I
know how hard and unyielding it is. He feels like he has a glazed
ceramic pipe up his ass right now. Despite that, and the thin line
of blood that appears around the edge of his anus, I reach around and
find his cock standing tall, nearly touching his stomach in its
rigidity  I spread his pre cum as it leaks freely from the head and
pump him gently.

He moans and I begin rocking, determined to get inside him. I know
what will happen once I do and I am mad for it now. Each thrust pumps
his cock through my hand. I can smell the blood from his torn tissue.
I can feel his wild emotions and his body's confusion as it tries to
process the wonderful feeling of my large hand stroking his cock in
front and the stabbing pain in his ass as I rock in and out. I revel
in the fear that heightens his arousal as it threatens to make him
panic at the same time. He is sweating and I can smell his fear. My
nostrils flare as I inhale deeply of his scent.

His roiling confusion excites me. I am hurting him but he is finding
pleasure in the pain. In and out, sinking to six inches, in and out,
now seven, in and out.

My balls grow too and are the size of grapefruits now, filling
with boiling jism, my jism, which is not like any human sperm. I
rock and push hard again, forcing my cock to invade his tight ass,
causing his muscles to convulse on my rigid shaft. I bellow, "Scream
like a bitch for me!"

I ram myself into him hard, sinking at least eight inches into him.
He screams; long, blood curdling screams issue from the back of his
throat until he runs out of breath. I can feel the head of my
cock slowly sinking deeper with every stroke, feeling his bowels and
maybe some internal organs give way.

It is sinful. It is delicious and it is divine. I can feel his
ass convulse, the muscles spastic as they try to stretch to
accommodate my girth as I continue to thrust in and out, sinking
deeper with every stroke. Oh fuck, I am almost there. I am at least
three inches wide now and my shaft presses his muscular ass cheeks to
the side as I slide in and out. I mumble in his ear, "Aww my pigeon.
You are going to take all of me tonight."

"Oh God! You're so much bigger! Too wide, oh shit, you're too big!
Awww, fuck, you're hurting me you giant bastard! So wide!"

I chuckle and speed up, knowing he doesn't really mind the pain, that
it is erotic for him to a point and he still wants it. I can read him
like a book. He likes to excite me by putting up a fuss and resisting
some. I must admit I like feeling my power and my superior strength
over him.

"Awww, no! How much more?" he asks as the pain starts to edge out
over the pleasure. "You're making me bleed, aren't you?!"

"A couple of inches more, and I'll grow even more when I take the
blood. You haven't even begun to bleed like you're gonna bleed." I
hiss at the thought of it, feeling my gums begin to throb and ache.

"Oh Christ, don't kill me! Just don't kill me!" he shouts. He is
suddenly, truly panicked.

I wonder where he got the idea that I would kill him? Oh, the
hissing. It is an unnatural sound to him, but is merely a sign of my
extreme excitement. "No, sweet child. Calm down. I will not kill
you, my pet. I promise." I pant and reassure him.

I stroke gently for a few minutes, feeling his panic subside and the
pleasure creep in again. I sense his pain beginning to fade and
mingle with the pleasure as his ass continues to try and grip my
smooth, huge shaft that is pulsing and getting ready to enlarge again.

I throw my head back, hissing, my fangs fully extend. I feel another
throb and he shouts, "Oh fuck, you just got bigger!"

Here it comes, the blood lust. I haven't felt it in such a long time.
I'd forgotten how euphoric it is. My whole body throbs and flushes
hotly. I'm trembling from holding back my extreme lust. I shout, "Do
you need to go out? Tell me NOW! I'm gonna take you. I can't stop it
now!"

This is his last chance to back out. "NOOOOOOO!" he screams again.
"Take me!"

I sigh in relief and joy,  only now realizing I expected him to cave
in at the last moment. My arms slide down under his knees, lifting
them and curling him into a fetal position, mashing his head into the
mattress. "Get ready, my little pain lover. This is going to be the
fuck of your life. I'm gonna split you wide open."

I rear up to squat over his upturned ass. I lean forward, bracing him
with one arm. One deep breath and I pull my hips back and snap my
hips, driving the full length of my now 11 inch cock into his ass.

"OOOHHHH ... GOOODDDDD, ... NNNNOOOO, ... GAARREEETTTHHH! ...
AHHHHH, ... AHHHHH, ... AHHHH!" he screams out with every thrust that
impales him completely.

I curl over him, yank his head back and to the side by his hair and
sink my fangs into the vein on the side of his neck. His body jerks
beneath mine and he goes rigid as I take one long pull, feeling his
warm blood splash on my tongue and slide down my throat. I close my
lips on his skin so as not to lose any. I've always believed in being
tidy when I can. But this is going to get messy in a minute.

Ambrosia. He is ambrosia. I hold myself still inside him. I take
four long pulls of his blood, filling my mouth and swallowing. I hear
myself growling loudly in ecstasy. Each pull causes an aching throb
to wash through my torso, ending in my cock and extending it another
half inch or so, and widening my girth.

He screams with each pull that swells me inside him, punching my
cock head deeper into his bowels, straightening his coiled colon and
weakening his resistance with the loss of the blood. Pictures of his
life flash before me and I know where he's been, know
more about him than he knows about himself. My little pearl has not
had an easy life. Better things definitely await him.

I begin to pull my hips back again and slam into his defenseless,
obscenely stretched ass. I am no longer sucking his blood from him
but letting it seep into my mouth from his neck wounds, still held
open by my fangs, sipping lightly, the taste sending near orgasmic
electric shocks through my body.

I feel his new blood flowing in me and mixing with mine. The blood
sings in my veins, exciting me beyond reason. I am becoming the
creature that I am in my purest form. It is euphoria and pushes me
toward my climax.

I must look like a baseball bat slamming into his exquisitely tight
ass, forcing those cheeks aside as I drill deep into his ass. I have
topped out at 13 inches long, and four inches wide. I will grow no
more now. He is taking more of me than he ever thought possible.

He never stops screaming, "OOOHHH, GGGOOODDD, NNNOOO,
GGGAARREETTHH! AHHHH! AHHHH! AHHHH! AHHH! OH GOD,
I'M GONNA DIE! AH, JESUS, YOU'RE RIPPING ME TO SHREDS!
OH FUCK! MY BALLS ARE GOING TO EXPLLOODDEEE!"

I am so much bigger than he and I reach down and easily pump his
rigid staff and peer over his shoulder, watching his cock begin to
shoot long, ropy streams of cum each time I plunge into his ass,
abusing his prostate. Each stroke of mine is producing another rope
of cum from his balls, emptying them of their enormous pressure. I
know he's never come like this in his life. I want this to be worth
it for him. There has to be a reward for his sacrifice.

I am in ecstasy, feeling my pre cum leak like a faucet in a steady
stream from the hole in the end of my cock and seep into his bowels. I
know it descends, his tissues absorbing it like a sponge, filling his
nut sacks till they feel like they will burst. He never goes soft
even after coming so hard. Every time he absorbs me now, his genitals
will grow too. The change will begin.

I retract my fangs finally. I have taken enough from him. To take
more would make him too weak. He must be able to regenerate what he
has lost over night, but I'd be lying if I said the urge isn't there
to drain him dry. I force myself to pull away from his neck, licking
the small trail of blood as I plunge into him over and over again,
watching the skin of his neck heal over. He is no good to me weak or
dead.

I ram in again and again, spearing him on my monster cock that is hard
as steel. I put a hand over his abdomen above his navel and can feel
myself, racing inside, and distending the skin of his stomach. Oh
God, I am splitting him in two. I am completely feral now and reveling
in my ecstasy, hissing and growling as the waves of pleasure wash over
me, as I rip him in half.

I love the sound of his screams, knowing my sound proofed walls will
absorb it all. Here it comes, baby.  The finale.

I pull his hands up and he grabs the headboard to anchor himself. I
lean up on my knees, grabbing his hips and slam into him to the hilt,
feeling my swollen nuts swing and bounce off his taut scrotum. His
balls have swollen to the size of large oranges.

I feel my cum coil in my enormous nuts that hang half way down my
thighs now and hold about two quarts of cum. I let go and it
begins shooting up my cock with the force of a fire hose.

I bathe his bowels in my cum. It is a combination of a thick saliva
like substance that heals, and blood. I am spearing his tight ass
faster and faster, my hips a blur as cum starts to spray out of the
torn hole around my cock, coating his ass cheeks, though most of it is
forced deep inside.

I delight in his screams as his balls swell to bursting and he
erupts again, releasing all of that backed up liquid, as I stroke
deeply. Stroke, spray, stroke, spray, stroke, spray.

His body shudders and goes rigid on my shaft with every thrust,
squeezing me with exquisite tightness as he ejaculates streams of his
cum mixed with my blood. The sheets are soaking with our combined
juices. He is hoarse from screaming when it finally dies down and
both our cocks are merely dribbling semen. He passes out for a few
seconds. I gently extended his legs so he is lying flat on his
stomach.

My cock is slow to deflate. I ease half way out and back in, gently
now. In and out, in and out. For a half and hour I stroke his torn
and abused ass hole with my gigantic cock, keeping myself hard. My
hands slide under him to pinch his nipples.

He groans continuously as I stroke into him, unable to end the
euphoria I feel as his blood warms my skin for the first time from the
inside out. I murmur in his ear. "My exquisite pet. You're mine
now. You feel so good. I love spearing your lithe, tight body. Next
time I'll let you have a little blood. The ecstasy lasts longer
then."

He groans at my words, my hips speeding up slightly as I think of the
days to come. Once he can drink from me, his endurance and pain
tolerance will increase. Oh mercy, I'm leaking pre cum again. He
moans as his balls swell again. I reach under him and cup his balls
in my large hand, squeezing gently. He jerks under me and ejaculates
again, one more time, and then again, his moans weakening.

"I'm gonna fuck you every night, beautiful. And by the end of a
couple of weeks, I'll be making you climax for a half hour straight."
On that note, he moans and passes out and I let go, my sperm
shooting into him again. There isn't a lot of juice this time, but the
feeling is deep and satisfying.

I ease gently out of him, feeling my cock shrink back down to its
normal flaccid eight inches. He groans desperately as I exit. I feel
another wave of arousal as I view his gaping ass, his pink bowels
winking at me, a pool of my reddish cum sitting inside him. But I am
sated at last.

XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

I open my mouth and prick my tongue, letting my blood trickle
inside him. He immediately begins to tighten and heal up. He moans
again, still not able to speak, at the sensation of his tissues
tightening up and reconnecting.

His ravaged ass will be good as new in a few minutes. I massage his
ass cheeks and flop over on my side next to him. I pet his hair
and shower his face with kisses.

"Oh my beautiful, you did it."

He smiles weakly. "I don't know what to say. That was the most ...
painful ... erotic thing ... I've ever experienced. I never knew so
much pain could make me mad with lust."

I chuckle. "Ahh, my Alex. You were made for me."

"I was so scared, but I came so hard, so long ... my balls ..."

"I know."

"You're the only one I'd ever admit being scared of."

I chuckled again, finding him so endearing, my little tough guy.
"Shhh, I know, and it's just the beginning. Sleep now, baby. I'll
wake you before dawn."

He closes his eyes and falls almost immediately into a deep slumber.
There is no chance of disease or infection for me and I know his ass
will heal from my blood and saliva which is like magic on humans.
But I roll him gently and take the sheets off. I throw them in the
hamper and bring out some fresh ones. I pick him up and lay him on
the carpet. He never stirs.

I put fresh sheets on the bed, not wanting him to sleep in dampness.
I clean him off with a wet, soapy washcloth and I place him back on
the bed, and roll him onto his side, spooning up behind him. I feel
warm and sated with his rich blood, more content than I have in years.
For the first time in a century, a human knew what I was and
willingly gave himself to me. I feel a wave of affection steal over
me and I stroke his soft face, kissing his cheeks.

This one is mine now. He won't turn yet. That will take a while,
several nights of drinking my blood. But a few more orgasms like that
and I will own his soul, making him a slave to this pleasure. No one
but I will ever satisfy him again. He will be mine. At last, I will
have a companion for all time. One of my own making. I ruffle his
hair in a what I'm sure to him would be a surprisingly gentle gesture
of affection.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

I wake him at 4:30 AM, knowing the dawn will come in an hour and a
half. I roll onto my side, putting my back to him, feeling a curious
emotion that hasn't assaulted me in a long time. Sadness. I don't
want to leave him. I suppose this is a side effect of coming off
the blood lust. After such ecstasy it would be bound to be a let
down. I don't want to need him, although I know this is foolish. I
wouldn't be doing this at all if I didn't need him. I guess my ego
doesn't want to admit that to him, or let it show.

XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

Alex is undaunted by my body language and crawls up behind me,
throwing a leg over my thighs, an arm over my ribs and pressing his
morning erection into my ass. He has done this before, masturbated
himself on my hard body. I have never pushed him away. I let him do it
and usually lie here like a stone on these occasions, not letting on
how much it pleases me that he lusts for me as well.

Today though, I'm feeling melancholy and generous. I want to shock
him. And as I lie there thinking about it, he was marvelous and so
brave last night and deserves a reward. Our relationship has moved
into a new stage. He should be entitled to take more liberties. I
don't want a slave, I want a companion.

He jumps as I reach back and take hold of his hot cock. My body is
still warm from his new blood. I stroke him gently and he moans. I
can sense his astonishment and pleasure that I am reacting this time.
I guide him to my ass and he gasps in disbelief.  "How do you feel,
Alex?"

"Fine. I seem to have completely healed as you promised I would.
It's amazing."

I line him up with my anus and gently push back into him.

"Gareth?"

I whisper. "Take me, little one.  Relieve yourself in my body."

I hear him swallow noisily. "You sure?"

He's wondering if this is a trick. "I'm sure."

His good hand grasps my hip and I tip my ass up to give him better
access. Once he is placed at my entrance, I let go and bring my hand
back in front of me. He begins to push and I can feel his nervousness.
Is he afraid of retaliation, I wonder? I read him and feel his
nameless fear.  He wonders if this is a test.

I reassure him. "No hidden agenda, beautiful. Just a reward for your
incredible bravery last night. You do not need to be gentle, Pet. Go
wild. You cannot hurt me."

He groans, low and deep in his throat. He shoves roughly inside me,
moaning. I gasp myself at how pleasant it feels. I've never let him
inside before, and he knows what a privilege this is. I feel his
gratitude wash over me for what he considers a great favor. I shiver
in delight. "Yes, pet. Love me hard."

He does and I thrill at the noises and pleasure sounds he makes as he
rams into me repeatedly, sending tingling sensations all through me.
"Uh, uh, uh, oh yeah," he mutters.

He whips his hips back and forth, burying himself to the hilt. I do
not come or make myself erect. This is all for him, his reward. He
finishes quickly and cries out, "I love you!" as he cums in my ass.

I feel his warmth spread inside and squeeze my muscles to draw out his
pleasure. He moans and slips out of me. "That was wonderful," he
whispers.

XXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

"You have to leave now," I say gently. I won't tell him how much I
love him yet.  Not yet.  I don't want him to have that knowledge and
power just yet.

I feel his disappointment, but he says, "I know. Thank you, Gareth."

"Thank you, love. You've made me very happy."

"I'm glad." I roll over and kiss him gently before he rolls out of
bed and heads for my shower.

I lay there in the dark, windows barely lit by the soft light of the
lamp on the bedside table. I'm hungry again. The blood lust brings on
the craving and I want more. I can't take from him again, not for a
couple of days. But tonight will be a feast, whether from my guests or
from the hunt.



PART 4 (PG)
FAIR ESTATE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
FRIDAY EVENING - 7:30 PM

Alex is here already. The rest will arrive shortly.

I'm looking forward to tonight,  to asserting my power over this
ragtag band of outlaws. That is the way I see them. They think they
are so sophisticated, when in fact, they have the manners of goats.

I know who is loyal to me and who is not. Those who are not will die
tonight. Alex will help me, further binding him to me with invisible
chains of love, pleasure and obligation. He has been a
slave of one sort or another his whole life, whether he knows it or
not. He thinks he is independent, when in fact he is much better off
when someone makes his decisions for him. He is lost without a leader
and I intend to be that leader.

He is loyal to me. I can see into his mind. He worships me but
doesn't want me to know it. I like his spunk. I have no desire to
humiliate him. I will let him think he keeps his devotion from me. He
needs his pride and I will not take that away from him.

I hear my butler open the front door some minutes later and steal a
kiss from Alex.  I wink at him as I make my way out into the
vestibule, garnering a sweet smile from him.

Unlike my townhouse in Georgetown, this place is a veritable palace
with fourteen rooms, a salon, a dining room and library. We will be in
the dining room for most of the evening, and then retire to the salon
for coffee and cigars. I pretend to drink beverages. I have no need of
them. I CAN drink them if I have to, but it usually causes me to have
an odd sensation in my body until I can purge the foreign substance.

I blame my lack of eating on the Lupus at these dinners, citing a
strict diet and claiming that I have eaten before hand. This way, I
hold court at the head of the table and can observe everyone as they
eat and sift through their thoughts.

To clarify for the uninitiated in mind reading, I don't just hear a
cacophony of sounds and voices.  I have to focus on the person and
direct my thoughts to them, and then open a channel to see inside. I
can do this without giving away what I'm doing, but it does require a
conscious decision on my part. I don't always read the people around
me. To read everyone I come in contact with would be an exhausting
exercise. Tonight, however, I will be reading everyone, one by one, to
determine who lives or dies. It's rather like playing God and I must
admit, I enjoy my power.

I am not drunk on my power. I know I have weaknesses, for although I
am immortal, I am not free of mortal emotions. It does take a much
more powerful event to evoke emotion from me, but I do feel and care
for people. I am not without remorse for mistakes I have made in the
past. I have done good and I have done bad, like any man. It just
happens that because I've lived for centuries, I've had an opportunity
to acquire quite a list on both sides of the ledger.

I greet Spender and Vogel and show them into the dining room, where
the servants have put hors d'oeuvres on the table. I offer them drinks
and then settle in at the head of the table. We are waiting for three
more before we begin dinner.

Alex sits on my right, casting furtive glances at me. He is excited
but wants to appear calm to me and not look over eager. I don't need
to read his mind to know this. His body language and sheepish looks
tell me everything I need know.

I hear the doorbell and hear Jack, the butler, open the door for our
other two guests, Windemere and Sullivan. One is a British politician,
the other a scientist with a chemical plant. They are prestigious men
with greed in their hearts. I won't kill them for pride. But I will
kill them for disloyalty and thoughts of assassination and taking my
place.  Little do they know how difficult and yet how easy it would be
to kill me.  It would be easy in that fire would do the trick. It's
the one thing that can make me panic. Ironically, it's Mulder's
weakness as well. It would be difficult in that it would be nearly
impossible for them to overpower me or catch me if I decided to run.

Kersh is the last to arrive. Now we may begin.

Here we go, I think as they sit down at the table. I signal one of
the staff to start dinner. Delicious smells waft out of the kitchen.
I no longer salivate at the smell of food, but still enjoy the smells.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CGB Spender, Clyde Vogel, Philip Windemere, Dr. Brian Sullivan, Alvin
Kersh, and last but not least, Alex Krycek make up the guests around
the dinner table.

Alex sits to my right and CGB to my left.  Spender has the art of
making menacing faces down to a tee as he tries to intimidate Alex, as
if he has some secret knowledge about this meeting that Alex doesn't.
Of course, he thinks he's going to be named second in command.

"Gentlemen, I will come right out and say that this meeting is to
determine the roles of each of you in the New Consortium. There will
be new leadership and new goals in which you will all play a part. I
hope to define each of your roles before the night is over. First,
however, please eat heartily at my table. My cook has been slaving in
the kitchen all day."

They all smile. I push a button on the end of the table that rings a
button in the kitchen intercom. I speak, knowing the staff can hear
me. "Please begin serving."

Five seconds later, the kitchen staff of five begins pouring into the
dining room and setting out dishes one, after the other, and serving
everyone but me. They know better. I claim to prepare my own meals
when they are off duty. I leave things in the refrigerator and take
them to work to make it look like I eat every day. I usually throw it
out. It's a waste, I know, but sometimes I plead a lack of appetite
and give it to Kelli or someone else searching for something edible in
the cafeteria vending machines.

I figured my little speech would get their gears turning and I am
right. As they eat, I focus on them, one at a time,  and read their
thoughts on the new Consortium and more importantly, on me.

Vogel, Sullivan and Windemere are excited about the upcoming
negotiations and just glad to be included in such a powerful group.
CGB is already plotting how he can pull strings behind my back and
Kersh hates me with a passion, thinking of me as a young, arrogant
fool that would get them all killed.

I am old beyond their reckoning. I snicker internally at their
ignorant thoughts.  It seems our new members will be the ones to
survive, and the old members, with the exception of Alex, will die.
Windemere is young and the grandson of the man they previously called
the Well Manicured Man. He is young but very sharp and has an
extremely good business acumen. I think I will probably put him in
charge of the finances for the group. Clyde Vogel is an American
Senator from Maryland. He will be in charge of any legal matters we
may have to deal with in our activities. Dr. Sullivan will be added
to my secret laboratory in France to work on more antidotes to the
alien virus.

Alex will be my second as I know he will have the power and strength
to do my bidding and keep the others in line. He will have more
freedom to move than the others and will be able to travel unseen for
the most part. But mostly, I give him this because he will be totally
loyal and dependent on me. He will really be the only one I trust
implicitly.

Contrary to common belief, he is trustworthy. Mulder and Scully
don't like him. His mistake has always been in his secrecy. While
secrecy is necessary to a point, he has held too many cards close to
the vest. I will teach him the art of giving out just enough
information to make people trust you and make you not seem so
mysterious.

Tonight, the other two will die. Once dinner is finished, I explain
what types of accounts I want set up in Switzerland and the Cayman
Islands. Windemere pulls out a small notebook and takes copious
notes. When done, I advise him, "When you are done with the
arrangements, destroy those notes."

He nods. I hit a second buzzer and my butler appears.

"Jack, please bring my checkbook to me." He nods and leaves the room,
knowing where I keep it.

I turn to Clyde and say that he will be in charge of any legal matters
that may turn up, and explain that I will help him with any influence
on the hill should we need legislation passed. He nods and takes no
notes. I tell him that I will contact him when needed.

Next I turn to Sullivan and explain that he will be relocating to
France. He pales slightly and I ask, "Is this a problem?"

"Uh, not really."

"What is the problem?" I read him briefly.

"I'll need to make some arrangements is all."

"Your mother?" I ask kindly, surprising him that I know about her. I
didn't until a few seconds ago. She is old, feeble and wheelchair
bound in a convalescent home.

He swallows and nods. "I was going to bring her home with me as soon
as I got enough money. I've been saving."

He shrugs his shoulders as if embarrassed to have such a mundane
problem and be admitting it in front of these powerful men.

"Don't fear on her account. I will arrange for her to be flown to
France and installed in your home with you. I'll hire a private live
in nurse that speaks English for her and she can stay with you."

"Really? You'll do all that?"

"Of course. One should always care for their family."  I look
pointedly at Spender and he turns away from my glare.

"That will be a lot of money, Mr. Fair," Windemere states the obvious.

"I can afford it, Mr. Windemere, and both your services are valuable
to me. Don't think they aren't. I know you are making a sacrifice to
work for me but I'll try to make it worth your while. Your salary will
increasing as well."

"A lot?" he blurts out, garnering a smile from me. I can read him and
there is no greed there, only curiosity. His passion is his science,
his love is for his mother. He feels hope for her comfortable and
dignified demise for the first time in years. Maybe he can be the
good son after all and take care of her until the end.

"We'll discuss it later, Dr. Sullivan, but be assured it will be
substantially more than you make now. You will have a new identity, of
course, and new papers."

He nods.

"The government will never know you are back on French soil. I've
seen to that. All your records will mysteriously disappear."

He beams, not bothering to ask how I will accomplish this feat. Then
he goes back to eating his chocolate mousse which was not quite
finished. I've made him one very happy man. His mother is his only
tie to the states. He emigrated from France on the lam from the
government for being a spy for Germany about 15 years ago. He speaks
fluent French, German and English and has never had a lover to my
knowledge the whole time he's lived here. He left the love of his
life back in France all those years ago. Funny thing, she happens to
be a nurse! Hopefully, Alex will have her in our employ in no time.

With luck, I will reunite another love of a lifetime with his soul
mate. I am a romantic at heart.

Kersh speaks up finally. "What about me?"

"You will stay right where you are. However, I will need your
assistance in diverting attention away from me and my activities
within the Hoover Building from time to time. You're very good at
coming up with tasks for people to do and keeping them busy," I say to
stroke him slightly.  "I want that to continue, only I will be telling
you who needs to be on assignment out of town and when."

He recoils a bit at my authoritative tone, but nods. He is already
plotting rumors to spread about me to topple me out of my position in
the Bureau. He wants to send a hooker to my office and have me be
caught with her, among other things. What a fool. He won't be
getting the chance.

And now for CGB.  Kersh and he must walk out of here tonight
believing their futures are secure, even if they don't like the roles
they've been assigned.

Spender looks at me expectantly, that annoying little half smile on
his lips. "Spender served under Strughold and has a lot of experience
in covert activities and many ties in government. He will be the
bridge between the old and new consortium, letting us know of past
experiences so that none of us make mistakes with the new group.
Because of that valuable resource of power, he will be my Chief
Lieutenant.

"Many of his physical duties will be much like Kersh's, only in the
field, rather than in the FBI." His chest is puffed out now like a
bantam rooster and I have to struggle not to laugh out loud. He is so
full of himself right now that if I poked him with a pin, he'd
probably explode like a balloon. That visual makes me smile as well. I
turn to him, "Don't make me regret this decision."

"I won't. Thank you, Fair," he says. "I didn't really believe you
would have faith in me."

"I don't, really," I admit and his face falls. "But you are a valuable
resource. However, you'll have to prove yourself me, make no mistake
about that. One slip and I'll make you wish you were never born."

He seems to shrink under my regard but nods and finds his voice.
"I've done it before, I'll do it again ... prove myself, that is."

"Good. Now that this is all settled, we can retire to the salon for
coffee and cigars."

Windemere looks at Alex. "What about him?"

"Ah, yes. Alex and I spoke before you all arrived." They all look
peeved at that. "He understands that he is the youngest of us and
does not hold a position of ... import. Therefore, Alex will be the
muscle of the group. If someone needs to disappear, or is on your
trail, Alex will be your man ... with my permission of course. Any
hits will be sanctioned by me. No one will eliminate anyone without
my express permission. Are we clear on that?"

They all nod, everyone but Spender and Alex looking vaguely mortified
at the prospect. "Alex is low man on the totem pole for now."

He winces and bristles visibly, but I speak to him in his mind.
*Easy, pet. It's just a comment for their benefit. You will be taking
his place in no time.*

His feathers are no longer ruffled and he nods in deference to me.

Out loud, I say, "However, I demand that you show him the respect you
would to any other member of the group. Alex may not be in a position
of importance in government, the financial world, or the scientific
world, but he has shown extreme loyalty to the old Consortium and to
me so far. He is not yours to order about. He will report directly
to me, as will you all. If you need his ... unique talents, you will
come to me and not take things into your own hands or ask Alex behind
my back. Believe me, I will know."

Again, there is a round of accepting nods except from Spender. I
glare at him and raise my eyebrows. "What if I need to make a command
decision in the field?" he asks.

Always the devil's advocate, this one. "You may make command
decisions on your missions in the field with respect to everything
EXCEPT the elimination of someone. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," he mumbles.

"You will all be given secure land lines and my cellular phone number.
Cellular is not secure, so only use it in extreme emergencies and be
careful what you say.  I will know you need my help immediately if you
call on my cellular. I will be available to you 24 hours a day."

Jack returns with my checkbook and I make out six different checks to
CASH in obscene amounts and hand them to Windemere. His eyes bulge at
the amounts. There is one for every account I want opened. They will
be used as budgets for various things. One for payroll, one for
field expenses, one for experiments and one for bribes. The other two
are for emergency travel or housing expenses for anyone we may need to
hide or move in a hurry.  It is but a fraction of my American fortune.

"You are dismissed. I will contact you separately to advise you of
your individual salaries. I don't think anyone will be disappointed.
I will be in touch with all of you with further information and your
first assignments. In the meantime, I don't think I need to tell
anyone that as far as prying eyes are concerned, this group does not
exist. Don't let me find out you talked to anyone, even your families,
about what you are doing for this group."

They all agree and stand to leave. I ask Spender and Alex to stay as I
wish to discuss one more thing with them.  The rest leave, smiling.
Even Kersh seems more resigned to his role and is thinking that maybe
a limited involvement won't be such a bad thing.

 I send the staff home to complete the set up for our fait accompli.

"Come, you two, we have plans to make." I lead them both onto my back
porch. I'm almost giddy with anticipation. I must admit I love the
intrigue.



PART 5 (NC-17)
OLD FARMHOUSE
BULL'S BRIDGE ROAD
KENT, CT
FRIDAY EVENING

The house sits back from the road, with only the driveway and a
forlorn looking mailbox to mark the dirt driveway. Bull's Bridge, a
famous covered bridge in New England, is less than a mile away. From
there, you can almost spit and hit the New York State border. Beyond
the bridge lies small intersection known at Dog Tail Corners.
Civilization as we know it is a long way from here.

Below Dog Tail Corners is finally some civilization in the town of
Webatuck and South Dover in New York State. This property lies in a
valley between mountains.  We are surrounded here by Segar Mountain,
Schaghticaoke Mountain, Cornwall Mountain and Kent Mountain. This
small valley in Kent lies in a valley between these mountains
near the New York State border. There is a lot of history here and
native American folklore, but there isn't a cell phone in  sight. It
reminds me of the wilds of forests across Europe in the late 1800s.
Life moves at a slower pace here. Most people have never been to
Washington D.C. or New York City. The favorite past times are tractor
pulls and fly fishing.

Strangers are welcome but watched with a wary suspicion. As long as
you don't cause any trouble with the locals, they are prone to ignore
you. It has been a perfect place for me to hide over the last fifteen
years when I needed to get away. I actually owned the property on
which the old farmhouse sat.

I've sold and repurchased it repeatedly under a different name each
time.  Amazing what you can do through accountants and never have to
show your face for a closing. I jokingly call it 'Real Estate by
Mail'. The owner in the Town Hall of Records is now listed as Garrett
Viking.

It was a small personal joke. Garrett is the name I chose when I rode
the high seas with Leif Erikson and Eric the Red. Ah, those were the
easy days, when prey was plentiful and easy to find. My blood sucking
was often a mercy to those dismembered and dying anyway.

I stand in the shadows and reminisce about the past night's
activities. I'd led Spender out to the porch in the rear of my house
with Alex in tow.

I'd proceeded to reveal to Spender his every traitorous thought. His
fear was palpable and his astonishment plain. He asked if I could
read minds and swore he would change his ways, that he would never
betray me, despite what he might think now and again. When he
realized I was not going to buy his begging and pleading and grant him
reprieve, he tried to run.

It was comical.  I'd let him run out into my back yard, many
acres of mown grass stretching before him.  There are no neighbors
close enough to be within hearing distance.  I'd given him a good head
start. He was almost to the tree line when I said, "Alex, you can
move faster than you think. Follow me."

With that, I'd moved so fast, my body became a blur and shot across
the two acres to the gasping old man that was still trying to run but
had no breath for it. His lungs were shot.

To him, it must have seemed as though I materialized out of thin air
when I appeared in front of him. He screamed as his momentum carried
him forward and he crashed into the solid wall of my chest and went
down in a heap. A mere five seconds later, Alex appeared, smiling like
a kid with a new toy. He had discovered his enhanced speed from the
little blood I had poured into his body from my mouth and penis last
night. It would only get better.

He grinned and said, "I'm not even breathing hard."

I smiled and wrenched the pitiful wretch at my feet into a standing
position. I was craving the blood, as I said. This wasn't as
euphoric as the blood lust, but there was an incredible pleasure to be
found in the blood kill as well.

His eyes were wide as I smiled at him, showing him my fangs. He
screamed and I laughed, my loud baritone echoing over the empty acres.
Alex's eyes widened but he did not flinch when I sank my fangs into
Spender's neck. He was so diseased his skin was like crepe paper to my
fangs and I sank deeply, holding his jugular with my bottom teeth. I
began to pull as he screamed, then whimpered, then merely cried. His
entire life flashed before my eyes, as it often did in these moments.
I almost felt sorry for him. He'd been a pawn himself to one person or
other his whole life, always chasing power for himself and never
quite achieving it. He just wasn't smart enough and didn't have the
soul for it. But always so self-centered and selfish.

Ironically, what he considered the best time of his life was his brief
affair with Teena Mulder. But alas, I knew what he didn't. He was
shooting blanks.  He'd been sterile his whole life, a side effect of
over exposure to radiation as a child when he lived in Roswell near
the nuclear testing sites.

Bill Mulder was rather spineless when it came down to it, and
Spender was vindictive. They both thought they had pulled the wool
over each other's eyes by each having an affair with the other's wife.
In truth, they did fool each other. But I knew the truth. A victim's
chemistry and health conditions are apparent to me as soon as I taste
their blood.

I'd pricked him once with a hidden shirt pin in my suit coat sleeve.
He'd jumped and I'd apologized, pulling the pin from my sleeve. I'd
explained that it was a new shirt and I must have missed a pin when
removing it from the package. I wiped his hand with a Post It note
from my desk, then handing him a tissue. He'd left and the small drop
of blood sat on top of the Post It note unabsorbed. I'd licked it off
and known from that small drop all I needed to know about Spender's
ability to sire a child.

It puts a whole new spin on the believed history of the Mulder family,
doesn't it?

Anyway, I continued to pull his blood over my tongue and down my
throat, shivering in delight as it warmed my body and swelled formerly
dry cells with new life.  His mouth hung open now and his heart was
slowing. I let him sag to the ground and sat next to him with his
throat locked in my mouth, one arm around his bony shoulders to hold
him in place. I stuck out my wrist beyond his shoulder and slashed it
open with my finger nail.

I sent words into Alex's mind. *Drink from me, lover.*

Alex sank to his knees on the other side of Spender and put his lips
to my wrist. *Pull the wound open with your fingers.*

His thumbs came down on my wrist and pulled the slit open. I was
healing already. He began to suckle and release, pulling my blood
into his mouth as I replenished it from Spender's body. I had plenty
to spare now, having taken his the night before and all six quarts of
Spender's blood now.

Did you know that in one day, blood travels approximately 12,000
miles as it tours the body? The human heart beats an average of 35
million times a year?  Amazing instrument, the heart. But alas,
Spender's has stopped. I take one last pull and release my fangs,
licking his neck wounds and watching them close over. I throw him to
the side and spread my thighs, resting my butt on my heels and pulling
Alex into my arms, wrapping my arm around his neck and pushing my slit
wrist back in front of his mouth.

I hold him like a baby as he sucks the blood from my wrist. His eyes
are slightly glazed and he is almost in a trance. The blood is making
him shudder, as his body tries to assimilate the new chemistry.  He's
had enough.

He looks dazed and I pull my wrist away from him, his mouth following
the wound. I stop his head with my free hand and turn him toward me.
We kiss and I taste my blood on his tongue. We both tremble at the
electric pleasure shocks that scamper up and down our spines.

I give him a few moments to recover and then tell him that we need to
leave. He shakes his head to reorient himself in reality. "What
about the body?" he asks.

"We're going to dump it."

"In the river?" he asks.

I smile. "Oh no, we're going to leave it where it will be found."

"Where's that?"

"A little place I own in Kent, Connecticut."

He smiles. "Transport?"

I grin at him as I prepare to give him another life altering
experience. "Dear Alex. We are going to fly."

His brow scrunches. "You have a private charter plane or something?"
he asks.

I shake my head. "No, you misunderstand." I stand and throw Spender
easily over my shoulder. "Follow me."

We enter the house and I lay Spender on the couch. I take Alex to the
bedroom and dress him in long underwear, turtleneck, and a heavy
Icelandic sweater, sweat pants, and large jeans over those. He is
bundled like the Michelin Man but he can still move easily, my clothes
very large on him.

Without question, he follows me back downstairs. I pick Spender up
again and throw him over my shoulder. He weighs barely over 120
pounds now with no blood.

We walk out back and I stride across the lawn, crossing the two acres
to reach the tree line. I wrap an arm tightly over Spender's legs. The
other arm invites Alex into my embrace. He steps forward eagerly.

"Put your arms around my waist." He does, clasping me below Spender's
thighs. "Put your feet on top of my boots."

He does, his feet turning outwards. I smile down at him. "Hang on
tight," I give as a final warning and clasp him tightly to me with one
arm.

I look up, gauging the position of the moon, so I don't fly where it
will illuminate me on take off. Once up, I will be moving so fast, no
one would see me anyway, beyond a flash of clothing.

I lift into the air slowly and Alex gasps. I smile to reassure him.
"Hold on tight. We are going to move fast."

He clasps me tightly and buries his head in my shoulder. I let go of
my restraint and rise straight up into the air until we are about at
500 feet above the tree tops. His lungs won't handle any higher yet.
He hasn't changed enough. The air thins, which doesn't affect me, but
I don't want him struggling for breath.

The wind against our bodies is fierce as I race toward my destination,
hence the reason for his warm clothing. I know he is scared, but my
brave little soldier never utters a protest or a whimper as we fly
through the night. The night is young and I knew we have plenty of
time to get there and back before dawn.

Upon arrival, I touch down in front of the farmhouse. As I release
Alex, he staggers a bit to catch his balance but recovers admirably
and smiles at me the toothiest smile, like a boy who just got off his
first roller coaster ride. "That was fabulous!" he whispers in awe.

I smile at him. The adrenaline junkie is making an appearance. "You
will not be able to do it for many years, but I will be able to take
you with me."

"When did you gain that ability?"

"When I was about 500 years old."

He frowns. "That's a long wait," he says with resignation.

I laugh at the earnest expression on his face. I can't help it.
"Don't worry, dear heart. We'll have eternity."

He smiles at that and I trudge to the house, pulling the keys from my
trouser pocket and unlock the door deftly with one hand. The house is
old, but it has been completely restored. I enter and take Spender
upstairs to one of the three guest bedrooms and lay him out on the
mattress with his hands over his chest as if he lies in state. The
flight has nearly frozen him stiff and I have to unbend his legs and
be careful not to snap them. Once that is accomplished, I return
downstairs and find Alex pulling sheets off the furniture.

He turns with an armload of sheets and whistles softly. "There has
got to be thousands of dollars of antiques in here."

"There is."

His eyes travel over the Louis XIV love seat with the lion heads on
the end of the armrests, Victorian couch and French coffee table, the
English antique hutch along one wall. His eyes travel over the walls
and he whistles again in appreciation.

"These paintings ... are they ...?"

"Yes, they are originals."

"Monet, Rembrandt, Botticelli ... my God. There's a fortune in artwork
in this one room."

I smile. "I can show you around and let you warm up, but we can't
linger. We have to go back to D.C. We still have one to get rid of."

He starts and looks at me. "Who else? I thought it was just
Spender."

"No, Kersh has to go, too."

"Isn't it dangerous to take them both in one night?"

"He is just going to disappear. By the time they find him, there
won't be enough of him left to know he was exsanguinated."

He swallows. "If you're sure."

"Is there a problem I don't know about?"

He shakes his head vigorously. "No. I just don't see how you're
going to do it, cover it up, but ... I trust you completely. You know
that. Whatever you think is best."

I motion to him to come to me and he does. I enfold him in my arms
and we kiss softly for long minutes. He is turning into such a
delight. I realize I really care for him and wonder why I'm afraid to
let him know that. Aren't I criticizing Mulder and Scully for
withholding this very type of information?

Somehow I can't give him the whole bone yet, though. But I whisper in
his ear. "I'm falling in love with you, Alex."

He shivers in my grasp and his lips suckle my throat. I groan and let
him feel my arousal. I could stop it but I don't want to. He moans
and then says, "You know I love you. I'd do anything for you."

"I know, pet. We don't have much time though."

"Let me give you pleasure."

I look deeply into his eyes and am thrilled to find out that really is
all he wants. He intends to ignore his own excitement over my words,
his own throbbing cock between his legs, and give me pleasure. Giving
me pleasure, gives him pleasure. I feel warm and flush with all the
blood I've imbibed and decide we have time for a quickie.

XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

I unzip my trousers and pull down my pants and boxers, letting them
pool around my ankles. I lean my ass on the back of one of the
couches to lower my height. He falls to his knees in front of me like
a supplicant and takes my cock with both his hands. He licks the tip
and I moan, "Yes, lover, suck me off."

His warm, hot mouth surrounds the bulbous head of my cock.  He can't
take all of me, but is soon taking a good six inches into his mouth. I
don't hold back, not wanting this to last long. He sucks fiercely,
hollowing his cheeks with suction as his head bobs up and down on my
rigid sex, his mouth stretched wide. It reminds me of his stretched
ass and I feel a mighty throb in my shaft and begin to spray the back
of his throat with cum.

It is bloody and he swallows it like it's the best thing he's ever
tasted, humming.  The vibrations wash over me and I empty my balls,
filling his mouth three times as he swallows and takes all I have to
give.

I sigh in relief and try to remember the last time I was this content.
I can't remember. I quickly pull up my pants and fasten them.

XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

I look up at him and he's standing with his arms around his ribs,
hugging himself. "Are you all right?"

"I'm good."

"What's going on, Alex? You can tell me."

"I feel strange."

"Strange how? Can you be more specific?"

"I keep having hot flashes. My gums ache. My skin feels ...
stretched over my muscles. My arm ... aches really bad."

I smile. "It has begun, Alex."

His eyes widen. "What exactly?"

"The change. The hot flashes are your body assimilating my blood.
That's where your preternatural abilities will come from. Already you
have experienced the increased speed. It will grown even more. Your
strength will grow."

I walk toward him slowly and run my hands down his arms. I kiss one
cheek and then the other. "You will grow taller, that's why your skin
feel stretched. Your arm ... is beginning to grow, Alex."

He blinks back tears, partially from pain, partially from joy at this
news. "Your gums," I continue. "Well, you can guess why they ache."

He swallows heavily and nods his head. Softly he says, "I'm growing
fangs, aren't I?"

"Yes, but don't worry. As you know, once grown, they retract easily.
No one sees them or knows they are there unless you let them see
them."  He nods again and sighs, reassured. "I'm sorry you're in pain,
Alex. But it must happen this way."

"I know. I knew there would be some pain. You said there would be.
I just ... didn't really know what kind of pain it would be. You
know? I didn't know what to expect."

I hug him gently to me. "This is one pain I can't take away, Alex. I
can soothe your human pain, but this process is what it is. More of
my blood will speed the process and ease the pain. But it won't take
it completely away."

"I understand. I want it. I will endure it. You don't need to worry
about me."

"I know, but you may need a lot of rest in the next couple of weeks.
Don't hesitate to tell me if you are tired or worn out. I won't be
upset and I will understand. Besides, I'll worry a bit whether you
want me to or not."

He is silent for a few moments and then says, "I like hearing you in
my head."

I chuckle softly then. "It's very intimate, yes?" I say quietly,
purring in his ear.

He shrugs against the shiver of my breath on his neck. "Yeah, I like
it. Will I be able to talk to you like that?"

"Yes."

"Do I have to wait 500 years for that too?" he asks innocently.

I laugh out loud this time, feeling so much affection for him. He
shrugs sheepishly. "No, pet. That will come quickly. I'll have to
teach you how to shield, though.  At first, the noise can be
overwhelming until you learn to block it out. I will teach you all
these things."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"I know. We have to go soon, but I want to help you somehow."

"You said you couldn't relieve this pain."

"I can't, but I can make you feel better another way."

He looks up at me in confusion.

XXXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

I slowly turn him around and walk him backwards toward the couch. I
unfasten all his layers and expose his cock. It springs to life under
my touch and he sighs, his arms falling limply to the sofa cushion and
his head leaning back into the backrest.

I kneel before him as he did before me and take him into my mouth. I
suck hard and use my tongue to swirl around him as my hands pin his
hips to the sofa. He begins to thrust and I let go of his hips,
laying my hands palm down on the sofa on either side of his thighs.

He knows now that he cannot hurt me with his thrusts. He bucks his
ass up off the couch repeatedly, sending his swollen shaft down my
throat. In a short time, he ejaculates into my mouth. I am pleased
to taste blood mixed in with his own bouquet. The change has
definitely begun for my crown prince.

XXXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION



PART 6 (PG-13)
HOOVER BUILDING
THIRD FLOOR
D.D.KENDALL FAIR'S OFFICE
THE FOLLOWING MONDAY - 4:00 PM

"Enter," I respond to the knock on my door.

Agents Mulder and Scully enter. I inhale their scents. Ah, she is
wearing Mulder's favorite perfume, Via Preve, a French concoction of
natural ingredients from Yves Roche. I love most of the scents they
sell.

I wonder if Mulder notices this little signal from her. I search his
thoughts as I wave them to the leather couch in front of my desk.
Mulder flops down, not ungracefully, but sinks into the plush leather.
Agent Scully sits on the edge so as to prevent her skirt from riding
up her thighs. Pity.

I smile as I see Mulder's nostrils flare when she sits down. His
brain nearly screams, 'She's going to drive me crazy with that
perfume.'

That's the idea, you dope. I call him names, but it's all meant
affectionately, you understand. "Ready to go?" I ask to start the
conversation.

Agent Scully answers. "Yes, Sir."

"Give me a run down."

"Well, Sir, we found out the house comes furnished so that turned out
not to be an issue."

"That's good."

"Yes, the owner, a Garrett Viking, agreed to let us rent the house
through his real estate agent, so we didn't end up needing to go
through the complicated paperwork of a fake purchase."

"That's good news. Saved a lot of time too, I'd imagine," I respond
casually.

"Yes. Well, we will be undercover as Mr. and Mrs. Montagne. I'll
have a temporary job as a part time emergency room doctor at New
Milford Hospital. I'll use my first name, but he'll use William as
his first name."

"That's your middle name, right?"

"Yeah, my first name's too easy to look up. How many people have the
name Fox?" he asks sardonically.

I smile. "Oh, I don't know, the Schaghticaoke Indians might take you
in as one of their own."

He chuckles good naturedly and Dana smiles at him. "We're leaving
tomorrow morning, if that's all right with you. Mulder will present
himself as psychologist and claim to be writing a book."

"So he can explain staying home most of the time," I clarify.

"Exactly. I'll only be working for six hours a day, three days a week.
But that will give me access to the hospital facilities for any
forensic work I might need to do."

"Sounds like you have it all worked out. I assume there are adequate
sleeping arrangements to suit you?" I ask, tweaking them to see what
they will say.

Mulder smiles slowly and lazily and waggles his eyebrows at Scully.
She gives him the death glare and is mortified that he is joking in
front of a superior.

Her skin color rises and I watch the blood bloom on her cheeks. "Sir!
There are four bedrooms. That won't be an issue."

I chuckle softly. "I'm not worried about that anyway, Agent."

"What do you mean, Sir?"

"I mean that agents fraternizing is not something that I concern
myself with. As long as my agents do their jobs, I don't care what
they do on their off time. You are supposed to be a married couple, so
you may need to play the part. It won't be held against you."

She blushes more fiercely and Mulder smiles but holds back his
innuendo in front of me. He sits forward. "We've been undercover
before, Sir."

"We don't ... fraternize!" Scully adds.

I've managed to fluster the unflappable Agent Scully. This tells me
that it's an issue and on her mind. I probe her gently and find her
struggling to control her blush and cursing her Irish skin. "I know.
I only meant that I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable."

"No, Sir," Agent Scully answered. "We'll be fine."

"Good. Well, everything seems in order. Good luck, Agents."

"Thank you, Sir," Mulder says respectfully. "We really appreciate
your support."

"No problem. Take your time, of course, but I'll want weekly reports
either faxed or e-mailed to me on your progress."

Agent Scully meets my gaze again. "No problem, Sir. I'll make sure
you get weekly reports."

Very casually, I say, "Agent Scully, you can relax, I'm not going to
bite you." I laugh silently at my inside joke.

She nods self-consciously. "I know, Sir. I just ..."

"Relax, Agent. Have fun with your assignment."

"Fun, Sir?"

"It's work, but it doesn't have to be all struggle and effort, Agent
Scully. You're allowed to have fun, you know."

Mulder smiles widely. "I'm always telling her the same thing. All
work and no play makes Scully a dull agent."

"Mulder!"

I smile broadly at them. "You're a great team. But nobody can be on
duty 24/7. Remember to take down time too.  You're good agents. I
don't want you burning out. Besides, you are supposed to be married.
It would look strange if you never left the house and never went
anywhere together. I expect you to go out to dinner in the nearest
restaurants and buy things in the local stores. I have every
confidence in you. See if you can figure this one out, will you?"

They rise and say in unison, "Yes, Sir."

I stand and come around my desk. Agent Scully takes a step back,
momentarily startled at my size. Mulder obviously didn't warn her.
You can tell I'm a big man sitting behind my desk, but the full effect
doesn't really hit you until I stand up.

I hold out my hand. "Nice to finally meet you, Agent Scully."

She hesitates but then sticks her hand out. Her grip is firm and
assured and not intimidated in the least. I smile at her and she
smiles back as I release her hand. "I'll look forward to reading your
reports."

"Have a good day, Sir."

"Oh, I will. You too, Agents."

They leave and the door clicks behind them. This could turn out to be
a lot of fun, I'm thinking.

XXXXXXXXXX

I buzz Kelli and tell her to hold my calls for an hour or so. I tune
into my agents as they retreat to their office and pack up their
laptops and the various items they need to take with them to
Connecticut.

"So, what did you think, Scully?"

"Big guy, literally and figuratively," she mutters.

Mulder laughs and so do I, quietly. "Yeah, he's a big man, but he
seems nice, doesn't he?"

"Yes." I hear the hesitation in her voice.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know yet. Something about him bothers me."

"Probably his size. I know how you hate it when I tower over you.
Christ, the man towers over me!"

"No, that's not it. I've been short my whole life, Mulder. I got
used to being towered over a long time ago. That doesn't intimidate
me."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Didn't this all seem a little too easy, Mulder?"

He is silent, wondering if she has a point. His natural paranoia is
kicking in. I want to influence him, but I hold back. If I am to get
their help later, I must have their trust. This must progress
naturally. I remind myself that I am in no hurry. I have Alex to
take care of now and he must be my main concern.

I'll tell them about Kersh when they call to tell me about their
discovery upon arrival. Alex will be vulnerable for the next couple
of weeks. I have him staying at my townhouse in Georgetown. I've
told him not to go out without me under any circumstances.
Periodically, I check to make sure he's still there. He is. He has
spent most of his time sleeping.

"You know what, Scully?" he finally answers.

"What?"

"I think we are just so used to having to fight for every little
morsel around here that we find it hard to believe that anyone could
possibly believe in us and genuinely appreciate what we do here. We
are so used to being pawns that we assume if someone is nice, they
have an ulterior motive."

"They usually do, Mulder," she replies, her skepticism fully in place.

"Maybe Fair does. But does that necessarily have to be a bad thing?"

"Meaning?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's had some sort of brush with the paranormal, or
there is a mystery in his life he wants solved. Maybe he's hoping he
can get our help."

"But first he has to butter us up?"

"It's a possibility, is all I'm saying. Or maybe he is checking us out
before he decides whether we can help him ... or maybe to see if he
simply likes us or not. The bottom line is that we just don't know,
Scully. And I'm not inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth right
now." He sounds sullen and dejected now, upset that she is
questioning everything as usual.

She sighs. "You're right, Mulder. Maybe I'm just overreacting to
this."

"I trust your instincts, Scully. You know that. All I'm saying is
..."

"There's nothing we can do about it at this point," she finishes for
him.

"Right. I mean, if he has another agenda, we'll find out about it for
sure. But until then, what? We can't exactly ask him if he's got an
ulterior motive. Gee, sir, are you using us for some nefarious
purpose?  Or are you buttering us up to get something out of us?"
Scully laughs at his mocking, impromptu scenario. It's a glorious
sound.  He begins to laugh with her. "Like the man said, let's go have
some fun."

"I don't know about fun, Mulder. But our assignments are never dull."

"Let's go, G-Woman.  Your place or mine first?" he teases.

"Mine. I need to get my stuff from my apartment, then we'll head over
to your place. You're closer to the airport."

"After you, Mrs. Montagne."

"Don't push it, Mulder."

They are leaving now and I sit down to do some paperwork, one of the
prices I pay for playing a mortal. I sign several documents and read
a couple of other case files, attaching notes for the agents'
assignments. I call Kelli in.

She is looking edible in a pink cashmere sweater and wool slacks that
hug her tiny derriere. "Kelli, can you call A.D. Skinner and tell
him I need to speak with him tomorrow?  Then take these folders and
pass them on to D.D. Kersh's secretary."

"Yes, Sir. Will there be anything else?"

I smile at her. "No, I know it's almost quitting time. Get those
files to Debbie and you can go."

"Thank you, Sir. See you in the morning." She turns and leaves.
God, I would love to have her for a night, but I can't risk it. I
need her here. I sigh and call Alex at the townhouse. He answers on
the third ring.

"Hello, Fair Residence."

"Oh, so formal."

"Gareth," he says my name like it's a relief.

"How are you, love?"

"Tired. The soreness is mostly gone. I took some aspirin and believe
it or not, it helped."

"I believe it. I'm glad you're feeling better. Every day it will get a
little better."

"Even though I'm still changing?"

"Yes, because I'll give you more ... of what you need and it will ease
the pain some."

"Good. I'll look forward to it. Are you coming home soon?"

"Soon. I have to wait for the sun to go down. Another half hour or
so."

"I'll be waiting. Can I order some dinner delivered?"

"Sure, just don't leave the house."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"There's some money in my top desk drawer in the study. Take it for
your food."

"I have some money."

"Use mine, Alex."

"Okay."

"See you soon."

"Bye."

I hang up and sigh. I wished I didn't have to leave him alone but I
have no choice. I can't simply take two weeks off right now. It
would look strange since they are about to discover that Kersh is
missing. I'm feeling warm and satisfied from the blood
I've taken this week, first Spender's and then Kersh's.  Kersh is at
the bottom of the Potomac now, but there won't be much left of him in
a week or so. The fish have already begun to feast. If he isn't
light enough to surface in a couple of days, I'll bring him up.

Kelli knocks lightly and sticks her head in the door. "I'm all
through, Sir."

"Thanks, Kelli. See you tomorrow."

"Can I ask you a personal question?" she asks as she comes into the
room.

"Sure."

"Where do you live?"

"I have a townhouse in Georgetown and a house in Falls Church."

"Wow."

"Sometimes I don't feel like driving all the way back to Falls Church
and battling the Beltway, so I bought a townhouse in Georgetown. I
stay there a lot during the week and go home to Falls Church on the
weekend. Why?"

"I was just curious. You keep long hours. Do you ever get to have
fun?"

I smile at her. "What kind of fun do you think I need, Kelli?" I ask
in a flirtatious voice.

She blushes slightly and stutters, "I didn't ... mean it ... mean it
that way."

I chuckle, enjoying her embarrassment. "I know. But seriously, what
do you think I need?"

"I don't think you need anything, Sir. I was just wondering, you
know, what you do for fun?"

"What do you do for fun?" I counter, neatly sidestepping her question.

"Go to dinner, movies, have drinks with friends. Sometimes go dancing
at nightclubs."

"I stick out like a sore thumb in nightclubs."

"Why?" she asks innocently.

I stand up and approach her, stopping about a foot away. She cranes
her neck back to look at me. "Because I'm easily a head taller than
most people. I crash into the strobe lights on the ceiling."

She giggled. "I guess I see your point. Oh! But there's the
Warehouse!" I was kidding about hitting the lights, but apparently
she isn't too bright sometimes.

"The Warehouse?"

"It's a fairly new nightclub in Baltimore. It's converted from an old
Warehouse. The ceilings are like ... twenty feet high in that place."

"I'm appreciate the thought, Kelli, but I'm a prime example of the
expression, 'white men can't dance'."

She giggles again. "I'll bet you'd do fine if you had the room," she
countered.

"I think I'll pass," I say gently.

She frowns, clearly disappointed. I probe her mind gently. I usually
refrain from invading her this way, maybe because I wanted to keep her
separate from the rest of the intrigues in my life. I don't want to
taint her life. She is looking at the carpet, but she is thinking, 'I
should just go home. I've made enough of an ass of myself. He
doesn't even know I'm flirting with him. He probably thinks I'm a
total dork.'

"I'm not much of a dancer, but I might be convinced to go out to
dinner."

"You would?"

"Sure, if I had the right dinner companion."

She swallows, screwing up her courage. "And who would that be, Sir?"

"How about you, Kelli? Would like to go out to dinner sometime?"

"Yes!" she nearly shouts, but pulls back at the last minute. I smile
at her and she blushes.

I lean down close to her face. "This week is pretty booked for me,
but maybe Friday? Can you wait that long for me to get a social
life?"

She laughs again, smiling widely. "Sure. Friday it is. After work?"

"Sounds good. We should keep this to ourselves, though." I touch her
shoulder and squeeze gently.

"I understand." She trembles under my hand.

"I'm new here. I don't need to be brought up on sexual harassment
charges before my first year is out."

She smiles again. "No worries there, Sir." Her tone is breathy.
Just the word 'sexual' made her flush.

"Glad to hear it, Kelli. I'll see you tomorrow, O.K.?"

"Right. Good night, Sir."

I run a finger along her jaw and then let it slip away. Good lord. I
can smell her. She's aroused. "Good night, Kelli."

She leaves and it's my turn to sigh. Why did I do that? I have to
think of Alex.  I'm over 600 years old and I can still give into
impulse.  It's rather sad, really. I was alone for so long and now
what? I start bringing Alex to me and suddenly I need to lust after
every mortal that flirts with me? What the hell?

Oh well. What's done is done. I can always wipe out her memory of
it, if it goes bad. I don't like to do that, though. But I do what I
have to do. But God, she is hot.  That's one thing I like about
the 21st century. The women show a lot more skin than they did in the
old days!





PART 7 (NC-17)
KENDALL FAIR'S TOWNHOUSE
GEORGETOWN, D.C.
LATER THAT EVENING - 6:30 PM

I enter and close the door behind me.  He emerges from the hallway,
walking slowly.  I observe his jaw muscle clenching and releasing, his
hands forming fists and uncurling with effort.  "How are you, Pet?"

He swallows and admits quietly, "The pain is bad."

"I'm sorry I left you alone so long, but I couldn't help it."

"I know."  He hesitates, blinking rapidly, trying to hold back his
tears.  His is trying to be stoic and endure.  He doesn't want me to
know he is having trouble handling the pain.  But with the pain, comes
a lowering of his barriers.  Without even reading his mind, I can see
the lines of pain etched on his face.  They show in the small lines
around his eyes, the narrowing of his lips that are growing pale.
"Can you help me?" he asks, clearly embarrassed that he has broken
down to the point where he needs to ask for my help.

I step into him and smooth his hair with my hands and cradle his head.
"Come, little one," I murmur, having sensed his distress from the
street as I exited my car.  "I will help you."

I pick him up gently and easily in a baby carry and bring him into
the bedroom. He tries to squirm for a moment, wanting to maintain his
dignity but the pain is too bad and he finally gives up, collapsing
against my body.  I can see that he has spent most of the day on the
couch in front of the TV. An empty small pizza box, a Coke can, and a
bottle of aspirin lay on the coffee table. The afghan is balled up on
one end. I will clean that up later.

I stand him next to the bed and gently undress him. He is pale, but I
see him gritting his teeth against the pain, once again, trying not to
show me that he is scared. "It's O.K. to let it out," I whisper.  "I
know the pain is bad."

"Ah, God, Gareth.  I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so needy."

"It's all right."

"I know you just walked in the door.  You didn't even get to sit
down."

"Shhh, you've been waiting for hours.  I wish I hadn't had to leave
you."

"It's all right.  I know you needed to go."  He grits his teeth again
and I feel the muscles of his back spasm.  "Ahhhh," he begins to moan
and willfully cuts it off again.  "Sorry," he mutters again.

"No need to apologize, Alex. I understand." It has been so many
centuries ago that I don't remember the pain in vivid detail, but it
is coming back to me. The death of my mortal body took a week and a
half and I was often curled into a ball moaning.

"I don't like feeling this weak!" he cried out. "I'm used to feeling
strong and healthy!"

"I know love. I'll help you as best I can.  Let it go if you need to."
I cupped his face.  "I won't think less of you, Alex.  You're safe
here with me." My maker had been slightly cruel and was stingy with
his blood, making me suffer unnecessarily. I learned later from
Zebrosia that it hadn't had to be that way. I didn't intend to make
Alex suffer the way I did, or any more than he had to.  "I understand
the fear."

"I hurt too much to fear it," he moans. Once stripped, I pick him up
gently and place him in the center of the bed.

"Should I roll over so you can take me?"

"No, pretty one. I won't take you right now."

"Why not?" he cries, thinking this is how I will take the pain
away.

"That would cause more pain right now. Maybe later. Shush now, lie
back and relax."

He goes boneless on the mattress and I lay down beside him, sliding
an arm under her neck and letting his head rest on a pillow. I am on
my side. "Time to do some sharing, Alex."

He sniffles. "Just please help me," he said softly.  "Shit," he
mutters, embarrassed. I hate seeing him in this much pain. I know how
strong he is. For him to be reduced to whimpering, the pain must be
incredible. I curse myself again for leaving him alone this long.
Maybe I will take at least one day off.

His eyes are glued to me as I bring my free left wrist to my mouth.
I open my mouth, letting him watch as my fangs extend. I bite
deeply into my wrist and he gasps, wondering how that possibly could
be painless for me. I pull back as I pull my fangs out, slashing two
deep furrows in my veins. I tip my wrist to his lips, and remember him
saying he liked hearing my voice in his head. He needs my comfort
now. So I speak to him in that way that makes him feel intimate with
me.

*Drink, my love. But drink slowly.*

He opens his mouth and I can see his swollen gums. He has tiny
fangs. He is hesitating, perhaps feeling them there.

*Yes, curl your lip and push them out.*

His lip curls and I see his canines extend into baby fangs just barely
longer than his regular teeth, but the sharp points are showing.
*Drink, Alex.*

I press my wrist to his mouth and his tiny fangs sink into the open
wound. He doesn't need to hold it open this time. Even his tiny
fangs are enough to keep the hole open in my vein. He sips and
swallows, sips and swallows. He is doing as he is told and taking
small amounts, drinking slowly.

He shivers and hums against my wrist. I rock him gently as he
suckles like a baby. I probe his mind gently. He still aches all
over, all his joints in agony from stretching, but the pain is
subsiding slightly. I decide that even if it means I will be weaker
for a day or two, I will give him all I can. He sips for a long time,
his eyes finally closing in exhaustion.

*That's enough for now, love. Retract your fangs, just bring your top
lip down and put pressure on them with your bottom lip. Gently, now.*

He is very good at taking instruction and that will save him many a
mishap. I can't say the same for myself. I'd had many minor
disasters caused by my rushing out without proper instruction. Then
again, my maker, Hotep, hadn't been the kindest Master. He had been
an Egyptian Priest, a Holy man that held sway over his congregation
because of his seeming 'gifts from God'. He had been such a huckster.
He thought to make me his slave and then groom me to take his
place, as he was tired of the sermons and wanted to retreat from
civilization.

I'd ruined his plans when I escaped his grasp and fled to Scotland.
He'd marched out into the desert, laid down and waited for the sun to
rise. He'd burned to a crisp. I'd felt his death like a physical
blow and had sped back to Egypt to make sure it had really happened.
I hadn't been old enough yet to trust my instincts and I'd had no
teacher in the real sense. I'd found a black smudge in the desert
outside a small cave of rock that thrust up out of the sand. It was
all that was left of my master. I scooped up his ashes, mixed them
with water and drank them. Surprisingly, even his ashes had given me
strength.

All this ruminating was not going to help Alex now, though, except to
remind me not to abandon him as my master had abandoned me. I'd run
away, to be sure, but because of his cruelty and his desire to enslave
me. That was a form of abandonment too. Once, I had trusted him.

Alex falls into a deep slumber and I merely hold him while he sleeps.
After a while, I rise and clean up the living room. I go back in
the bedroom and strip naked. I lift Alex and slide him under the
covers with me, spooning around him. He mutters and snuggles deeper
into my body.

I feel a swelling sensation in my chest and realized it is akin to
the love a mother feels for a child. He is truly becoming my child
and I swear to protect him and teach him well so that he may survive
the centuries to come with me. I fall into fitful sleep myself. I
rise at 5:00 AM.

I did not shower last night and although I don't sweat or stink in
the normal sense, dust and dirt will adhere to my skin sometimes.
Besides, I just enjoy the warmth of the shower sometimes for the pure
sensation of it. I get in and rinse off, running soap over my body,
not to cover a smell but to give me one.

I get out fifteen minutes later and comb the long hair that is hanging
down to my waist now. Once the tangles are out, I pull it back into
a queue. They have the greatest coated elastics these days, much
easier than those lousy leather thongs I used to have to use to hold
my hair back.  They loosened and fell out half the time.

I smile in the mirror and turn, enjoying the feel of my long pony
tail down my back. I am not going to cut it today.

I go to the living room and pick up the phone, dialing work and
Kelli's extension. Her voice mail answers, prompting me to leave a
message.

"Kelli, it's Kendall. I'm afraid something personal came up and I'm
not going to be able to come in today. Please reschedule my
appointment with A.D. Skinner for tomorrow morning, whenever is
convenient for him. Could you also call me on my cellular if Agents
Mulder or Scully call in. Better yet, just give them my phone number.
I should be in tomorrow. Don't hesitate to call if there's an
emergency. I'll talk to you later. Thanks, Kelli."

I hang up and sigh and go back into the kitchen and fix Alex a
bowl of chicken soup with Ritz Crackers the way he likes it, salty and
with too little water added to this nasty stuff from the can.

Pretty soon, he won't need to eat, but he isn't there yet. I go into
the bedroom and wake him gently. I prop him up on pillows against the
headboard and set tray with the soup, crackers and orange juice on his
lap.

He smiles gratefully, blurry eyed and I watch him eat in silence.
Eventually he becomes self-conscious. "What?" he mumbles around his
mouthful of half swallowed crackers.

I smile. "You are so beautiful."

"You always call me that."

"What would you rather I call you."

"Handsome. Beautiful is for women."

"Ahh, my Alex, you are beautiful though to me."

He smiles again. "I know. You still have some archaic expressions in
your vocabulary, you know?"

I raise my eyebrows in amusement. "You don't say?"

He shakes his head. "I don't mean anything by it. I find it
charming."

"You find me charming, eh?"

"Yes, I do. This is still weird for me sometimes."

"Which part? Becoming a blood drinker? I would think that would be
strange for most people."

He laughs now. "No, actually I was referring to ... " He stops and
licks his lips, his eyes wandering down my naked torso. Finally he
continues, "This lust I feel for you."

"Why is that weird?"

"I was never gay."

I smile indulgently at him. "Those are modern terms slapped on
people by a society with a closed mind and a need to label people,
pushing them into categories."

"Go on," he encourages as he begins to spoon up more soup and then
drink deeply from the glass of orange juice.

"I mean that sexuality is sexuality. I mean, we all have our
preferences, I suppose, but I think given the right situation, we are
all a bit bisexual, don't you think?"

"There are people who wouldn't even consider it, on both sides of the
fence."

"That's because they were taught that it was wrong, instead of
following their own experience. And they've never been in the correct
situation of feeling an overwhelming love for someone, regardless of
gender. They won't allow themselves to feel it. If they get a
glimpse, they run the other way."

"Have you always been bisexual?"

"I think so. I mean, in the early days as a mortal I was exclusively
heterosexual, but later on, during the Renaissance and the Roman bath
houses, and the Roman orgies, I learned the delights of male flesh.
I've enjoyed both. Still do. Gender isn't important. Caring and
love is important, Alex."

"I know that. It will just take me a little more time to adjust
completely, that's all."

"There's nothing that says you can't still enjoy a woman if you want
one."

He swallows and licks his lips again, setting the tray aside. I
pick it up and set it on the floor. "You'd let me do that?" he
asks.

"Of course. I know you love me. You belong to me, but I don't own
you, Alex. I don't have time for that kind of petty jealousy."

"You don't believe in monogamy?"

"If that's the arrangement you want and have, yes. If you want a more
open relationship and are up front about that, I don't see anything
wrong with either situation. It's a matter of preference. I guess
I've lived too long to worry about it much anymore. I go where my
heart takes me, Alex."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, I didn't pluck you out of thin air."

"Pluck me?" he teases my choice of words.

I lay down on my back and pull him up over my torso. He sprawls over
me like a warm blanket and I notice he isn't complaining about pain.
He isn't wearing his prosthesis either and I look at his arm reaching
toward the bed and ending just below the elbow. It is definitely
longer than it was a four days ago. He looks too and says, "My
prosthesis won't fit anymore."

"Do you want me to get you an adjustable one?"

"No, not unless I have to go out somewhere."

"You shouldn't. I'll try to keep you here until it's grown completely
out. Then you will be good as new."

"I still can't believe it," he says, the tears of gratitude in his
eyes again.

"I'm glad that it will make you whole again, Alex."

"More importantly, it will make me FEEL whole again."

"You are whole, Alex, in every way that counts, arm or no arm."

He presses a kiss to my breastbone, closing his eyes. I respond by
kissing the top of his head. "I'm grateful," he says softly.

"Don't thank me yet. It's not all wine and roses. There are many
sacrifices as well."

"I know. You've explained it all to me. I appreciate your honesty.
You've been more than candid about the disadvantages. I know you
could have lied to me to seduce me and I wouldn't have known the
difference. I want you to know I recognize that and appreciate it."

"You had to be willing and have all the facts, Alex. Willing and
hoodwinked isn't the same thing."  His lips smile against my chest
and he turns his head to the side, using my pectoral as a pillow.
"I wanted to know that you would stay after the change. If I was
dishonest, you would just feel betrayed and leave me. There would
be nothing I could do to stop you, really."

"I won't leave you."

"I know you won't. I pride myself on not making the same mistake
twice."

"Someone left you?" he asks incredulously, like this is the most
amazing thing he's ever heard.

"Yes. I took her for granted, and I treated her badly. Then I paid
the price when she told me she wanted nothing to do with me and left.
I've searched for her but have been unable to find her. I have no
idea if she even lives among mortals."

"That's sad. Maybe one day you'll find her."

"Perhaps. I may enlist the help of our two favorite agents."

"Mulder and Scully?"

"Who else?"

"You're going to let them know what you are?"

"I don't think so. I just want to set up the hunt and see if they
find her. They don't have to approach or talk to her, just locate
her. I could do the rest."

"What would you do if you found her?"

"I would tell her I'm sorry. I would tell her I still love her and
want her to travel with me through time. She may be dead though."

He sniffles, thinking. I didn't probe and let this information sink
in. Finally he asks, "Could I lose you to her?"

"No, Pet. It's not an either/or situation. That's what you humans
do. We creatures of the night, well, there are few of us. I don't
think we can afford to turn another away. I've no idea if she can
ever forgive me anyway. But if she did, I see no reason why we
couldn't all cohabit."

"A menage a trios?"

I chuckle. "It could happen. Never fear, Alex. I may still love
her, but that has nothing to do with my love for you. My love for you
is just as strong."

He squeezes me in response and I sigh. "I love you, Gareth," he said
softly, barely audible.

I let my affection for him steal over me. I'd already admitted it, so
what was the big deal? "I love you too, Alex. Don't doubt that."

He hiccups and raises his head to kiss my neck. "That's the first time
you've said it," he declares quietly.

His hot, wet tongue laves the column of muscle up my neck and I tingle
from head to toe. He rubs himself against me. I want him so badly.
I'd held off for two days now despite my declaration of that first
night that I would take him every night. I'd been too afraid of
hurting him and not sure how mortal he still was.

Now though, I feel the lust rise up in me again. "How's the pain,
Alex?"

"Not bad this morning. It generally increases as the day goes on."

"Can you take me? I want you very much."

He rises up on his knees and kisses me. I kiss him hungrily and don't
need to will myself erect, because I'm already there. "Just like
this," I growl.

XXXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

He pushes up and braces on my chest with one arm. I reach over to the
nightstand and pull out some anal lubrication. I don't want to fool
around with my saliva and I don't want to wait long. "Lube me and
yourself well."

He does, smearing it up into his ass and gliding it over my shaft. He
tosses the tube aside when done. I grasp his waist and lift him up.
He holds my cock straight up and positions himself.

I raise my knees and form a backrest for him. He slowly sinks down on
me. I have risen to just above eight inches, not having had time yet
to grow. This is like our lovemaking of the last months before the
change began.

He groans and wiggles and bounces until he has me fully embedded
between his sweet ass cheeks. Then he leans back against my legs. I
gently pull his knees up and straighten his legs, placing them in my
armpits. *Use your legs for leverage Alex.*

He experiments in pushing himself up using his legs braced against my
armpits. He moans and sinks back down. "Oh, God, that's good!" he
cries.

I hold him steady around the waist as he reaches back with his good
arm and grasps my thigh. He begins pushing with his legs and raising
himself up and down my shaft. We both moan as his speed gradually
increases, until he is bucking like a bitch in heat, wailing. I watch
his erect cock bounce on his stomach with every thrust.

I remove one hand from his waist and wrap it around his pulsing shaft.
I stroke him in time with his thrusts up and down my shaft. That's
all it takes and we are both coming, crying out each other's names.
We deflate and lay against each other. He is exhausted again. I can
see it in his face. "Sleep again, Alex."

XXXXXXXXXX END OF NC-17 PORTION

He glances at the clock. "Oh my God! You're late for work! How are
you going to get in?  The sun is up!"

"Easy. I called in today."

"What?"

"You heard me. I called in."

"Why?"

"I wanted to spend the day with you."

He is silent for a few long moments and then says, "You mean you want
to take care of me."

"Both."

"I don't need you take care of me ..." he trails off, looking
chagrined, remembering his behavior of the day before. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Alex. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Relax. I
took the day off because I wanted to. I don't want you to suffer like
I did. And you worried me last night. I had no idea what kind of
shape you would be in this morning."

"I'm better."

"Now. But what about later?"

He is silent, having no good answer for me. We both know it will get
bad again before the day is out. I hope I can detect it early and give
him the blood sooner, thus helping before the pain became severe.

"I don't know why I'm complaining. I'm glad you're here. I missed
you all day yesterday. I thought I was going to die."

He is dying, but I elect not to point that out to him. I know what he
means. He means take a dirt nap.  "I'm here now, and I want to be
here. I care about you, Alex and I want to make this as easy for you
as I can. So sue me."

He miles and flops down onto the mattress, rolling onto his side.
"What do we do now?" he asks.

"Why don't we get dressed and I'll start with some of your lessons.
There will be a lot of things you need to know."

"Sounds good."



PART 8 (PG-13)
OLD FARMHOUSE
BULL'S BRIDGE ROAD
KENT, CT

I leave Alex sleeping and write him a note that I am going to Kent,
but would return before dawn. I make the trip quickly with no cargo
and land lightly on the property, blending into the shadows.

"AAAAHHHH, SSCCUULLYY!"  I hear Mulder yell as I stand on the edges of
the property just into the tree line.

The sound of Scully's running feet across the floor and up the stair
case thumps in my ears. "What's the matter?" she shouts, as she
mounts the stairs.

Her footsteps come to a halt. She whispers, "Oh shit." I assume they
are both standing in the guest bedroom now, looking at the present
I've left for them. I can picture her diminutive frame approaching the
bed, checking for a pulse even though she would recognize the pallor
of death right away. My acute sense of smell tells me that Spender had
recently thawed out and therefore, although rigor mortis is setting
in, decomposition is minimal.  It is still internal and there is no
smell, at least not to them.

"Something's very wrong here, Mulder."

"Yeah, he's dead as a door nail."

"Tsk," she clucks her tongue. "That's not what I mean and you know
it," she replies, her tone touched with disgust.

"Sorry."

She crosses the room to him. I move behind the trees until I can
see into the second story lighted window. They are standing in front
of it, back lit by the overhead light in the room and I can see
everything perfectly. My eyesight is quite phenomenal as well, far
beyond human range and clarity.

She wraps her arms around his waist and leans into him. His arms come
up and enfold her, his chin resting on her head. "No, I'm sorry,
Mulder.  This is just a shock, finding him here.  Whatever I expected
to find here, this wasn't it."

"It's not really a shock to find out someone killed him."

"We don't know that yet," she hedges.

"Yes, we do. He didn't lay down for a nap and die. What would he be
doing here anyway? No. Someone killed him and left him here for us
to find. What I don't know is ... why?"

"This is going to be a hassle, getting him removed from here."

"You're right.  I have no positive feelings for the man. And frankly,
I'm not sorry he's dead. Does that make me a bad person?" It's a
rhetorical question and he continues, asking, "Who knows we're here?"

"D.D. Fair, D.D. Skinner and the owner."

"Mulder ..."

"As morbid as it may sound, I'm almost relieved he's dead."

"Relieved?"

"He's one less force that can harass us. He was nothing but evil in
life, at least in his dealings with you and I. I almost killed him
myself one time. I could have ... but I wanted what he knew more than
I wanted him dead and so he lived. I've regretted that day on more
than one occasion."

"No, Mulder. You did the right thing. You wouldn't have wanted his
blood on your hands."

"Speaking of which ..." They disengage from their huddle, not having
felt anything other than the need to comfort each other. I wonder at
that sometimes.

Mulder is approaching the bed. He leans down and I hear him say to
Scully, "Is it my imagination or is he paler than he should be?"

"He's dead, Mulder. Of course he's pale. We have to call the local
cops."

"It'll take them forever to get here. Let's just phone this into the
Bureau and have them fly a local agent out to transport the body back
to Quantico. And we're going to have to call Fair."

"Shit. This is going to be a mess."

"Scully, he has no blood."  Mulder is bending over the corpse and
peering at his
skin. "He's just like the other victims. He's been exsanguinated."

"That's impossible!  He probably bled out before he was moved here."

"You know it's not, Scully. We've seen it before. Why couldn't he be?"

"He didn't own this house. It doesn't fit the pattern."

"True, but that doesn't erase the fact that his skin is almost wax
like. I've seen a lot of dead people, Scully. Maybe not as many as
you, but plenty. Even I know the texture and color of his skin is
unnatural."

"He's into heavy rigor mortis already."

"And yet, he isn't decomposing."

"He must be."

"Not at the rate you would expect."

"We don't know how long he's been here."

"True," he states mildly and pokes the corpse's cheek with a finger.
"It's like a frozen turkey."

"What?"

"You know when you thaw a turkey and it's not quite thawed yet and you
push on the skin and it crunches slightly like crepitus from a bad
joint."

"That's a disgusting thought."

"I've had more disgusting thoughts."

"I'm sure. Look, we can't settle in until we get rid of this. There
will already be questions. They knew we were arriving today.  We could
blamed for his death.  It would be natural for them to consider us
suspects, especially with our history with the man."

"I'm not worried about that."

"I am," she sighed.

"Oh ye of little faith," he teases.

She sighs loudly. "I'll call the local Bureau. I think there's one
in Hartford, but even that's a good hour away by car."

"They might have a chopper."

"Maybe."

"I'll call Fair."

"What about Skinner?"

"Fair's in charge of this investigation. He's who we are reporting to
on this one and besides ... I'm sure Fair will pass this on to
Skinner.

I listen while they make their respective calls. I wait patiently,
holding my cellular phone in my hand as I ease it out of trouser
pocket. I know Kelli will tell him I'm gone and give him
my number.

I wait, counting. One, Mississippi, Two, Mississippi, Three,
Mississippi. Four. Mississip....

My phone trills in my hand and I let it ring twice before picking up.
"Kendall Fair," I answer.

"Deputy Director."

"Yes."

"Sir, this is Agent Mulder."

"Calling to check in so soon?"

"Uh, no, Sir. We have a serious situation here."

"What's wrong, Agent?  You sound upset."

"We arrived less than an hour ago and found a dead body in one of the
guest rooms upstairs."

"Another one?  Didn't you say these deaths have all been about
three years apart?"

"Yes, sir."

"Refresh my memory. I thought you said the last one was fairly
recent."

"It was."

"Do you know who the victim is?"

"Yes, sir. It's ..."

"Who, Agent Mulder?" I ask, trying to sound authoritative and
slightly annoyed.

"It's Cancer Man."

"Cancer Man?" I repeat, pretending bewilderment.

"C.G.B. Spender."

I am silent, waiting.

"You know him, Sir?"

I send out a small probe and realize he knows I know him from the
encounter in the hall last week. He is testing me to see if I will
lie.

"Yes, I do, ... unfortunately," I add.

I can almost feel him relax on the other end of the line. Of course,
I am also watching his posture soften through the lighted window as
he paces back and forth.

"We weren't sure whether to call in the local police or ... Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Is that wind or trees or something I hear chirping in the
background?"

"Yes, Agent. I'm outside on my porch."

"Oh, just curious."

"You were saying?"

"We thought we might call the nearest Bureau office rather than
involve the local police."

"Sounds like a good call. I'll arrange to have them come out and
retrieve the body. Can you stand being around him another hour or
so?"

"Sure. The locals couldn't get here any faster than that anyway."

"So do you have a theory, Agent Mulder."

"I have a bad feeling."

"How so? Other than the obvious, that there's a dead man in the
house."

"He didn't die here. Someone put him here. I'm not sure if it's a
message for us or not."

"Not many people knew you were going there."

"Exactly my point."

"Well, things leak out. Accounting knew, the motor pool knew, ...
I'll look into possible leaks on this end."

"It's possible Spender knew and told whoever killed him, so they
brought him here."

"How would he have known?" I ask.

"I saw him leaving your office the day I came to ask you about the
case."

"I didn't know about it when he was here, only after he left."

"He could have listened."

"With his ear to the door? I don't think so. Someone would have
mentioned it to me and chased him away. Kelli is very protective."

"I didn't mean literally."

"How do you mean then?"

"Uh ... Sir, I'd check your office for bugs."

I feign a stunned moment of silence. "You think ..."

"He's been known to do that."

"I'll have that checked right away. This is turning out to be a busy
day off."

"I'm sorry, Sir."

"No problem. Let me know what you turn up in your investigation."

Scully speaks up in the background, having finished her call to
Quantico. "I want to do the autopsy."

"Uh, Sir. Scully would like to do the autopsy. That means returning
to Quantico."

"Would she rather use a facility out there?"

He asks her and she says no. She wants state of the art equipment
such as was located at Quantico. Here is a wrinkle I hadn't foreseen.
Ah well, you can't think of everything.

"Well, whatever she thinks is best. I don't like you being out there
alone, though."

"Don't worry about me."

"Well, let's get this ball rolling and I'll talk to you later after
I've made arrangements. Maybe Agent Doggett can fly out and spend the
night until Agent Scully returns."

"I'll let you decide. I don't mind being here by myself."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Better than being here with a dead man."

"Good point."

XXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the evening turns out to be a whirlwind of activity for
my two favorite agents. I dispatch a chopper from Hartford that
picks up the body and Scully and returns them to Virginia. I call
and update Skinner on the situation. He informs me that no one has
seen Kersh in over 24 hours.

"Isn't that strange?" I ask.

"He's not my personal favorite," Skinner says, "but it's not like him
to leave no word of his whereabouts, at least with his secretary."

"And Debbie knows nothing?"

"She says she doesn't."

"I'll be in tomorrow morning and we'll talk. If he hasn't turned up
by then, we'll start looking."

I disconnect the call with Skinner and take to the air, returning
to Georgetown in the nick of time. There are only fifteen minutes 'til
dawn
when I finally touch down and trot into the house.

Alex is up and pacing the floor, obviously worried.

"Where have you been?"

"I told you ... Connecticut."

He sighs. "I wish you had woken me up."

"You were in no shape to travel."

He gives me a petulant look but then relents, his shoulder slouching
slightly. I pull him into an embrace and let him rest his head on
my shoulder. I whisper in his ear while placing soft kisses on his
cheeks and jaw. "The time will come soon ... when you and I will
hardly ... ever be apart. Don't ... fret now. I want you in good
shape before ... you venture out. I don't ... want to risk ...
anything happening to you."

He gives me a soft smile. "I'm sorry. I told myself I wasn't going
to be needy. I guess I'm off my game and unbalanced. You're my
anchor right now, Gareth. I get ... worried when I can't reach you."

"You have my cellular phone number."

"It was busy for hours," he informs me gravely.

"Sorry. Mulder and Scully discovered Spender and called me. I spent
a while on the phone making arrangements for them and filling in
Skinner and asking Quantico to give her priority."

"Scully came back with the body?"

"Yes. I didn't think she would want to do the autopsy. I should have
known better."

"Is that a good idea?" he asks, pulling out of my embrace.

"What?"

"Letting her find his ... lack of blood."

"I want her to.  I want them to think whoever is committing these
murders is somehow involved with Spender."

"Do you have a scapegoat in mind?"

"No. They aren't going to figure it out."

"I wouldn't be too sure."

I look at him. "I'll tell them before that happens ... if it comes
to that."

"Tell them what?"

"What I am and that I need their help."

"You're crazy."

"No, I can make them ... not fear me. Hypnosis is easy for me. You
should know all about that."

I watch resentment flare in his eyes for a moment and then go out.
"Whatever.
It's your game, Gareth."

"No, pet. It's OUR game. I assure you."

"Why are you doing all this? What's in it for you?"

"I told you."

"This is all about finding Zebrosia? Nothing else?"

I stare at him, deciding whether to lie or not. He doesn't  know the
full story. No one does. "For now," I finally answer.

"Meaning there is more but you're not going to tell me."

"Not yet. Can you deal with that?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"No, I guess not."




PART 9 (NC-17)
QUANTICO
BASEMENT MORGUE
VIRGINIA

I stand in the pale lighting in the hall outside the morgue in front
of an unlocked janitorial closet. I listen to the conversation. I can
hear her plainly speaking into her cell phone. With only a slight
effort, I can hear his voice coming through her handset.

"Mulder, it's me."

"Hey, Me."

"I'm done here."

"What did you find?"

"You're not going to believe this."

"Let me guess. Been dead less than 24 hours, been frozen and thawed.
Not a drop of blood in his body."

Scully is silent for several moments and then says, "You know, Mulder,
sometimes you are truly spooky."

His laughter wafts out to my ears as he laughs in amusement at her
assessment. "Elementary, my dear Watson."

"Well, I almost expected the exsanguination. But the damage to
the muscle and skin tissue is exactly what you said. It was partially
or thoroughly frozen and then thawed. That's the part I don't get.
Let's forget for a minute that his victimology doesn't fit the others
in terms of this case and that house. None of the others were frozen
and thawed."

"That's because they were killed here and left here."

"And Spender?"

"He was killed elsewhere and transported here, maybe in a
refrigerated vehicle. Who knows? It would make sense if they didn't
want him to start stinking. I'm guessing he was killed back in
Washington and taken here."

"Because someone knew we would be here." It is a statement.

"Maybe. Maybe whoever is doing the killings here knows someone is on
to him and he wants to confuse the matter. Killing Spender is
certainly going to get our attention. Killing him the same way is
going to get our attention. And as the coup de gras, leaving him
here as a housewarming gift guarantees we can't walk away from
dealing with his death."

"Housewarming gift, Mulder?"

"Bad pun. But you get my point."

"You think this is a diversion."

"Yes. I think whoever did this was hoping that we would both leave
and devote our time to solving Spender's murder."

"This is all speculation, Mulder."

"Isn't most of what we do speculation?"

She sighs loudly. "What do I do now?"

"Not give him what he wants."

"Which is what?"

"Divide and conquer. You at Quantico. Me out here."

"Oh my God! Mulder, you don't think he's going to come after you
while you are there alone, do you?"

"I think it's a distinct possibility. It didn't really occur to me
until after you'd left and I'd had a couple of hours to ruminate on
the whole situation. I mean, we just got here and he had you out of
here within the same day. I think someone planned this very
carefully."

"I'm on my way, Mulder."

"Don't break your neck. I'll be fine. I've battened down the
hatches. The locks on all the windows and doors work properly. I'm
going to try and stay up most of the night reading on the couch. I
think sleep might be my enemy right now."

"Are you tired?"

"Not really. I only sleep about four hours a night anyway, and I've
been guzzling coffee for hours."

"Have you eaten?"

"I made a sandwich."

"Where'd you get that? Did you go grocery shopping?"

"No, it seems our new benefactor saw to it that someone stocked the
fridge and cupboards. There's lunch meat and frozen steaks and canned
veggies and canned soups. There's potatoes and snacks in the pantry.
There's enough food here to feed an army for a month."

"Our new benefactor? You mean D.D. Fair?"

"The very same."

"You're really enamored of him, aren't you?"

"I don't think that's the proper term."

"What term would you use?"

"I respect him. I'm ... inclined to hope."

"Amazing. Even after all we've been through, you can still hope that
someone will see things our way."

"You don't?"

"I guess I have hope too. I'm just wary of it."

"I know I should be."

"But you're not, are you?"

"I'm taking a leap of faith here, Scully. I'm going to trust the man
until he gives me a reason not to. No, I'm not going to tell him my
life story and I'm not going to confide intimate details to him.
But I'm not going to undermine a potentially very good thing by being
suspicious of ulterior motives every time the guy opens his mouth,
either."

"Why are you suddenly so reasonable?"

He doesn't respond right away but then says softly, "I guess I want to
believe, Scully, that it won't always just be us against the world.
That somebody, somewhere, is on our side."

"Me too, Mulder. I don't mean to rain on your parade."

"We all have to stick with what we're best at."

"Hey!" she cries out good naturedly.

He is chuckling into the phone. As his laughter dies down, he says,
"I miss you already, Scully."

She gasps a little, probably inaudibly to Mulder. "I ... uh, I wish
you were here too."

"I don't. I wish you were here."

"Well, I'm on my way. In the meantime, be careful."

"I will."

She disconnects the phone, again not saying good bye.

I creep back down the hall with the stealth and silence of a cat and
exit into the stairwell, making my way up a couple flights of stairs
and out of the building into the night air. I walk on down the
sidewalks, looking for a secluded spot in which to take to the air. I
find one within a couple of blocks and rise into the air, dashing
towards home.

XXXXXXXXXX
KENDALL FAIR'S TOWNHOUSE
GEORGETOWN, D.C.

Alex is waiting for me, as usual. I find that I rather like coming
home to find him there. He is pale and trembling slightly and I
realize he is in need again. I've given him a lot in the last couple
of days, but he needs more.

XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

We repeat the ritual of the previous night.  This time, I loosen
him up with a dildo and lubricant as he suckles my wrist, his fangs
now a bit longer. When he finishes I am still a reasonable
nine inches long, having been making a conscious effort to curb my
lust. I roll onto him, hooking his knees over my elbows and bending
him gently in half. I ease into him slowly, sinking deeply.

He groans softly and I begin to thrust, staring into his eyes, being
struck again by his beauty. I take him as gently as I can as he moans
with every stroke inside.

I don't try to prolong the pleasure and as soon as he begins to
ejaculate, I led go of my load, filling him with warm jism and making
us both shudder. I extract myself slowly and roll off him, lowering
his legs to the bed.

He smiles sweetly at me and says, "So good, every time."

XXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

"Sleep now, little one."

"You're going to leave again, aren't you?"

"No, not tonight."

He smiles wider. "Good."

I smooth his hair with my hand and kiss him softly on the lips. "Rest
up."

"The pain wasn't as bad today."

"I noticed. But the hunger is coming on you, isn't it?"

"Yes ... I wanted to go out today."

"No! You mustn't!"

"I know. I keep my word. You'd know if I left anyway."

"Yes, I would and I would be furious."

He frowns. "I won't do it, but soon, Gareth ... I'm going to need
to."

"I know, but I want you as strong and fit as possible first. I'll go
out tomorrow and feed. It takes a very short time for new blood to
mingle with mine and change. Then I will have more to give and we
will share again. You're almost there, Alex."

"I know. I feel strange all the time, but in a good way. If the
aching in my body would just let up, I would probably feel great."

"Define strange."

"Same things as before, but I'm starting to notice other things."

"Such as?"

"I can hear your neighbors without much effort at all. I was watching
a basketball game before you came home and the cheering hurt my ears.
I needed to turn it way down. I can see better too. I was looking
out the window and I could see in crystal clear detail for such a long
way."

I smile. "These are but a few of the gifts, Alex."

"How do you stand the noise?"

"I'll teach you to block it. In fact, that will be one of the first
things on the list. We all have to find our own frame of
reference for it. I'll tell you how I do it and we'll go from there.
I wish Zebrosia were here."

He snaps his head around. "Why?"

"Because she is a better teacher than I could ever hope to be."

"I thought your maker taught you."

"Not much, just enough to survive."

"So you didn't know about your skills."

"Not all of them and not at first."

"Zebrosia taught you?"

"Yes. She had a generous maker that taught her many things about
what we were capable of. She in turn, taught them to me. Thank
goodness, or I probably would have perished very young after being
steeped in the blood. I fled not knowing a tenth of what I was
capable of. I've no doubt I would have done something foolish
eventually, and not knowing how to get out of it or what skills were
at my disposal, get myself killed."

"I guess I owe her a debt of thanks then."

I smile. "You owe her nothing. But I do." I hear the coldness in
my voice and start at it.

"What's up with her, Gareth? I mean, now I'm seeing that she was your
teacher and that obviously builds affection. I'm living, or dead,
proof
of that."

I smile at his little joke. "I don't know how much to tell you."

"There's more to this. I can tell. You SAY you owe her. You speak
of her as if she is the love of your life and yet ... I sense that you
hate her."

"Do you now?" I ask in a low, controlled voice.

He catches it immediately and sits up, arranging the bed clothes
around his naked waist. "I don't say these things to piss you off,
Gareth. I say them because they occur to me and because I'm curious."

"I know."

"I wish you would tell me."

"I can't ... yet."

"There is more though, isn't there?"

"Yes, there is more to the story of Zebrosia and I." Much more, I
think to myself.

He is quiet for a few minutes and then looks at me. "If you can't
trust me, Gareth ... who the hell can you trust?"

Indeed. His quiet plea touches my heart and makes it ache quicker
than any angry demand ever could. I reach for him and he comes into
my arms. I cradle him against my body, feeling his breath on my chest.
"It's not a matter of trust, Alex."

"Sure it is."

"No, there's more to it than that. I do trust you, but ... I also
need to protect you."

"From what? Knowledge?"

"If you know too much of her ... she will be able to find you."

"How? You can't find her."

"She is older and more skilled than I."

"Older, I get, but more skilled? That seems preposterous to me."

"Only because you don't have all the facts yet. You don't know
enough."

"So teach me!"

"I will."

"Why would I be in danger by knowing about her?"

"She doesn't want anyone to know she exists."

"No one does, except you and me, of course."

"There are others. Many of them believe she killed herself in the
sun. I know better. I know HER better. She was selfish but she
loved being who ... what we are."

"Is this what you fought about?"

"Partly."

He is silent again as he ponders this. "Even the bravest hearts can
turn to sorrow if the circumstances are right."

I hold him tighter and his hand rests against the skin of my chest,
swiping back and forth. "You are wise for one so young."

"Got beat up a lot as a kid. Comes with the territory."

I kiss him on top of his head and run my hand up and down his back, as
his head rests in the crook of my shoulder. I smile again, sighing in
contentment. We are silent for a long time and finally I say, "I love
you, Alex, and she could kill you so easily."

"So could you."

"But I don't want to."

"And she does? She doesn't even know I exist."

"Oh, she knows you exist. She knows every one of us that exists."

"How can that be?"

"Let's just say she is the Queen Spider in the middle of the web.  And
her  webs
can be very sticky."

 "Are you saying she would be jealous?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. But if she wanted to get back at
me, killing a fledgling of mine would be a perfect way to do that."

"You seem so sure she could kill me. I'm not sure it would be that
easy."

"Yes it would, for her. Her strength is enormous."

"Well, if we stick together, it would be two against one."

"You don't understand."

"Then explain it to me."

I pause and finally decide if she wants to visit me, she will and
there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. Finally, I say, "Alex,
just to give you some idea ... she could torment me or make me into a
black spot on the desert if she wished."

"You're exaggerating," he says with confidence.

"No, she is that strong. And I can guarantee she knows you exist.
You are the first I have taken to me in over a century. Only time
will tell if she cares one way or another."

"And if she does?"

"She will come to see you ... and me."

"Is that why you made me? For bait?" he asks, suddenly crushed and
angry.

"No!" I nearly shout. "I made you because I wanted a companion and
I've been too lonely for too long and I ..."

"And you?" he asks, still wary.

I whisper. "I was so drawn to you, Alex. I loved your looks, your
strength, your thoughts ... everything about you. Please believe me.
I have more than one agenda and they may overlap, but you must never
doubt my devotion to you. Making a fledgling is not something I take
lightly. Hence the fact I haven't done it for over a century. No
mortal in all that time has caught my interest enough to consider it.
No mortal in all that time has ever been worth it."

He swallows harshly. "And I was worth it?"

I smile sadly at him. "Yes, love. YOU were worth it."

He smiles again and my heart eases. I turn away from him but hug him
to me. I may very well have painted myself into a corner with this
one. If she comes for him, there will be nothing I can do to protect
him. Will I go with him? Or will I be a coward and step aside like
I did the last time? I hate her for that ... still. She didn't want
me. She didn't want anyone else to have me either. Not fair, but
true. And despite it all, I still loved her. I wasn't sure I would
ever worship her again like I did back then, but I would always love
her, if only for the things she taught me. I only wish, despite all
her strengths, she'd had the courage to tell me that she loved me too.
I know she did.

I'd let go of that hope a long time ago. And I am stronger now. Who
knows how powerful I've become? I've never really tested myself to the
limit. Perhaps I should do that.

As I lay there thinking, I remember again. Zebrosia was furious that I
had made a fledging without her permission. I had done it for the
wrong reasons. I was lonely and hurt that she wouldn't love me back
after all we'd shared, and I wanted someone who would love me
unconditionally. I'd done it to spite her. I'd thought that she
loved me enough not to take this away from me.

I was dead wrong. I relive the anguish quietly of watching her stare
at my helpless fledgling, a mere few weeks old and crying out as she
burst into flames like a Roman candle from merely the force of her
will and her stare upon her. Smelling her burnt flesh and her screams
as she perished like a firecracker that is brilliant and suddenly dies
out.

She'd left me then with a warning. 'Don't ever defy me again.' And
she had left. Just like that. And I'd never seen her again. So how am
I supposed to ask permission this time if she was never anywhere
to be found? I wonder if that is why she keeps herself hidden. I was
rethinking Alex's statement that even the stoutest of hearts can know
despair. I know he was speaking of himself but it was a metaphor.
Maybe she had grown that weary that she wanted all of us to perish.

There is no way for me to know. I'd never tried to use the ability
to start fires. I didn't even know if I was capable of it. Seeing
Vanessa burn had so traumatized me, I didn't even want to have a
fleeting acquaintance with that ability.

Now as I lay here pondering the possibility that she could still care
enough to come and see me and destroy my fledgling, I am rethinking my
decision. I will need every ability at my disposal should she come.
There was always the possibility that she wouldn't want to fight me.
I didn't put up any resistance the last time. What would happen if I
did? I didn't know.

Tomorrow, I will go off somewhere secluded and test myself on starting
fires and all my other abilities. I need to know what my abilities
are. I can't make the same mistake twice.



PART 10 (R)
OLD FARMHOUSE
BULL'S BRIDGE ROAD
KENT, CT
THE FOLLOWING WEEK

The following week saw Alex improve tremendously. He is fully a blood
drinker now and I've been teaching him how to hunt. I have taught him
how to read the mind of his victim and determine whether he is
innocent or evil.

I've stressed that he must never take advantage of the innocent.
Having power is a privilege. It is also a responsibility. I want to
instill this deeply within him. It is easy to become power drunk and
want to show off. This is not the way to survival.

As I told him before, our greatest defense is that people don't
believe we exist. To flaunt ourselves is to endanger the entire race
of blood drinkers. There aren't many of us left, and there are enough
so that our extinction is a definite possibility should one of us
decide that he or she feels the need to reveal themselves to the
mortal population.

I wait in the shadows of the long hallway and watch Mulder and Scully
leave through the front door. They trudge out to the woodpile near
the small barn in back of the house and return with an armload of wood
each, filling the wood bin.

"It's going to be cold tonight, Mulder. We may want to keep the fire
going all night, just in case the power quits. The furnace has an
electric start, so if the power goes out, we could be in trouble."

"You're right. I'll spread some newspaper here and we'll make a small
woodpile here against the wall. We'll stock up. Can't hurt."

"Let's do it. It's already dark out."

"After you."

He follows her out the back door this time and I move to the archway
between the hall and living room. They have put paper, kindling and
logs in the grate of the fire place. I open the flue and back into the
hallway, directing my will toward the pile of wood and kindling. It
immediately bursts into flame and I smile, knowing that I have another
skill in my arsenal that I didn't have before. I retreat into the
shadows again and watch them bring the wood in.

"Mulder! Did you light this before we went out?"

"No, Scully. I was right behind you, remember?"

"Who lit the fire, Mulder?" she asks, her voice full of trepidation.
They drop the wood and pull their ever-present weapons. They scan the
area and begin going from room to room, turning on lights and scanning
the walls to see if someone is lurking.

I see Mulder shudder. "There is something in this house, Scully."

"Someone, you mean?" she whispers back.

"No, I think it's a someTHING."

She glances warily at him and doesn't argue. They go up the stairs to
check the second floor.  I easily avoid them, moving with stealth and
speed when I need to avoid detection. Now I settle back into the
shadows at the end of the hall as I listen to them search the
upstairs. They come back down and enter the living room, staring at
the fire place.

"Someone lit that fire, Mulder!"

"I know, but he or she is gone now."

"Damn it, I'm spooked now!"

They replace their weapons in the holsters and Mulder pulls her into
his arms. She lets him do this and it's gratifying to see it. "This
makes no sense, Scully."

"I know."

"Beyond the fact that the fire is lit."

"What do you mean?"

"Even if someone did light it, how did it get going so well in the
small time we went out to the shed and back?"

She pulls her face from his chest and looks up at him. She swallows.
"What are you thinking, Mulder?"

"I'm thinking that this fire is not natural, or wasn't started
naturally."

"You mean it wasn't started by a person."

"Right."

"And what do you think started it?"

He looks at her stoically, knowing she is going to be incredulous. "I
think this house is haunted, Scully."

"Oh Geez!" she exclaims, pulling out of his arms and beginning to
pace. "Mulder, for God's sake. Don't feed into the local folklore.
Ghost stories are just that, stories. People make them up to explain
things they don't understand and are afraid of!"

He gives her a mournful glance when she turns to look at him again. He
is
silent, knowing he can't win this argument. It saddens him. For that
matter, it saddens me.

The house is still except for the crackling of the fire. I move so
fast that I am a blur, but not so fast that I am totally invisible to
the naked eye. I race past the fireplace and around the perimeter of
the room, causing the fire to sway with the gust of air I create from
my passing. The curtains on the three windows in this room, billow up
and settle back down to the windows as I pass.

They both stare and turn in a circle watching this happen. My body
appears to be a translucent white blur. I leave the room and race up
the stairs into the guest room where Scully is staying. I move all
her toiletries and clothes from the closet onto the bed. It takes me
about ten seconds and I race by them on the stairs as they head up to
follow me.

They feel the breeze of my passage as I go down the stair case by them
and race toward the rear of the house. I open the door and purposely
slam it on my way out, racing for the trees until I am once again
hidden in the shadows. I hear their feet clumping on the hard wood
floors as they retreat downstairs.

I hear Scully yelp as the back door slams. They now stand on the
porch, scanning the tree line for any sign of movement. I am dressed
all in black as I always do on these excursions. I stand close to
a tree, motionless as a statue. I will appear as part of
the tree trunk to them, should their eyes even light on me.

I listen to them murmur quietly to one another. "You saw it, Scully."

She is silent.

"Don't even try to tell me you didn't see it."

"I saw it. I'm just not sure what I saw."

"Oh come on, Scully. Jesus Christ, you can be stubborn! What the
hell will it take for you to admit what your own damn eyes are telling
you!"

"Don't get mad at me, Mulder." Tears are in her voice.

"Oh, fuck," he mutters, and pulls her into his arms again. "Shhh, I'm
sorry I'm being an ass."

He is realizing that she denies these things mostly because they
frighten her. Her arms wrap around him and they stand there for a
while. "It's getting cold out here," he says.

"Mmmm," she hums and lifts her head. She finds his head tilted down
toward hers, their lips a mere inch apart.

"Scully," he whispers. God, even I can hear the longing in his voice.
Why can't she?

"Mulder, we should go inside," she says.

He doesn't answer her, but continues to stare at her lips. I sense
that she is about to pull away. I gently probe her mind and plant the
picture of a naked, aroused Mulder in her mind. She gasps and he
lowers his mouth to hers.

YES! At last. She is startled but doesn't pull away. I know the
feelings are there and I need do nothing else. She will respond
because she has no choice. As I suspected, if he could just find the
courage to touch her in a sexual way, her body would betray her.

Mulder groans and grinds his pelvis into hers, letting her feel how
aroused he is. Her knees bob slightly and he fastens an arm tightly
around her back, holding her tightly to him, lest she try to escape.
He tilts his head and continues kissing her, deepening the kiss.

I inhale deeply and I can smell them both. I can hear the insistent
whoosh of the blood in their veins as their hearts speed up with
excitement and arousal. If you asked me why it is so important to me
that they come together, I'm not sure I could tell you. But I loathe
to see love like this squandered.

He breaks the kiss finally and takes her hand without a word as he
pulls away and leads her back into the house. I wait and listen to
see what they will do.

I hear a twig snap behind me and whirl to find Alex a foot away. He
smiles. "I broke the twig on purpose."

"You are silent as a cat now. Very good. I should have sensed you
though. Usually, I can sense another blood drinker for miles away."

"You were pretty absorbed in the display on the porch."

"Yes, I was. It's grand, isn't it?"

"That the bastard finally got the guts to kiss her?"

"Ahh, my cynical Alex."

"He's such an idiot. Everybody and their mother can see how she looks
at him. Even I figured it out, and I'm not the most perceptive person
in the universe."

*What else did you figure out?* I ask, projecting my voice into his
head.

He talks back easily. *That he needs to be the one to push it.*

*Why?*

*Because she can't. He has to leave her no out, no choices.*

*What is she afraid of?*

*Losing her sense of self. Losing the respect of her peers.*

I reach out an arm, still leaning on the tree. He moves into my
embrace and presses his chest to my side. *Do I sense some empathy,
dear one?*

I hear his chuckle in my head. *Maybe.*

*You will not lose yourself, Alex.*

*I already have.*

*No. You have just changed your paradigm of who you are. You are
still Alex, but new and improved.*

*I admit that I still balk sometimes at depending on you so much.*

*It won't be that way forever. But dependence isn't always a bad
thing, Alex.*

*How do you figure?*

*No one is an island. As soon as we believe that we don't need anyone
else, we are resigning ourselves to a life of loneliness and fear.*

*Is that why you live among mortals?*

*Yes. I must have the contact with the real world. It's too easy to
live a fantasy land that is nothing but feeding and sleeping and
loneliness. That leads to despair, Alex.*

He snuggles closer. *I want to go home.*

*In a few minutes.*

He nods against my shoulder and I listen to them as they enter her
room. I can see into the window.

I hear her cry out, "Oh my God!"

"Let's go in my room," Mulder suggests.

"I have to put this stuff back. Damn it, Mulder. How did this
happen! All my stuff ..."

"I think we both know how it happened, Scully. I'm just waiting for
you to admit it."

"What does it want?" she asks quietly.

I hear Mulder's chuff of breath. He is amused. This is her way of
admitting she believes there is something unnatural in the house. She
won't come out and say it, but she will ask the question as though it
exists. He lets her have it, this small concession, as he always does
at this point in their investigations.

"I don't know, Scully. I guess we need to try different things and
see what happens."

XXXXXXXXX

For the next week, Alex and I tormented the couple as they tried to
research the victims and checked into all the residents in the area.
We moved things around. We moved Scully's stuff into the master suite
with Mulder. She moved it back into the guest room and we moved it
back into the Master suite. We set romantic tables for dinner with
candles when they weren't looking.

They studied family histories and the history of the house,
discovering what I already knew; that there had been a suicide in that
house in the late 1800s.

A girl had killed herself when her father wouldn't let her marry the
man of her choice. She had slit her wrists and let her blood drain
out on the bedroom floor. The boy had later hung himself.

"So," Mulder begins. "Maybe these ghosts are looking for some kind of
resolution."

"Like what?"

"I don't know for sure. But this is a classic tale of unrequited
love." He looks at her significantly.

"So what? Anyone who lives here and does not do what the ghosts
wants finds themselves dead?"

He is silent and then says, "I think they want someone to get what
they didn't have, Scully. Maybe they want to live out their love
through someone else."

"What's that?"

"The love of a lifetime. They want someone in this house who will
fill it with the love they never got a chance to."

She gives him her skeptical look. "That has got to be the worst come
on I have ever heard," she finally replies, amusement clear in her
voice.

He chuckles mirthlessly, sounding ironic and sad. "No, think about it.
Can you imagine it, Scully? Loving someone so much that you can't live
without them. Loving them so much that being denied the opportunity to
be with them pushes you to not want to live anymore?"  He stares at
her, his expression sad, trying to convey that he isn't really talking
about the ghosts at all, but about them.

She is paying attention but not adding to the scenario he is creating.
His tone is dead serious and she senses that they are not talking
about the ghosts anymore.

Finally, he admits it. "I feel that way about you, Scully."

"No, Mulder. Don't say that."

"Why? Because it frightens you?"

"Yes!" she admits.

"I can't help the way I feel, Scully. I love you ... that much," he
adds quietly.

She begins to cry silent tears and he gathers her into his lap on the
couch, kissing her tears. They have become more affectionate and had
a few wicked make out sessions. But he still hasn't coaxed her into
the bedroom.

He continues as she cries silently.  I watch through the window as her
legs separate and straddle his lap. "I've thought about it, Scully. I
really have. And I honestly can't say whether I could live without you
or not."

"You did before," she finally whispers.

"That was before you came along. Knowing you now, having fallen in
love with you ... I don't know. I don't think I could go on alone."

"You would, Mulder. You're a survivor."

"The point is, I don't want to find out what that would be like. The
couple of times you've been missing were plenty for me."

I probe her mind and feel her turbulent emotions and thoughts. I
speak to Alex as he stands next to me in the dark. *You take him,
I'll take her.*

*You got it,* he replies.

We both begin planting images in their minds of each other, caring for
the other one, reminding them of things they have done for one
another. I tap further into her psyche and make her super aware of
the feel of him, the physicality of him. I pull back and check Alex.

He is feeding Mulder images of her that most arouse him, one after the
another. *Easy, Alex. Not too much.*

He smiles and pulls back, feeding a few tender moments into Mulder's
memory, though he doesn't need a lot of help in that department. I
hear Mulder ask her finally, "Do you love me, Scully?"

She whimpers and his lips fall to her ear. "Tell me, damn you. I
need to know. I know you love me. But are you IN LOVE with me, the
way I am with you?"

She sobs once and breathes out her answer. "Yes," so quietly I wonder
if he even heard her. We did, of course.

I nod at Alex and we race for the house, entering silently through a
window in the study.

"Let me make love to you, Scully," he coaxes as they sit on the couch
in front of the fire.

She nods against his neck. He wastes no time and lifts her off his
lap. I direct my will and make the fire in the fireplace suddenly
flash in a brilliant explosion.

They both look at the fire place and he says quietly. "I think our
ghosts approve."

I make the fire expand and flash again. Scully's expression is
priceless. Mulder asks the thin air, "Is this what you want?"

I race around the perimeter of the room and back into the hallway,
making the curtains flutter. "My God," Scully whispers.

"Have you noticed Scully?"

"What?"

"All they've done."

"They?"

"Well, we don't know if it's one or more. But they moved your stuff
into my room, twice! They set romantic tables for us. Whenever we
are being affectionate with one another, the harassing stops."

She looks at him as she registers what he is saying. "I can't believe
that."

"Want to test the theory?"

"How?"

"I'll bet you won't be able to leave this room right now without me."

"Don't be ridiculous!" She turns and heads for the arch way.

*Don't let her leave, Alex.*

He moves so fast, neither one of them can see him at all. As she
reaches the archway, he grasps her around the waist, lifting her off
her feet just enough to twirl her back toward the room and pushes
hard, causing her to stagger precariously. Mulder is up on his feet
in a flash and catching her in his arms before she falls.

She is panting and Alex is back by my side, smiling like a maniac as
we hide in the shadows, pleased with his new abilities and the
opportunity to demonstrate them.

"Oh my God, Mulder!" she exclaims breathlessly.

He smiles softly at her. "I think, Scully, that if we want to get out
of here in one piece, we'd better do what they wish."

She looks at him for a moment. "You're not doing this just to get us
out of here are you?"

He grimaces. "You know I'm not, Scully. I love you. I've made no
secret of the fact that I want to make love to you. And I think you
want to make love to me too."

She swallows heavily. "Make love to me, Mulder."

"Upstairs."

"We can't leave the room."

"I'll bet we can together," he whispers.

He takes her hand gingerly steps toward the archway. We are still and
silent as he bravely leads her into the hallway and to the foot of the
staircase. He grins at her and tugs her hand, pulling her up the
stairs.

* You need to be careful, Alex. You don't know your own strength yet.
You could have hurt her if you pushed any harder.*


*Oops,* he replies without a hint of remorse.




PART 11 (NC-17)
OLD FARMHOUSE
BULL'S BRIDGE ROAD
KENT, CT
THAT SAME EVENING

Whether she is convinced at last, or merely unwilling to test it any
further, she sees herself in a corner from which there is only one
way out. She needs to make love to Mulder.

The irrational reasoning behind this is immaterial. It is what it
takes for her to enter into this without hesitation or remorse. It is
the fulfillment of a deep seated desire, but she soothes her
conscience by telling herself that she is getting them out of here
alive.

She doesn't want to end up a corpse, drained of all her blood. How
this happened to the others, she still has no clue. She doesn't
believe in vampires. Mulder does, but he is unable to make the
connection between the ghosts and what he thinks the victims have
fallen prey to. He has danced with the devils before. He is one of the
few who believes in our existence.

He is thinking, one mystery at a time. Their coming together is
glorious. We exit the house and stand in the shadows among the
trees. When you probe someone's mind, there are depths. A gentle
probe will just give you the most conscious thoughts. A medium probe
will give you the emotions that go with it. A deep probe will give
you emotion, thoughts and unconscious beliefs and feelings. This is
the wellspring of human behavior, those unconscious thoughts that
make humans behave so strangely. For the most part, they aren't even
aware of it.

Alex asks, *Can we join them?*

I am amused and ask, *Which one do you want?*

*Dana. I've always wondered what it feels like for a woman.*

*Probe her, pet. I'll join Mulder. Be careful though. Enter slowly.
You are not adept yet and you don't want her to detect your presence
and stop responding to Mulder because she is confused by feeling you
there.*

*I understand. I'll go slow.*

He is actually better at this than most fledglings. He knows the
skill of subtlety in life and it serves him well here. I don't want
to inflate his ego too much, though. I only encourage him in areas
where he is insecure and this isn't one of them.

I direct my presence to the house and into the master suite that I
know so well. I easily and stealthily enter Mulder's mind and sink
into a deep probe. It is as if I become him, only I am aware of even
unconscious feelings and thoughts that he is only vaguely aware of.

They are naked already and Mulder is kissing her, marveling at the
texture of her skin as his lips skim over the creamy texture. He
loves the sounds she is making in the back of her throat, thrilling to
the fact that he is causing them. I want to enjoy this connection he
has with her. I sink to the deepest level where I can feel everything
and I ... become him.

I do not direct the show, I merely observe. But I can see everything,
feel everything. My heightened sense of touch, smell, and hearing
enhance his own and he becomes caught in the clutches of his senses as
he borrows my sensitivity.

XXXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

'Oh God, it's never been this good.' My lips, his lips slide down her
breast bone. His tongue, my tongue reaches and swirls around her
protruding nipple, feeling the gooseflesh of excitement, hearing her
moan, feeling her tremble as he/I suckle on her turgid flesh.

*Oh Christ, Gareth, this is incredible.*

*Shh, we'll talk after.*

xxxxxxxxxx

I see her through Mulder's eyes and she is beautiful.  I sink deeper
into his psyche and become him, feel his feelings, physical and
mental.  My own appreciation is expressed though him as he makes love
to her.  We become two parts of the same man, experiencing the act
from two different views, but sharing our appreciation.   I surrender
to his perception of the experience.

xxxxxxxxxx

I tingle all over as I stare at her alabaster skin, absently noting
that the ghosts of the house are quiet. I know this is what they
want. People denying their love makes them angry. I feel a presence
here with me. It is voyeuristic, but doesn't bother me much. I feel
as though this ghost is using me to feel a connection with his love. I
wonder if Scully feels a presence with her. I would bet money that
Ana Quinn, the girl that killed herself, is with Scully now. This is
not the ideal situation for our first time, but frankly, I don't
really care.

Whatever makes it O.K. for her to be here with me is fine with me.
I'm confident that once we are together this way, there will be no
turning back for either one of us. Somehow, a ghost presence doesn't
make me feel like a performing monkey. I love Scully. And I am happy
to help the ghosts with this if it will give them peace.


My hungry mouth finds the shrine between her legs and begins to feast,
coaxing her juices into my mouth and her epicenter of pleasure to
swell and throb on my tongue. I continue to worship, bringing my
hands into play. An amazing little amount of effort lets me feel her
muscles quake on my fingers and her bundle of nerves vibrate on my
sensitive tongue. It's as if all my senses are on high alert. I have
never been so aware of her, everything about her.

"Muullddeerr!" she cries out and then just moans as her orgasm dies
down. I crawl between her legs, bracing my weight on my elbows and
knees.

Her tiny hand on my engorged flesh makes me jump and thrust into her
palm, smearing it with pre-ejaculate. She guides me to the entrance
of my most holy place ... her body.

Her smile is angelic as she nods once to say she is ready. I push
slowly into her, savoring her wet, hotness. I am unable to hold back
the groans of astonishment and pleasure as her tunnel grips my
throbbing flesh and tugs at it with insistence.

I sink into her to the hilt, feeling my head pushing on her resisting
cervix. She moans and arches her back as her muscles adjust to my
size. She is so tiny.

xxxxxxxxxx

I sink deeper into her, seeing Mulder through her eyes.  He is a
handsome man. I feel my skin heat up and my crotch tingle as I feel
what she feels each time he touches her.  I meld myself to her, become
one with her, using her body to experience these feelings with her  I
float along with her and let her express what we both feel now.

xxxxxxxxxx

I feel a presence here with me. It is voyeuristic, but doesn't bother
me much. I think, 'Well, ghosts, enjoy the show. I hope this is what
you wanted.

He is Michelangelo's David, perfectly sculpted as he looms over me on
his hands and knees.  He seems larger than life and I start as I
imagine the face of a fierce exotic man flashing behind my eyelids. I
blink and focus on him again. His expression is one of exquisite
pleasure and joy. I stare into his eyes and see the love
shining there. I know I have made the right choice. I must have him.

I can sense the approval of the presence within me. I feel her
presence craving for his manhood alongside my own desire. It
heightens mine. The presence is vaguely masculine, but mostly just
craving penetration. She was probably a virgin. I sense that she
longs to know what it feels like. My orgasm has left me with post
coital lethargy, but I move my hand down to grasp him.

He is hot and hard in my hand and I guide him to my entrance, perching
him there, his large head just separating the folds of my sex. He
enters slowly and it is exquisite torture, feeling his hard flesh part
my walls like a forceful wave.

My body rejoices and I arch my back, begging for more. He sinks
completely inside and I feel him pushing on the entrance to my womb.
All I can do now is moan and delight in the sensation of the most
RIGHT thing I have ever done in my life. I sense the presence with me
again, amazed and overwhelmed at the magnitude of the sensations. I
can only agree as Mulder lowers his head to kiss me, one hand pinching
my nipple lightly.

Why did I wait for this? He begins to stroke into me gently and it is
like fireworks, my nerve endings on fire.

I am aware of him like never before. I see, feel and sense every
quiver of his muscles, every drop of sweat, every sound of pleasure
that issues from his mouth and echoes in my head. I have never been
made love to with such passion, such single minded purpose and with
such love and tenderness. Yet he is fierce and unbridled and unable
to hold back his need.

I whisper, "Come to me, let it go."

He cries out my name and to God. His mouth opens on a silent scream
that becomes that a blast of pleasure/pain as he ejaculates into me,
filling me with warm life giving seed.

My body responds to his ecstasy and follows him into the abyss,
convulsing on his spurting staff and sending waves of pleasure through
my body.

XXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

We quiver with aftershocks and he lies atop me, panting heavily. I
feel the presence leave me. I feel lighter, and content with my
decisions.

I will never be separated from him again, I vow. As this thought
crosses my mind, the lights flicker off and back on as if in
agreement.

xxxxxxxxx

I have to coax Alex to disengage. He was in deep. I'm amazed she
wasn't distracted by his heavy presence.

*COME BACK, ALEX. LET HER GO - NOW!*

He finally returns to himself. He is panting and wide eyed.

"That was incredible. It was like I ... BECAME her. Just
incredible."

"And something you shouldn't do often."

He frowns. "That could become addictive."

"Exactly why you shouldn't do it often. This was a special case,
Alex."

"I understand."

"Do you? Don't forget the responsibility that comes with this power.
It is not a game and it is not a toy. Grave consequences can come
from the misuse of power. You've seen that in your mortal life. You
hated those abuses. Don't become what you despised, Alex."

"With great power comes great responsibility?" he teases, quoting Stan
Lee from Spiderman.  I give him a look that tells him I'm not amused.
This is serious.  He hangs his head. "I won't forget, but damn, that
was great."

I smile at him, unable to stay irritated when faced with his boyish
enthusiasm for his new abilities. "We have to go soon."

"How soon?"

"Half hour or so."

"I'm so fucking horny I feel like I'm going to bust."

I laugh softly and pull him further into the trees. I sense his
confusion despite his extreme arousal. I find a tree I can put my arms
around. I take off my long wool coat and watch his brow furrow. I
drop the coat and turn from him, letting my pants pool around my
ankles.

XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

He gasps at the sight of my bare ass. I hug the tree, and bend
forward, bending my knees to make my hips line up with his and
whisper, "Take me, pet."

He groans quietly and I warn him. "Be quiet, now."

He grasps my hip tightly with one hand, then lowers it to finger my
ass. I grunt and tell him, *I don't need to be prepared, love. Just
fuck me.*

I hear his groan echo in my mind. He is learning to internalize
sounds to maintain his silence. He is a quick student.

He nudges my sphincter with the head of his engorged shaft. His hand
returns to my hip. The stump of his growing arm presses down on my
other ass cheek. He adjusts himself and then thrusts forward with
force, burying himself deeply in my ass.

I hear his grunts in my mind as he plows into me like a sex starved
maniac. You'd think he hadn't had sex in months. Feeling Dana's
pleasure has really made him wild. It also shook his foundations of
maleness again. He needs to feel male again. He still isn't one
hundred per cent comfortable with the homosexual side of himself. So
I let him have this reaffirmation of his masculinity. Soon he will
lose the distinction that causes him distress and see pleasure as
pleasure and gender as just a state of being.

He loses control at the end and does moan out loud as he ejaculates
inside me. I shiver at the warm splash I feel as he jerks his hips
into my ass. He collapses forward, his dick still embedded in my ass.
I'm still wearing my black turtleneck but I feel his muscular chest
against my back. He grinds into me, swiveling his hips, unable to let
go just yet.

Finally, he pulls out. I clench my muscles to keep his fluids from
leaking out and pull up my pants. Complete and total muscle control,
with a little practice, is another benefit of being undead. I hate
that term and rarely use it, but I guess it is apropos. I pick up my
coat and put it back on.

XXXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

I turn and he falls into my arms. I kiss him gently. "O.K., now?" I
ask. He realizes I know exactly what this was all about.

He smiles sheepishly. "I can't help it. God, being with her through
that. It scared me how much I liked it. How much I liked feeling
like ... a woman?"

He ends with a question, still unsure. "No dear one, just feeling her
pleasure. It is much the same as being penetrated as a man.
Penetration is penetration. Love is love. The sensations are only
slightly different. Stop attaching gender to it. Some of us like
being impaled, some of us like being the impaler. It's a preference,
that's all. Which brings you the most pleasure? The most intense
pleasure?"

"And you?"

"I enjoy both, but I must say I like being dominant."

He chuckles. "I never would have guessed," he says facetiously.

"We need to go now, Alex. Time is running short. I cut it too close
last time. I don't need to get careless at this point, especially
with you with me. I can't go quite as fast with you in my arms."

"Let's go then." He molds his delicious body against mine and I
enfold him in a tight embrace that he returns. His feet take up
residence on my boots and I shoot up into the air, heading for home.

We arrive well before dawn and lay down to catch some sleep. I note
that his arm is almost fully formed now, with the hand being the only
thing left to materialize. I realize I haven't fed in quite a few days
and have been letting him drink from me all week.

I made the flight without too much effort but I feel exhausted now and
it's not a feeling I'm used to. I don't like it. I must feed
tomorrow night.

The hunt for Kersh is in full swing. Another few days and he will be
given up for dead. This won't stop the search, but it will mean that
changes will be made.

XXXXXXXXXX

I am approached the next day by Director Mullen. He doesn't want
Kersh's position open any longer.  If he returns, he will be
reinstated, but he wants the position temporarily filled. He is
polling the other Deputy Directors for their recommendations for a
temporary Deputy Director. The position will become permanent if
Kersh is found dead. I heartily recommend Walter Skinner and cite
many instances of his good decision making ability and his fairness
and loyalty to his subordinates.

I did do a little tampering and hypnosis so that every time someone
says the words Deputy Director, he sees a picture of Walter Skinner in
his mind. Two days later, despite receiving many other
recommendations, he appoints Walter Skinner as Deputy Director.

I look forward to telling Mulder and Scully when they check in next
time.



PART 12 (R)
HOOVER BUILDING
THIRD FLOOR OFFICES
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mulder has finally gotten around to researching vampire lore and
pulling out the old file on the unholy trinity that he was involved
with some years ago. Memories of his abhorrent behavior with Kristen
Kilar are painful and he hopes to not have to reveal this Scully,
especially now that they have been intimate.

Of course, Scully is the consummate skeptic, totally disbelieving of
vampires and citing Schere's Disease, an form of acute hepatic
porphyria. Symptoms include extreme photosensitivity, anemia and even
a craving for blood. She explained that patients live a nocturnal life
to avoid sunlight, which can cause first degree burns from only minor
exposure. They generally follow a liquid diet as they have trouble
digesting solid food. They appear pale due to the anemia and have
been noted to remain youthful in appearance. Their physical features
age very slowly but they actually have short life spans, topping out
at about age 50.

She puts forth the supposition that someone with this disease,
uneducated and untreated, could possibly convince themselves that they
are a vampire and attempt to live out the lifestyle.

Mulder counters with questions about the length of time between
murders, reminding her that if that's true this guy has been at it for
over 15 years. Assuming he was an adult when he started, he would be
near the age of death by now. He also pointed out that they had no
evidence the perp was a nocturnal creature. She doesn't buy his
theory. He doesn't buy hers. What else was new?

We let them go on for several weeks hashing over theories and doing
further investigation. Scully works at the Emergency Room in New
Milford about a half hour away and does research on various diseases
that might account for the behavior of their UNSUB.

Two more weeks have gone by. I have fed and in turn, fed Alex with my
stronger blood. He is fully formed now, with no evidence of his former
handicap. This thrills him to no end. He has spent a lot of time
simply staring at his hand and flexing his fingers and turning his
forearm as if fascinated by its existence.  I'm happy for him. This
was the lure for him, or the biggest one. He says the pain was worth
every second.

I am fortunate to have sensed another blood drinker in Washington D.C.
A new plan takes shape. I have figured out how to remain anonymous
after all and still have them in my debt. I love it when a plan comes
together.

This blood drinker is weak, not even a couple of decades old. By
virtue of my blood, Alex is already stronger than he. I seek him out
and scare the hell out of him when he realizes how powerful I am.
My mind is able to hold him in place as though he were bound by
invisible chains. He explains that his master had made him and
abandoned him. He didn't mean to kill the innocent, but he didn't
know what else to do. He hated being the creature he had become. He
was not made willingly and begs my mercy, saying he would leave the
city. He wished to die. I decide to give him his wish, unbeknownst
to him. We set him up. His name is David.

The more he talks, the more stupid we realize he is. This man was not
a smart man in mortal life. As a creature of the night, he is
reckless, stupid and a danger to us all. He is self-destructive in
the extreme, as though he wants to be captured and destroyed.
However, he is not brave enough to destroy himself. I read him easily
and realize he is the answer to my plan.

We tell him there are two humans that we want to dispose of and give
him the location. We tell him if he disposes of them, we will teach
him what he needs to know. He travels by plane to New England and we
are waiting when he arrives.  He is totally unaware of our presence.

As he enters the house, I wake Mulder and Alex wakes Scully. They
jolt into awareness as we probe their minds quickly. They believe the
ghosts have awakened them. They sense danger but hear nothing.

They remain in bed, having grabbed their weapons from the bed side
table and wait. This fool is so inept that he manages to make noise
on the floor boards in the hallway. In life, his IQ was probably in
the double digits, and I can't imagine why anyone would have chosen
him for a companion.

Why Zebrosia hasn't found and destroyed him is beyond me. His
bumbling is a danger to all of us.

He does manage to open the door without sound and hide in the shadows.
But Mulder and Scully are awake and see him enter, waiting motionless
and pretending to be asleep. He is so inept he cannot even tell they
are awake.

We race for the house, entering silently and make our way upstairs.
We enter through the bathroom window off the master suite. We easily
make the leap to the second story and I hold Alex steady, hovering,
while he opens the window carefully. I boost him up first and then
pull myself through. It's a tight fit for me but I make it. These old
houses have huge double sash windows.

We wait, listening. Then we hear him hiss and lunge. Through
the open bathroom door, we see Mulder's arm rise beneath the covers
and fire, hitting the poor creature right in the heart.

It hollers an awful, pitiful sound, momentarily stunned. Scully is
now sitting up in bed, aiming her weapon should Mulder need back up.
She snaps on the light to see better and they both gasp, seeing him
grimace and show his fangs.

He leaps again and we decide it's time to intervene. A nod from me and
Alex races into the room, taking the creature up from behind and
tossing him into the wall. It is crazed for the blood now, having
anticipated the kill. He strikes out at Alex, who easily subdues
him. The lights remain off in the bathroom and they cannot see me.
They are not looking this way anyway.

Alex has the creature in a wrestling hold. One hand restraining
his arms behind his back, the other putting him in a choke hold, he
looks up to find Mulder and Scully staring at him in astonishment. He
did not move so fast he could not be seen. But he moved fast enough
to reveal that his movements were not natural.

David wails, "You bastard! You set me up!"

I reach out and give him a picture of himself burning and he goes
quiet, frightened into paralysis. I don't want Mulder and Scully
knowing we've manipulated this situation as much as we have.

Alex smiles at them and says casually, "Looks like I'm coming to
your rescue again, Agents."

Scully is horrified and Mulder aims his weapon at the creature's
chest, threatening to shoot both the creature and Alex.

Alex clucks his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, Agent Mulder. That will do you no
good. You slowed this pitiful creature down but it won't do a thing
against me. Besides, I die and you die. This creature will kill
you."

Scully finally finds her voice. "What the hell is it?"

David hisses at this moment, his head back, eyes rolling back in his
head with his torment at being denied his feast. I knew he hadn't fed
in days. He is ravenous.

His fangs are once again in plain view. Alex turns his head to David,
looking amused, then back to Mulder and Scully. "What does he look
like?"

Alex laughs now. Mulder slides out of bed and puts on a pair of jeans
that were laying a chair by the bedside table. He tosses Scully a
robe which she hastily pulls on over her sexy camisole and belts it
tightly.

Mulder stands, his weapon now at his side, but still cocked and ready.
"He's a vampire," he states with conviction.

Alex smiles. "Very good, Agent Mulder. What was your first clue?" he
asks sarcastically. I press my lips together to hold in my amusement.
He is so irreverent at times.

"Fuck you, Alex!"

Alex shakes the creature and he hisses again. He asks me
telepathically. *Can I have him?*

*Yes.*

Scully asks, "Then if he's a vampire, what the fuck are you that you
can restrain him?"

He grins. "That's an astute question, Agent Scully," he mocks.

I don't really care for his arrogance in this situation.  *Easy, Alex.
No showing off. The basics will be impressive enough.*

His smile fades and he is serious once more. "I, Agent Scully, am a
more
powerful vampire than this one," he states mildly.

"You expect me to believe that?" she exclaims.

He shrugs as if to say it doesn't matter whether she does or doesn't.
He speaks to me again. *Watch them in case they want to interfere.*

I shift my stance to be able to see both of them from just inside the
bathroom. He is not really giving me an order. He is asking for my
protection.  He doesn't quite realize yet that he doesn't need it.
Not here anyway. However, I don't want him shot, simply because it
is painful, although it heals. And I'd like to keep this as neat as
possible. He's had enough pain in the past weeks.

He curls his lip up and pushes his tongue against the roof of his
mouth, extending his now fully formed fangs. He stands there with his
mouth open, letting them see. Then he smiles, yanks David's head to
the side and sinks his fangs into his neck.

David jerks beneath him and screams like a wounded elephant. Mulder
and Scully are both out of bed now, Scully pulling jeans on under her
robe as they both stare in awe at what is happening before them.

Alex drinks deeply and I see the blood flush his cheeks. In a matter
of two minutes he has drained him dry. He licks David's neck, watching
the wounds heal up, and then drops him like a sack of potatoes at his
feet. He holds his mouth open and they watch his bloody fangs
retract. He smiles showing his normal teeth, which are slightly
tinted pink, until he licks them clean.

Scully had come to Mulder's side of the bed but now he pushes her
behind him. Alex laughs. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yeah, and you've always been so truthful with us before," Mulder
replies sarcastically.

Scully mutters, "As if he wasn't dangerous enough already. I can't
get my mind around this."

She steps to Mulder's side, unwilling to let him shield her. They
look at the drained body at Alex's feet.  "I'll get rid of him, don't
worry."

They are silent, wondering what he wants. Mulder finally speaks.
"Why were you even here to help us? Why would you help us? When did
this happen to you? None of this makes sense!" he says through
clenched teeth. The magnitude of what they have just seen is sinking
in for him. Scully is still in denial, thinking it must be some sort
of trick.

Instead of answering right away, Alex holds up both hands and wiggles
his fingers at them. "Do you like my new acquisition?"

They both stare in shock, Scully gasps, at once fascinated and
repelled. "It's got to be a fake, just a really good one."

"It's no fake, Scully. It grew back."

"That's impossible!"

"Obviously not," Mulder adds, "Not if you're a vampire."

"There are no such things as VAMPIRES!" she shouts. She is shaken and
totally losing her composure.

Alex tilts his head to the side. "Let me see if I can answer some of
your questions. Your first question was why I here to help you.
Well, my master knew of this creature . He was a bit of a rogue, I'm
afraid, and killing innocent people, leaving a trail exposing us
unnecessarily. I'm afraid your victims here were his work. So my
master was going to teach him the rules of the road, so to speak. He
brought him back to D.C. and bought this house, generously letting
you rent it when the investigation came up. We had him in the city so
we thought you were safe. Unfortunately, this creature turned out to
be dumb as a box of hair. He doesn't learn a thing. So ... Plan B."

"What is Plan B?" Mulder asks.

"Destroy him."

Neither has a response to that, so Alex continues. "Unfortunately, in
the meantime, he must have heard us talking about you and having you
investigating the deaths here.  He took off, figuring you were easy
prey out here in the middle of nowhere. And it was a chance to get
away from ..."

He hesitates and I tell him, *Yes, you can use my real name.*

"Who?" Mulder asks.

"My master, Gareth." Of course, they don't know this name so it rings
no bells with them.

"Why did he want to get away?"

"Maybe he realized Gareth planned to destroy him."

"Why wouldn't he just fight him?" Mulder asks.

Alex laughs heartily now. When his laughter dies down he says, "Did
you see how easily I overcame him?"

"Yes," they both reply.

"I'm ten times stronger than a human being now."

"So what?" Mulder asks, as if this is not an unusual trait to have. I
have to give him credit. He's keeping his cool.

"Well, imagine strength ten times greater than that."

"And ...?" Mulder asks.

"And that's how strong my master is. He could squash me like a bug."

Scully finally joins in. "He must be something. I didn't think Alex
Krycek would concede defeat to anyone."

"I'm not an idiot, Dana. Besides, there's nothing to concede. He is
my maker, my master. He taught me how to survive this way."

"Were you taken against your will?"

"No, I went willingly."

"Why?"

"I wanted my arm back. The Consortium as I knew it was destroyed. I
was ... adrift, so to speak."

"This simply defies all medical explanation," Scully throws in.

He smiles at her. "So the second question was why did I help you?
Well, my master told me to go after David here. As soon as we
realized he was gone, we figured he might have come here. Obviously,
he was right. I arrived none too soon. I'd hoped to catch him before
he got here."

That is a lie, but a nicely placed one. "What will you do now?"

"I'm the muscle for the new Consortium. With my new abilities,
carrying out my assignments should be much easier than before."

"The New Consortium?" Scully asks.

Mulder's brow creases. "I'm confused. Why would your master want to
help us?"

"He wants your help."

"Our help?" Scully asks, sounding like this is the most ridiculous
thing she's ever heard.

"Yes. He wants to locate another of our kind."

"Why?"

"I'm not entirely sure. He won't tell me the whole story."

"And that doesn't bother you?" Mulder asks, immediately seizing on
Alex's weakness. Bravo, Agent Mulder.

Alex winces. "Yes, it does."

"So why are you bowing down to this guy?" he taunts.

Alex grimaces again. "It's not like that. He gave me something
precious, just as he promised. He never said it would be wine and
roses. He was very forthcoming about the disadvantages of being a
blood drinker."

"This is surreal," Scully mutters.

"So what happens if we don't want to help?" Mulder asks. Isn't he
full of questions this evening?

Alex is silent, just looking at them as if to say, 'You can figure
that one out all by yourself.'

Mulder looks at Scully. "I don't see where we have a choice."

She purses her lips, obviously annoyed. "We're being manipulated
again, Mulder."

He sighs. "I know, but whoever or whatever this guy is, we owe him."

"For what?"

"He just saved our lives, I think."

"Alex saved our lives!" she cries. She goes silent suddenly,
realizing this wasn't a good admission to make.

Alex smiles. "I appreciate your gratitude," he says sarcastically.

"We didn't ask you to come here!" Scully yells.

Calmly, Alex says, "You'd be dead if I hadn't."

"And he wouldn't have come if this Gareth hadn't sent him," Mulder
concludes.

"Just so," Alex puts a period on the discussion.

I speak to Alex. *Alex, toss David out the bedroom window in about a
minute or so.*

I turn and leave by the bathroom window, not making a sound. I stand
in the shadows of a maple tree and wait, listening.

"Where is this master of yours?" Mulder asks.

"He doesn't wish to reveal himself to you yet."

"But he exposed you readily enough, didn't he?" Mulder taunts him
again.

*Don't let them get to you, Pet. You know what they are trying to
do.*

"He figured you wouldn't run from me. You at least know my face."

"Do I know his face?" Mulder asks slyly.

"I ... doubt it," Alex replies. His hesitation was just enough for
them both to pick up on it.

"You're lying," Scully boldly states.

Alex shrugs and says, "Let me get rid of this garbage for you." He
picks up the lifeless body and opens the sash. Bending him in half,
he feeds David ass first through the window.  The body falls like a
rag doll, rolling down the roof that covers the back porch and falling
with a thunk to the ground. I wait until I see them all looking out
the window. Alex retreats to give them room. When I'm sure they are
looking at the body, I ignite it into a ball of flame. The fire burns
hot and fierce, disintegrating the body quickly and leaving nothing
but a black smudge on the lawn.

"Holy shit!" Mulder exclaims. "Did you do that?" he asks, looking
warily at Alex and backing into the room again so as not to have his
back to Alex. Scully does the same.

I sense he unsure how to answer this. *Tell them, no.*

"No," is all he says and lets the implications of that seep into them.

"He's here, isn't he?" Mulder utters, barely audible.

"Who?" Scully asks, still not following his train of thought.

"This master ... this ... Gareth. He's here somewhere, isn't he?"

"Yes, he brought me here."

Scully is suspicious now and nervous as they look around the room as
if I might appear suddenly. "How Alex? How did he bring you here?"
she asks.

Alex smiles. "We flew." He doesn't explain further, but laughs and
says. "I think your investigation is over, Agents."

"Wait a minute. You said this vampire was killing innocent people.
The victims here weren't innocent," Mulder states.

I'm wondering how Alex will handle this one.

"True. We wouldn't have minded him ridding the world of these
scumbags, but in this case, he left the bodies, ergo, leaving a trail.
Bloodless bodies tend to attract a bit of attention, don't they? He
was too stupid to dispose of them properly."

Neither could argue with that. Nice cover, I think. "I see," Mulder
says.

"I don't," Scully adds, but she doesn't say anything further.

"We're not supposed to leave the bodies about, Agent Scully," Alex
adds.

"I gathered that." She pauses. "This can't be true." She is still in
full denial mode.

"Our best defense is that people like you don't believe we exist,"
Alex says and smiles. "You protect us a great deal with your denial."

"Scully," Mulder entreats. "You HAVE to start believing what your own
eyes tell you, even if it's frightening."

She stares at him, slightly embarrassed that he has chastised her in
front of Alex.

Alex breaks in. "She is a good skeptic, Mulder. She makes you work
hard for your proof. That's why you are such a good team."

Scully gathers her courage and stalks toward Alex. "I don't believe
any of this. Open your mouth!" she shouts, pulling his jaw down with
her hand.

I can't decide if she is the bravest or most foolish person I've ever
seen. *Don't hurt her, Pet.*

Alex stands placidly and opens his mouth. "There are no fangs
here!" she cries triumphantly. "Where did you put them?" She is
thinking it's some sort of slight of hand and he has fake fangs up his
sleeve.

Alex's tongue rises up and pushes on the roof of his mouth, his lip
curling up and his fangs descend in the space of about two seconds to
their full length. She gasps, but doesn't pull away. "They're fake.
They have to be!" She is almost frantic.

"Scully, don't push him!" Mulder steps forward, a full fledged
believer now if he wasn't before, and he is panicking, afraid for her
in her foolishness. He didn't trust Alex before, now he really doesn't
trust him as the realization sinks in that he could snap Scully like a
twig.

She shrugs Mulder's hands off her shoulders.

Alex says, "I won't hurt her, Mulder. I promise."  Alex must have read
him as easily as I did. His mind is screaming with frustration and he
is in full protect mode. Mulder still stands close by, ready to yank
her to safety.

She steps back and grabs his arm, pushing his sleeve up to find his
fully formed arm. "Oh my God!" she says under her breath, thoughts
of limb regeneration whizzing through her head. Most people wouldn't
be willing to pay the price, I think. But the doctor in her can't
help but be fascinated.

Scully pushes the pad of her thumb against his fang and gasps as it
easily punctures her skin. She tips his head back and peers at the
bottom, seeing the small hole in the bottom of the canine fang.

He grabs her hand, startling her and she tries to pull away. Slowly
he holds her palm up, exposing her thumb. He rests his fang gently in
the drop of blood on her thumb and sucks, vacuuming it into his fang.
He shivers in delight at her innocent blood and I hear him in my head.

*Oh my God, Gareth.*

*Yes, lover. There is a difference between the innocent and the evil
ones.*

*She's fertile right now, Gareth.*

*What?!*

*I'm telling you, she's fertile. She just ovulated.*

*Tell them.*

He lets her pull her hand away and now she is frightened and backs
away, stopping when she hits the wall of Mulder's chest. Mulder
places his hands on her hips, keeping her close. He no longer cares
how it looks. He is frightened for her and himself.

Alex smiles at her and speaks to both of them.

"Make love to her again ... soon, Mulder."

"What?" he cries.

"Just what I said, make love to her soon, within twelve hours."

"You bastard! Our relationship is none of your business!"

"I know you slept together. It's all over your face, Mulder."

"How? How did you know?" Scully cries.

"It doesn't matter." He pins her with his gaze. "If you've never
believed me before, believe me now. You are fertile right now,
Scully. You can become pregnant. I don't know for how long, though."

"You liar.  That's just cruel.  Why would you say something like
that?"

"I'm not lying. Your window of opportunity is small, though. Make
love to her tonight, Mulder. Return to Washington tomorrow. I'll be
in touch. Gareth wants your help and he will have it one way or
another. If you get pregnant ... consider that another gift from
him."

With that, he lithely vaults out the window and jumps to the ground,
landing in a crouch with the grace of a cat. Two stories is not a big
jump for us.

*Nice touch, a gift from me.*

*You're welcome,* he says sardonically.

*We need to leave.*

*Do you want them to see us go?*

*Yes. I can move fast enough so they can't see our features.*

Alex shouts up to the window. "Hey!"

They come to the window and look out. "What?" Mulder shouts.

"Watch behind that maple tree over there."

He strides over to me where I am hidden as part of the trunk. He
steps into my embrace in a tangle and press that is familiar to us
now. The tree is between us and the window. I back up out of range
of the branches and lift into the air. I hover for a second just
above the tree's highest branches. Alex waves cheekily. We are far
enough away that they cannot see our faces.

I take off into the air at such a speed it must have looked as if we'd
simply disappeared. Even from this distance, I can hear them. "Holy
Christ, Scully!"

There is a pause and then she says, "I think I need to get my eyes
checked."

Alex and I both laugh at that as we race toward home.

THE END.

TITLE:    A VAMPIRE'S TALE 2: TRAIL OF BLOOD
AUTHOR:   Donnilee
E-MAIL:   Donnilee@snet.net
WEBSITE:  http://donnilee.tripod.com
RATING:   NC-17
CATEGORY: MSR - Kr/Other-Slash.
SUMMARY:  An old blood drinker comes to settle a score and Alex is
the pawn. Will his master pay the price?
SPOILERS: Fight the Future (movie), Small one for "3", Paper Clip,
Anasazi, The Blessing Way
TIME LINE: Takes place near the end of Season 7.Requiem hasn't
happened.
DISCLAIMER: Some SAY I should be locked up, but I swear! I take my
medication! Oh, you mean the characters herein? Nope. Not
mine. Used shamelessly and without remorse. They belong to Chris
Carter, Ten Thirteen, and Fox Broadcasting.
DEDICATION: To all those who are open to new ideas read stories that
aren't my usual kind of stuff.
THANKS: To Fran Hartman for grabbing the reins on this series and
helping me not make an ass out of myself! What would I do without
beta readers?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the sequel to Steeped in Blood. You don't
have to have read that one to understand this one, but I'd love it if
you did.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: The sex between vampires in this story is "supposed"
to be fantastic and unrealistic. It is pure fantasy and not meant to
be picked apart with tweezers! The "endowments" of the participants
are "supposed" to lean toward the ridiculous to give a feel of
separating human sex from vampiric sex.

When characters speak to each other telepathically, those words are
between asterisks **, rather than quotes.

WARNING: Here there be M/M slash between Krycek and a secondary
character. There be M&S horizontal mambo too. If this isn't your cup
of tea, you can skip those parts. I've rated each chapter AND marked
the beginning of the descriptive sex, so that you can tell which
chapter contain the descriptive sex and skip over them if you wish.


SYNOPSIS OF VT1: Alex is made a vampire by the new Deputy Director in
the Bureau, Kendall Fair, whose real name is Gareth. Mulder and
Scully were sent on a wild goose chase of a case concerning a haunted
house by said D.D., all so he could trap them into owing him a favor.
M&S know about Alex, but they still don't know about Kendall, except
that Alex has a master that does exist. M&S just consummated their
relationship on this trip. They've only been together once. That
should cover any gaps in the story.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

PART 1 (NC-17)
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, D.C.
FRIDAY MORNING

After Alex and his master disappeared into the night sky
over New England, Mulder and I didn't wait to pack our bags and head
home to Washington. We collected ashes from the lawn and drove
straight through for eight hours and it was now 8:00 AM. We were
exhausted and on edge.

"What are we going to do, Mulder?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we should talk to D.D. Fair?" he suggested.

"And tell him what? That our old enemy, Alex Krycek, has saved our
lives and now wants repayment? And oh, by the way, he's a vampire?" I
snorted at the preposterous idea.

"So you believe he's a vampire?"

I didn't know what I believed, so I stayed silent.

"We could probably leave the vampire part out," he said, not pressing
the issue of my beliefs.

"How would we write up our report then?"

"I'm not sure yet. Look, I need time to think. We just got back from
Connecticut. We have the whole weekend to figure this out. Let's
start fresh tomorrow."

"It is tomorrow."

"We need rest, Scully. And ..."

"And?"

"Do you remember what Alex said?"

I swallowed. "How can you believe anything that man says?" I was
trying to squash the dangerous seed of hope that Alex had placed in my
heart. Damn him all to hell! I thought.

"That vampire, you mean?"

"Mulder, please!"

"I don't know if I can, Scully. Believe him, that is. But the point
is ... are you willing to risk that he might have been telling the
truth and we miss our chance?"

"You mean I miss MY chance?"

"NO.  I mean WE miss OUR chance."

I looked at him and felt a wave of affection wash over me. He knew how
deep seated this desire was in me. He truly would do anything for me,
even saddle himself with parenthood, to make me happy. "Mulder, you
don't have to sacrifice for this."

"Sacrifice?" he asks incredulously. "Have you not heard anything I've
said in the last week?"

I creased my brow, unsure what his point was. He came to me as I
stood there, finally having stopped pacing in front of the coffee
table in the living room. His arms came around me and pulled me into
his solid chest. He was warm and comforting. "Scully, I love you.
What else do you need to know? There's no one else I will ever have
children with. Only you."

"But you don't want ..."

He cut me off. "Don't tell me what I want," he said, a touch of anger
in his voice. "You never bothered to ask, Scully."

"Well, excuse me." I snapped and pulled out of his arms.

He was silent and I turned to look at him and spotted the wounded look
on his face. "I want ... everything with you, Scully. Don't you get
it?  Everything, Scully. The house, the two cars, the kids, ... the
ring," he added barely audibly.

I gasped, "Oh God, Mulder."

He was staring at me, wetness pooling in his hazel eyes. My Lord, I
realized, he loves me so much. Why had I thought he wouldn't want
those things? His history didn't bear it out, but I guess I'd been
too caught up in my own misery and losses to think about his for a
while. I stepped into him again and he yanked me to him roughly and
burrowed his face in my hair.

He suppressed a sob and I felt his muscles of his back roll under my
hands. His lips found my ear and gently suckled my earlobe, his teeth
scraping lightly as he pulled away. I moaned softly, feeling arousal
zip through my body, pooling between my thighs.

"Let me make love to you again, Scully," he whispered in a soft voice.
"Once wasn't nearly enough. And if he's right, great. If he's not,
that's all right too. But I need you tonight. I need to feel
connected to you."

My head fell to the side in acquiescence as his lips assaulted my
neck, and his tongue burned a hot trail down to my pulse at the base
of my neck. He moaned and sucked on the skin there, nipping lightly
and surely leaving a mark on my lily white skin. I didn't care.

"Do we even want to bring a child into our world, Mulder?" I wondered.
Where the hell that had come from?  I wondered. I'd wanted a child for
so long. Why was I even hesitating? I had to take the chance.
Didn't I?

His lips brushed my collarbone as he spoke. "I want to try, Scully.
He said you're were fertile, but only for a while. Time's running out.
Let's not let the chance go by."

I pulled away slightly and tugged on his hand, leading him into the
bedroom. He was right. We had to try. We undressed quickly,
skipping the preliminary excitement of undressing one another.

XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

I laid down on the bed and held my arms out to him. He came to me in
a rush, sliding his big, brown body over top of mine. His mouth
claimed mine in a fierce, possessive kiss that branded my soul. He
was so ... passionate that it was scary sometimes. Then I remembered
the look of awe, reverence and joy on his face when he had
released himself into me that first time and all doubts vanished.

He began to move down, suckling my nipples and making my back arch. I
pushed into his mouth, begging for more. His large hands splayed
across my
back, holding my body in place. When he began to move even lower, I
clutched his shoulders and found my voice. "No, Mulder. In me, now."

He moaned and moved down anyway, muttering, "Just a little taste." His
warm, wet tongue swiped across my swollen nether lips and scooped up
the ridiculous amount of wetness there. He hummed in his throat as if
it were the best thing he'd ever tasted.

I tugged on his shoulders and he moved up again, kneeling between my
legs this time.

He bent over to kiss me, sharing my taste, tangy and smoky on my
tongue. Then he sat up, ass cheeks resting on his heels. He grabbed
two pillows and propped them under my hips, raising my pelvis into the
air.

His thumbs brushed my slit, opening my sex. I heard the sound of it
like a sloppy kiss as the lips parted.  He grunted softly.
"You're so wet, Scully."

"Just for you," I whispered.

"Oh, Christ," he mumbled. His sex was hard and heavy between his
legs, tumescent and turning red with the flow of his blood. I went to
reach for it but he stopped me, shaking his head slightly.

My hands reached above me to brace against the headboard and he
smiled. I said, "Mulder, please, stop teasing."

The head of his cock was leaking pre cum and he took his shaft gently
between his thumb and forefinger, rubbing it up and down between my
wet folds. I sucked in my breath in anticipation. His hips flexed,
pressing just the head inside me.

I moaned, "Moorree."

He gave me a lazy smile and grasped my waist above my hips, his
fingers nearly meeting as they clasped around my waist. "So slender,"
he muttered and then began sliding inside.

I watched his beautiful stomach muscles clench and release as he
worked himself slowly inside me. He began to stroke gently, easing
out, then a little further in each time, teasing my hungry walls.
He was pulsing and hard and I wanted it all.

His teasing finally broke me and I cried out, "Oh, please, Mulder.
Give me all of you."

He groaned and leaned forward, placing his hands beside my waist. He
pushed the remainder of himself inside and stopped, his mouth open,
his eyes closed, reveling in the feeling of being inside me again. I
was doing the same, only my eyes were open. I panted gently and
whispered, "Please, move."

I heard whimpers issuing from the back of my throat as he began to
stroke into me, slowly and deeply, retreating almost all the way and
pressing back inside, parting my walls like a wave, filling me to the
brim and bumping gently against the entrance to my womb.

His speed increased, his eyes open now and staring at my face, taking
in every little twitch and expression. The strength and intensity of
his regard was unnerving. At the same time, it heightened my arousal
to levels I'd never dreamed existed.

He began muttering as he kept his rhythm, only increasing his speed
every few minutes. He wanted to make this last. "So good, Scully.
Oh, I love you so much. Jesus, woman, you have no idea what you do to
me. Oh, God. This is a dream. It's a miracle. I belong inside you.
Oh, Jesus, Scully, you were made for me."

He leaned down enough to capture my nipple in his mouth, suckling hard
until I felt it pinch. I cringed and he let up slightly on his
suction, but that pinch caused a new flood of wetness between my legs.
He felt me drench his balls and pubic hair as my juices shot out of
me. His lips smiled against my breast, his tongue torturing my aureole
and nipple.

He nipped and sucked hard again, making me cry out as the sensation
shot straight to my crotch. My hands came down from above my head to
grasp his bulging biceps. He never faltered, impaling me steadily
on his cock. He did straighten up again and one hand went to my
waist, pulling me toward him with every thrust. The other used a
thumb to press my clitoris against our joining.

Every push inside created an electric shock of sensation in my
clitoris that flowed out through my abdomen. I was moaning constantly
now as I felt my climax approach rapidly.

I panted out, "Oh, Mulder, almost there. Oh, keep doing that!   Awww,
it's so good!"

He did. And he kept stroking, only harder and faster, abusing my clit
as he pressed it from above against our joining, his shaft dragging
over the bottom of the distended nerve bundle.

I screamed, "Aaaaaawwwwww, Gggoooddd, Mmmuuullldddeeerrr!" My orgasm
made my muscles clench hard on his rigid flesh. He never stopped
rubbing my clit. His other hand left my waist to pinch my nipple. I
screamed again as another wave of convulsions wracked my body. "Oh
shit, again!"

He suddenly hooked his arms beneath my knees and leaned over me,
bending me nearly in half, pointing my crotch up in the air. He
lunged into me, his elbows landing on the bed, pinning my knees near
my ears.

He went berserk, slamming into me with speed and force, all finesse
gone He cried out, "Ahh, God, Aww, God, oh yeah, here it comes. OH MY
GOD! HOLY SHIT, SCUULLYY! LOVE YOU!"

He jerked in my arms and flooded my insides with warm seed. He cried
out some unintelligible sound as he emptied his balls inside me. He
moved his arms out from under my legs, but didn't let me lower them
all the way. He directed them to wrap around his lean hips.

XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

His fingers burrowed into my hair.  Holding my face in place, he
kissed me tenderly, deeply, hotly.  Then, he gently sucked on my
swollen lips and dabbed his tongue in the line of sweat on my upper
lip and not seeming to mind the salty taste of my sweat. Our bodies
were slick and cooling now.

"You going to move?" I asked quietly when I finally caught my breath.
My ankles were locked over his lower back.

"Nope," he said, just as lazily.

My chest bounced as I suppressed a chuckle.

He lifted his head and smiled. He moved the small muscles of his cock
and I felt it twitch inside me. I grunted softly and he said, "Don't
want any to fall out yet."

I laughed then, realizing what he was doing. He was keeping me in
this position, with my hips in the air, his cock plugged inside my
entrance, hoping gravity would help out with his goal. I didn't
know if it would make a difference or not.

So I waited while he brushed butterfly kisses over my neck and
shoulders. He went still and I looked up at him again, sighing in
contentment. He said, "I adore you. I love being close to you like
this. It's like a fantasy come true, Scully."

I felt hot tears sting my eyes but they didn't fall. I sniffed gently
and said, "I love you, Mulder. I'm still afraid, but I do love you.
You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do now."

"What do you mean you do now?"

"At the house in Connecticut, as great as it was, I wasn't sure if you
were in my bed just to save our hides, or if you really wanted me."

"I told you I loved you."

"I know. But loving me and being IN LOVE with me are two different
things."

"I think I clarified that I was IN LOVE with you."

"I know, but I still wasn't sure. The circumstances were so bizarre,
Scully. You have to know what I mean. I know you don't believe in
ghosts, but I think they were right there with us."

I stared at his plump lower lip, and darted my tongue out to lick it.
He jerked slightly in surprise and smiled. I said, "I felt it," I
admitted.

His smile faded and he stared at me intently, gauging the sincerity of
my statement. "You felt her, didn't you?  The woman.  She was with
you, feeling what you felt."

I chewed my lip slightly. I said softly, "Yes, I felt her. I sensed
... I don't know."

"What?"

"I sensed she was a virgin, like she'd never known a woman's pleasure,
and she wanted desperately to know what it felt like."

He smiled and let my legs fall to bed in a slightly more comfortable
position. His limp flesh finally exited my body and he grunted in
disappointment. I chuckled at his expression.


He brought his focus back to me. "I felt the guy, Scully."

"You think there were two ghosts?"

"Yes. I think it was the woman, Ana Quinn, and her lover. She killed
herself, remember. And then he hung himself. A real Romeo and
Juliet type tragedy. I think they've been haunting that house ever
since, trying to convince each owner to show love in that house so
that they could experience it and be together."

"It's all supposition on your part, Mulder," I said, unable to stop my
logical side from emerging. I couldn't believe I was talking about
ghosts as if they were real entities in the first place. But I'd seen
a lot in seven years and I wasn't so quick to dismiss his theories,
although I would always be skeptical to a degree.

I couldn't deny what I'd felt that night. There had been a presence
with me while Mulder made love to me and I could no longer pretend
that these things didn't happen to me. It was counterproductive to
our partnership and our relationship as a whole. I wasn't about to do
a complete turn around and become a shadow chaser, like he could be at
times, but I wasn't going to automatically think I had all the answers
either. If I'd learned nothing else in seven years on the X-Files, it
was that there were definitely things outside of the realm of
explainable science.

"I believe it, Scully. I felt him there. He wanted you, or her, as
the case may be. And it was like ..."

"What?"

"I don't know, like all my senses were enhanced. Like my sense of
touch, smell, taste were all acute and vivid. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, I felt that too."

"I was afraid it wouldn't feel the same the second time."

I smiled softly. "You know, I think I was wondering that myself."

"And?"

"It didn't feel the same. We were definitely alone this time."

He frowned. "I'm sorry ..."

"Shhh, silly," I admonished, pressing my fingers to his lush lips.
"It was just as good, Mulder, even better because there was no
interference from the outside. What we just felt was real 100 per
cent. It was just different, not worse."

He smiled then. "I love you, Dana Katherine Scully."

"I love you too, Mulder."

"Maybe we made a baby," he said innocently and suddenly.

I smiled, touching my hand to my stomach as he rolled off me and lay
on his side next to me. His hand went to cover mine and we stared at
my stomach for few seconds.

Then I said, "I hope so, Mulder. I hope so."

"I'm exhausted," he declared.

"Me too. Let's sleep. I'm not even setting the alarm."

"Ooo, so daring!" he teased. "We'll start fresh after some sleep,
Scully."

"You're on."





PART 2 (NC-17)
KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION
FALLS CHURCH, VA
FRIDAY EVENING

"How are they?" I asked as Alex entered the living room.

"Fine and dandy, boss."

"Oh stop with the boss crap."

He smiled. "Everyone is fine."

"They came home quick. I was afraid the shocks we gave them would
distract them from their new relationship."

"Noohoo," he said.

I raised my eyebrows, silently asking for an explanation.

He grinned. "He boinked her brains out."

I sighed. "Must you be so crude?" I asked, not really that annoyed.
I did want to make him into a gentleman, and he still needed some
work. On the other hand, his irreverence amused me to no end.

"It's part of my charm," he stated without a hint of remorse.

I shook my head in mock exasperation. "What am I going to do with
you?"

Without hesitation he said, "Feed me and then fuck me?"

I laughed out loud now. "Hungry, are you?"

"I'm starved," he replied, all traces of humor gone.

"Let me change my clothes and we'll go hunting."

He smiled. "I'll wait here."

I didn't bother replying and left the room, mounting the stairs and
changing into black jeans, black turtleneck, black sweater and
black trench coat. I tied my waist length black hair back into a
pony tail and made my way back downstairs.

His long, black, wool coat was flung over the arm of the coach. He
stood with his back to me, perusing the books on the bookshelf. I let
my eyes wander down the length of his backside, taking in the broad
shoulders, the tiny waist and the tight ass cheeks, encased in black
denim that fit him like the skin on a grape.

I nearly moaned but managed to suppress my desire, feeling my groin
tingle and my gums ache. God, he drove me crazy.  He was
going to be the death of me. Literally. That thought was like a
bucket of cold water over my head. And yet, my eyes were still drawn
to the bulging thigh muscles, hugged by his jeans. I loved that
crease at the top of his thighs where his ass began. I could spend a
whole evening just licking that crease. He was the sexiest creature I
had encountered in over a century, the first in so long to so
capture my interest that I couldn't resist him and was willing to take
such a chance.

His one flaw in the physical sense when he had been a mortal
was now a memory. His fully formed arms and hands brushed the
bindings of the books, guiding his eyes down the row of books as he
looked for something of interest.

He'd stopped bothering with gel in his hair and I approved. It was
soft and fluffy now, having been slightly longer than his usual cut
when I had begun the change. His hair would be like this forever now.
I cleared my throat so as not to startle him and he whirled around.
We loved to play this little game of seeing if we could sneak
up on each other without making a sound.

He grinned. "How long have you been there? You're silent as a
fucking shadow."

"You will be too, ... soon."

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, let's go catch us a scum bag, darling."

He picked up his coat and swirled it around his shoulders with a
flourish. I laughed at his boyish display of showmanship and we headed
out the door.

The night was crisp and clear and littered with starlight. We moved
with the grace and speed of our kind as we traveled the streets,
heading for Washington D.C. We were there in less than ten minutes.
We headed into the southeast section of the city, teeming
with every type of dirt bag known to man. Drug dealers, killers, scam
artists, hookers and pimps. We prowled, stealing shadows to hide our
presence and probed the minds of the hordes around us as they passed
by.

Finally, we found two pimps in an alley, fighting over territory. One
had killed one of his best girls the night before because he'd found
out
she'd tried to hold back money from him. Of course, feeding her four
year old son hadn't mattered to Tyrone, the wonder pimp. Now her child
was motherless.

The other dirt bag was Shelly. He hadn't killed anyone lately, but
was about to knife Tyrone and had no compunction about killing him to
keep him off his territory.

We walked silently into the alleyway after a nod of agreement. When
we were close, we moved with lightning speed and emerged from the
shadows, appearing to materialize out of thin air next to the two
combatants.

They both shrieked in alarm and jumped away from one another. They
quickly regained their composure and turned their dueling knives
toward us, crouching into fighting stances.

"What the fuck, man?"

"Who the fuck are you two?"

"We're your judges," I said.

"Jury and executioners," Alex concluded.

"Bring it on, mother fucker!" Tyrone yelled, lunging for Alex. His
fear was palpable. I stood my ground and watched Alex move with
inhuman speed, twisting the knife out of Tyrone's hand, spinning him
around and catching him by the scruff of the neck, his hand choking
the life out of his wind pipe.

His eyes bulged and he choked as he came to an abrupt halt, pinned to
Alex's chest with his other arm around the back of the man's
shoulders. Alex smiled, pushing his tongue to the roof of his mouth
and forward, extending his fangs.

He hissed loudly. The man screamed, "Oh, no, Jesus! No!"

Alex struck with the speed of a rattler and pierced the man's neck
with his fangs, beginning to take long draughts of his warm blood. His
pal was frozen in shock, sweat pouring off of him. His paralysis
suddenly fled and he whirled, running toward the street. I bolted
after him, grabbing him quickly and returning to Alex's side at
the back of the alley, out of the glare of the street light that cast
a dim glow of circular light about five feet in front of us.

I grabbed Shelly's dread locks and yanked his head back, extending my
fangs and sinking into his neck all in one smooth move. I felt his
body jerk and stiffen while mine flooded with the equivalent of human
endorphins as his warm, rich blood flowed over my tongue.

I tasted Jack Daniels and cocaine and the sweet fruity taste of
diabetes. I pulled hard until I felt his heart beginning to slow. I
retracted my fangs, spitting on his neck. My saliva encompassed the
holes in his neck and closed them up as if I'd never been there. Alex
was doing the same.

He smiled, his teeth still bloody. The two men collapsed at our feet,
unconscious. "Did you leave some?"

"Yes. His heart's about to quit, though."

"Good, it will look like heart attacks."

"Some of the blood will regenerate before they die."

"I know. You've told me. We can't leave bloodless bodies lying all
over the city."

"No, we can't. You can only drain them dry if you have a means to
dispose of the bodies."

"Where to next?"

"Do you need more?"

He looked at me and shrugged. "I could use more. But I'll be all
right without it."

I continued my lessons. "What did you taste in the blood?"

He sighed, tiring of my teachings. But they were necessary.
Obediently, he recited his list. "Liquor … tequila, I think. There was
definitely cocaine and marijuana."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, he has pancreatitis."

"Very good, Alex. That's excellent. You not only got the obvious
elements in the blood stream, you're detecting the diseases of the
organs it has flowed through."

He beamed a smile under my praise. "Can we go now?" He was still a
bit impatient for my taste.

I was 600 years old and didn't need even half the amount of blood he
did to sustain me. My skin had absorbed so much over the years that
it took very little to maintain my health and vitality. The absorbed
blood made my body hard as porcelain. He, however, was only a few
weeks old and needed blood constantly. He might be able to go a day
without it, but that was about it. I didn't want him getting
reckless.

My blood was old and very strong and had qualities that sustained him
and satisfied his hunger in a way no mortal blood could. I didn't
want to take anyone else tonight. We had to be careful. I touched
his shoulder.

"I've taken way more than I need. Let's go home and I will let you
drink."

He flushed with arousal and anticipation as he always did when I
offered myself to him. He knew the intoxicating taste and restorative
powers of my blood. He was like a junkie for it. It was one way in
which I controlled him, not that I needed to control him very much
anyway. He was loyal and obedient and very grateful to me. I had
restored his arm and hand with my blood by bringing him over to me. I
had introduced him to a world of sensual pleasures he had never known
before. He was hooked as well as any addict.

I motioned him forward and he nearly jumped into my arms, wrapping his
arms around my hard torso. His feet perched on the top of my boots
and I enfolded him in my embrace. I looked up, making sure the way
was clear, and shot up into the air. Had anyone been looking, which
they weren't, they would have only seen a translucent blur as our
bodies rose into the air with unimaginable speed.  I had scanned the
area before take off. There was no one within range that could see
down the alley.

We were home in five minutes, flying providing a much faster
transport even than running. And we could run so fast
the human eye could not see us, but only feel our passing as a gust of
wind.

Alex was too young to fly. He would have to live many centuries
before he gained that ability, although getting my blood on a
regular basis would probably speed him along much faster than would be
normal if he lived his undead life in a normal pattern.

We entered the house, not turning on any lights, our eyes seeing in
infra vision up to a 60 foot radius around us. Our superior eyesight
was another benefit of immortality.

Alex raced to the bedroom and I chuckled internally at his eagerness.
I was constantly bewitched by him, his enthusiasm for his new life,
his gratitude to me and his pure pleasure in having me love his body.

He was an incredibly sensual creature. Most of his potential in this
area had remained dormant as a mortal. Oh, he'd had his share of
women, but it had always been a way to slake his lust. He had never
been in love. And later, his missing limb had chased many mortal
woman away who might have otherwise found his handsome face and
smoldering eyes irresistible.

He was all mine now, though. If he was an addict for me, I wasn't
much better for him. Once I tasted his charms, I couldn't get enough.
I
made love to him almost daily, except when our schedules or duties
prevented it. Since he was fully vampiric now, he could take my
gigantic phallus into his lithe body with only slight pain. I'd had
to be careful when he was mortal and when he was enduring the change.
If I'd torn him too badly, he might not have recovered. Now the
restraints
were gone, the gloves off, so to speak. I literally couldn't harm him
permanently with my lust. His body was more hearty and could take
more pain and punishment than any human being. Even if
I did manage to tear tissues and such, they healed with the speed of
the undead. Normal bodily harm was nonexistent for us.

XXXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

I undressed him carefully. enjoying the exploration of his body all
over again. It fascinated me and ignited something deep within me. I
am literally a giant. I stood six foot, eight inches tall and had the
shoulders of a line backer and the body of Mr. Universe. My pecs
and washboard stomach were picture perfect. Other than the lush hair
on my head, my body was hairless and smooth, with no blemishes or
imperfections.

I ran my hands down his chest, noting idly the changes in him that
were still occurring to some degree. He was fully a blood drinker now,
but his development continued as he aged beyond normal means through
the virtue of my blood. I planned to feed him until he was as strong
as I. Then we would share each other's blood. The ecstasy then would
be beyond compare. We shared now, but his blood was still much weaker
than mine. When we were equals in strength and development, the
ecstasy would blow his mind.

Drinking blood often induced the sensations of orgasm without the
ejaculation. It was very addicting, besides the fact that we needed it
to survive. He was six foot, one inch and 180 pounds when I took him.
He was now six foot, three inches and 200 pounds. He probably wouldn't
grow any taller but his body was still changing. He would become
heavier with time.

His shoulders were broader, his pectorals and abdominal more clearly
defined. His thigh muscles bulged attractively but not overly so.
His tight, small ass cheeks were firm and hard to the touch. His
biceps were beautiful and tapered into muscular forearms. His fingers
were long and nimble. He was nearly perfect.

I stared at his lips and licked mine. He looked at me, his eyes dark
and hooded with arousal. I kissed him tenderly and pulled away when
he tried to deepen the kiss. I steered him to the bed and laid him
down on his back. He reached for my pulsing cock that was even now
growing in length and girth. He pumped firmly, pulling a groan from
the back of my throat. I returned the favor and felt him throb hotly
against my palm.

He was delighted to learn of this little perk ... that his cock and
balls grew bigger as he prolonged his pleasure. He was never puny to
begin with, but this delighted him to no end.

The night I took him and steeped him in the blood, he so excited me
that even in the short time I held back, I had grown to 10 inches
before I took him and grew to 13 inches inside him. Oh, how he had
screamed that night, sending his blood singing in my veins as I'd
reveled in the ecstasy of the blood lust, the only time I could enjoy
his pain.

The blood lust only occurred when you brought someone over to you,
meaning you began to make them into a creature of the night. The whole
process took two weeks and he was in pain much of that time. Although
I took him gently a couple of times, for the most part I nursed him
and tried to ease his pain with my blood.

After that short abstinence, though, I couldn't keep my hands off him.
It had only been a couple of weeks since then and I was taking him
every day. I didn't see his or my appetite waning any time soon.

I licked his nipples and kissed him again. I coaxed him to grab his
own legs, and he took himself behind the knees and raised his legs,
exposing his tight ass to me. I growled with arousal, my fangs
extending.

I wrapped one hand around the top of each thigh, spreading my legs to
cradle his ass in front of me. He shoved a pillow under his ass, just
to help with the height issue. I pumped him a few more times,
supporting my weight one arm. My cock was hard as brass and now
11 inches long. He tried to pump me but could no longer touch his
fingers around my girth.

I aimed at the pristine ass that no longer contained any bodily
fluids known to mortals. He was as smooth and clean inside as if he'd
never digested a thing in his life. And he was like me now. The
slight discomfort was an aphrodisiac and no lubrication was needed.

I placed the helmeted head of my cock at his anus and wiggled it into
place. I looked into his eyes. I hissed. His fangs extended and he
said, "Do it. Fuck me."

He didn't need to invite me twice. I gripped the front of his thighs,
yanking him toward me with inhuman strength, at the same time, ramming
my cock forward with a snap of my hips. My pole drilled into him,
sinking most of the way, spreading his ass wide, pressing his cheeks
to the side. His ass cheeks were so beautifully small, tight and
compact. Even with his added height, I was still five inches taller
and much bulkier than he was. I'd had bulk as a mortal and therefore
retained it in my immortality. He would retain his body type
proportionally, even though he had grown taller.

He wailed, "Aaaaahhhhhhh! Yehessss! Fuck me!"

I began to pump him viciously with no build up, ramming into him with
all my might, looking down to watch my pole split him in two, breaking
into his ass like a jack hammer. I hissed through clenched teeth,
"Oh, my beautiful Alex. Love fucking you. Can't get enough of you,
Pet!"

He groaned in delight as I continued to ram into him. His hands came
up to pinch his own nipples, which rose up like hard little pellets.
He pinched hard, turning the tips white. Our minds probed each other
and sunk deeply, feeling each other's pain and arousal. The sensation
was like nothing else in the world. It was as if our souls connected.

The blood pounded in my veins and I listened to speedy whoosh of blood
in his body. He began to chant, "Oh, Gareth, hold off. Oh, do me
hard, bigger, more, more. I want more than ever before! Fuck me.
Rip me open with that monster."

I gave him his wish, reining in my arousal and slowing my hips, but
not tempering the violence of my thrusts. I was able to pull back
enough to stop my impending orgasm. I was easily a foot long now
and nearly four inches wide. God help me, he wanted more!

I focused on the delicious feel of his taut anal ring as it glided
over my engorged flesh. I leaned down toward him, placing my elbows
near his head. I towered over him, out-massing him in height and
bulk.  I bared my neck to him, tossing my hair to the side. I spoke
into his
mind, *Drink, Pet.*

His eyes bulged with craving and he hissed, snapping his head toward
me and sinking his fangs into my neck. My skin is so tough, almost
like leather now. I felt his fangs hesitate on contact before the
pressure finally sank them into my neck. I groaned as he pulled my
blood, filling his mouth with its thick sweetness. Rivers of tingling
sensation traveled through my body with every pull. I reached one
hand between us to fondle his cock and stroke him. His cock was hard
as steel and smooth as glass. It had grown to eight inches long. His
nuts were swelling and stretched taut as they filled with his cum.

My thrusts slowed in this position a little further but the taking was
still fairly rough. He filled his mouth at least six times and
swallowed, gluttonously feasting on my blood. Too much would make him
develop too fast and cause pain. Our skin hardened as we absorbed
blood over the years. If it happened too quickly, it could cause pain.
*That's enough, Love.*

He groaned in disappointment but pulled his fangs back, not retracting
them. His mouth was open and painted red inside with my blood. He
screamed as I straightened up, changing the angle and pushing the
additional couple of inches into him that I grown since he began
feeding on my neck. My cock was truly a monster now, 14 inches
long, four and half inches wide, and just as hard as a metal pole.

I buried myself and shivered at the sound of his screams, my pendulous
balls smacking into his upturned ass cheeks. I reared back onto my
knees, grabbing his waist and pounding into him, his legs bouncing up
and down with each impact as I raced to the finished line. He loved
to hear me speak in his mind. *You wanted more, you little slut. How
does that feel?! Huh? You like being cracked open, my little boy toy?
You asked for it. Take it all, my pretty bitch!*

I growled, holding back and feeling my cock head swell, throb and
punch into his guts another inch. He screamed at the top of his lungs,
his
cries bouncing off the walls. My balls spasmed harshly, flushed hot
and then shot jism up my shaft like a speeding train. I held myself
inside him as my enormous balls emptied into his guts.

He stroked himself and opened his mouth. He ejaculated hard, spurting
into his own mouth and I roared in the middle of my climax, thinking
this was the most erotic thing I'd ever seen anyone do. There he was,
bent nearly in half, shooting his own cum into his own mouth, licking
his lips and swallowing as he sprayed himself in the face.

Our orgasms fed each other, the enormous amount of fluid we produced
continuing to release from our bodies. We orgasmed for over ten
minutes and then I collapsed forward, crushing him into the bed. He
didn't complain about my enormous weight. His face was streaked with
his cum, white jism mixed with red streaks of blood. I smiled at him
and slowly licked him from his hair line to his chin, sucking up every
drop.  He moaned and then sighed in contentment.

*That was possibly the most erotic thing I've ever seen, Pet.*

He smiled. *I could feel you so deep inside me, up to where my stomach
used to be.*

*It was the best yet, I think.*

*For me too.*

I eased back and forth a bit, making him groan and then lifted myself
up, easing backwards from his body, watching my huge member pull out
of his exquisitely chiseled, trim body.

His ass gaped open like the bomb bay doors on the Enola Gay and I
massaged his ass cheeks, watching his hole quickly close up around the
white-washed skin of his insides.

XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

We rose and showered to wash off the fluids. We had a lot of sheets
since we ended up changing them nearly every day. This bedroom was
like the master bedroom in my townhouse in Georgetown. It had no
windows. The door was heavy reinforced steel inside the wooden
facade. I closed and locked it, plunging the room into darkness.
The small night light from the hall could no longer be seen. We
didn't need the light, anyway.

My infra vision took in the sight of him now sprawled lazily over the
clean sheets. He was a vision of perfection. Everything was tinged
red with this form of sight and he looked like a Greek God, offering
himself to me. He was on his stomach, his exquisite ass stuck up in
the air. His eyes were closed but I knew he wasn't completely asleep
yet.

I did have two enormous coffins made of solid onyx downstairs in the
basement should an emergency ever arise. No human could ever dislodge
the lids of these sarcophagi. But for the most part, we lived here,
blacking out the sun with modern technology, sound proofed walls and
steel doors that no mortal could breach.

We could sleep safely here without worrying about the sun creeping up
on us unawares. I needed only a few hours of sleep a night. Alex
still needed about six hours. It was almost dawn, and he would sleep
till the afternoon. I wouldn't, but decided to join him. I turned
him onto his side and spooned up behind him, resting my now flaccid 8
inch cock in the crack of his ass cheeks. He murmured and snuggled
back deeper into my embrace. I kissed his hair and mumbled, "Sleep,
Pet."

A sense of foreboding stole over me, as it had several times in the
last week. I didn't know what it meant. I didn't sense another blood
drinker near our city, but something was definitely afoot in the world
of the undead. I only hoped I figured it out before it came to visit.

My mind filled with the vision of Zebrosia, not my maker, but my
teacher from ages past. She taught me and therefore thought she owned
me. When I tried to break free and make a fledgling of my own,
without her permission, she had destroyed the girl before my very
eyes.

In my foolish rage, I had destroyed her lover in retaliation. My
fledgling had no chance. She was a mere few weeks old, like Alex,
and I didn't have the strong blood to feed her like I did now for
Alex.  Zebrosia had ignited Vanessa and burnt her to a crisp, leaving
nothing but a small pile of ashes.

Zebrosia's lover, Amet, however, was much stronger. He was not as old
as me and therefore, I prevailed, but he was at least 100 years old
and Zebrosia was very attached to him. I'd loved her but had known
that I would always be second to Amet. And so I'd tried to create my
own companion.

Of course, she discovered my plans to flee with my fledgling and make
a life elsewhere in another city. But destroying Amet had enraged
her. She couldn't bring herself to destroy me, but I had dealt her a
blow easily as deep as the blow she dealt me. I had not incinerated
Amet. I didn't even know I had that power. And Zebrosia had surprised
and frightened me by displaying that she did have it. I had waited
until she went out to hunt and I had attacked Amet with my bare hands,
bit, and drained him of every drop of blood. It's a painless death for
a mortal once the initial breach of the fangs through the skin is
over. But for a vampire to be drained by another vampire is a painful
way to die.

The blood sustains our skin and when a vampire literally sucks the
blood not only from your veins, but begins taking in the blood from
your skin, it is like feeling your body collapse from the inside out,
leaving nothing but a dry husk. A dry husk that burns easily, as did
David when I burned him on the lawn of the farmhouse in Connecticut.

I had drunk slowly and drawn out his pain, cursing him for taking my
place in her affections. He was helpless against me and cursed me
with his last words, hoping I would fry in the sun.

Alas, I hadn't. Zebrosia had told me she never wanted to see me again
and I would never steep another in the blood as long as she lived.
She meant it. And so our love hate relationship was born. It
survived through the ages. Over 300 years had gone by since that
time. I had no idea how strong she must be by now. However, I knew I
was incredibly strong as well. I didn't know if there were other
ancient blood drinkers like myself in existence. If there were, I
doubted there were many. We were few now, maybe a 100 in the whole
world and maybe only five or six of us were over a couple centuries
old.

I had not made a fledgling in all that time. I'd tried about 100
years ago, but I had chosen poorly and the girl had gotten herself
killed, finding herself too far from home and her blessed darkness
when the sun rose, and she was cremated by the sun. I had sunk into
despair after that, vowing to never try again.

Then Alex had come along. I had searched for Zebrosia for years,
thinking to mend the rift between us. I didn't know if we could ever
totally forgive one another, but I was fast approaching the point of
unbearable loneliness. My mortal lovers were no longer slaking my
lust. The excitement of hypnotizing and taking a mortal under false
pretenses grows dim very fast. Yes, they are willing, but only
because they are hypnotized. And they can never stay with you.

As a vampire, you don't age. I was forever as I looked when I was 25
years old. Oh, my skin grew paler by the year, my body harder by the
year, but my features did not change other than to maybe grow slightly
more smooth, with no trace of wrinkles ever again. This only enhanced
my youthful appearance. Fortunately, I looked to be in my mid 30s when
I was 25, and so I was able to enter the mortal world in more
positions than had I looked to be fresh out of school.  I never stayed
in one place more than fifty years in the last three centuries. My
lack of aging became obvious to those around me and I was forced to
move on when they become suspicious.

I've only been here less than a year and so hoped that I could enjoy a
long run with Alex in this fair city. We lived in Falls Church and I
owned a townhouse in Georgetown, but we hunted in D.C. or even further
a field so as not to soil where we slept, so to speak.

I was in love with Alex and could not imagine giving him up now, and
it's only been a very short time. I was drawn to him from the moment I
saw him with Spender. I sensed his hatred for the man and his ties to
him that he was unable to break. That was another thing he was
grateful to me for. He was not sorry C.G.B. Spender was a corpse. For
the first time in over a century, I had found someone worthy of my
love, one who I could dare to trust and love with all my heart. He had
no family to bind him to his mortal life. They were all gone.

He was mine completely now. All I had to do was keep him. I squeezed
him tight, wondering if I would be able to do it.



PART 3 (PG-13)
HOOVER BUILDING
D.D. SKINNER'S OFFICE
MONDAY MORNING

Skinner was recently promoted to Deputy Director. Having more clout,
he had managed to keep the X-Files directly under his supervision,
rather than assigning them to another Assistant Director. He was our
direct supervisor, but D.D. Fair had made no secret of the fact that
he was interested in our work.

I wasn't sure whether to trust him or not yet. But I was inclined to
hope that the X-Files was dawning on a new season of never before seen
prosperity, with support in the brass of the Bureau. Having not
one, but two Deputy Directors in your corner certainly couldn't hurt!

We entered Skinner's office, prepared to hear the usual incredulity at
our report. We'd handed it in first thing. Now, two hours later, we
were summoned to his office to discuss the case. Kimberly, his
secretary, ushered us into the office.

He began speaking before we were seated. "I've read your reports. I
have some questions."

"We figured you would, Sir," Scully answered.

He looked at me. "The problem I have is the lack of evidence."

"For which part, Sir?"

He scowled, but then realized it was a fair question. "The killer,
Agent Mulder, was a vampire."

"Let's forget for a minute that I don't believe in vampires."

"O.K., Sir," I said, unable to help the smirk in the corner of my
mouth as I tried to suppress a smile.

Scully frowned at my amusement and Skinner scowled again. "What
happened to the body?"

"We explained that, Sir," I answered. "It was burned."

"Where are the bones, Agent Mulder?"

"There are none. He was completely incinerated, as if he'd been
cremated. We bagged the ashes in evidence bags before returning.
They are being analyzed now."

"You expect me to believe that this ... vampire ... went up like a
human torch with no fuel source in sight?"

Scully intervened. "We don't know, Sir. There may have been a fuel
source."

"Oh, come on, Scully!" I said, only slightly raising my voice. "You
said exactly what I did."

"I don't know what I saw."

"Yes ... YOU ... DO!" I said, getting angry now, but not wanting to
have this confrontation in front of Skinner.

Her lips thinned and I knew she was as angry as I was. "All right. I
saw the man burst into flames. Was he doused with gasoline or
kerosene by someone waiting in the wings outside?  We have no way
of knowing," she stated.

I sighed heavily, reining in my annoyance. Her blatant refusal to
believe what was right in front of her was fast becoming the sole
sticking point in our relationship. I could understand when
she refused to believe things she hadn't seen and couldn't be proven
with her infernal science. But to refuse to believe what your own
eyes told you ... that was taking denial to a whole new level.

"There wasn't enough time, Sir, for anyone to add a fuel source. He
was chucked out a window and was in flames within five seconds of
hitting the ground."

"Who do you think did it?" Skinner asked.

"I think whoever Krycek's master is was there, some man he calls
Gareth."

Skinner removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm
also supposed to believe that Alex Krycek is a vampire now. That's a
whole issue of debate. But let's say for the sake of argument that I
can believe he saved your life from whomever this killer was.  It
takes a killer to destroy a killer sometimes. That much I can buy.
Alex is surprising sometimes, and always has been stronger than he
looks. I can even buy him tossing this scrawny person out a window.
I'm inclined to believe he killed him with a knife to the jugular.
Why? Who knows why Alex Krycek does anything?" he finished, sighing
again in frustration.

He put his glasses back on and looked at me again. "What am I
supposed to think here? Besides that you have gone completely around
the bend?"

I smiled at that. He wouldn't be the first one to think that. "Sir,
I've encountered vampires before. You read that file."

He narrowed his gaze at me, knowing of my tryst with the female in
that case. I'd broken down and told him. He'd swore he would never
tell Scully should she ever be returned to me. Of course, I think he
was convinced at the time that she wasn't coming back.

"One of them worked in a blood bank and drank blood."

"Yes, I remember. But I never bought your assertion that he was a
vampire. I thought that he was probably some delusional maniac who
THOUGHT he was a vampire.   Or the other possibility is as Agent
Scully has suggested in her Report.  There are diseases, such as
Schere's Disease, that can make people crave the iron in blood."

"Delusional behavior is not a symptom of Schere's Disease," Scully
clarified.

"No," Skinner replied, "But someone who had the disease could become
delusional and combine the two situations couldn't they?"

"Anything's possible," she conceded.

"This isn't Schere's Disease and neither was that case. These things
exist. Hell, I was skeptical too.  They were one of the few things I
DIDN'T believe in. But before the end of that case, I was convinced.
Now, they weredestroyed by fire, just like this guy was. I think the
sun and fire are the only things that can destroy them."

"I'm going to leave that alone for a minute. How do the ghosts fit in
here?"

"We don't think the ghosts are related, Sir," Scully stated.

"Oh, the ghosts aren't related to the vampires. Well, that's a
relief!" he exclaimed sarcastically.

Scully blinked slowly, gathering her composure. "By that, Sir, we mean
that ... we think the ghosts were indeed haunting the house, but they
were not the ones killing the occupants. We think maybe whoever was
killing the occupants used the ghosts, or the ghost stories, to
frighten the occupants and make them paranoid."

"Meaning he knew of the folk lore that the house was haunted and did
things to make the people think it was and perpetuate the legend?"

"Exactly."

"That's crap," Mulder interjected.  Scully gave me a dirty look.
"Whether
she's willing to admit or not, we know those ghosts were real. Nobody
was moving things around that house to make the occupants think it was
haunted. It WAS haunted, and those ghosts were there. She saw them.
I saw them. Damn it, I'm not going to deny what my own eyes told me."

We all sat in silence. Scully finally broke the silence. "I guess
our opposing versions of events will have to stand in the file, Sir,
and it will have to be marked solved as to the murders and unsolved as
to the haunting or the nature of the perpetrator."

"What else is new?" he muttered.

"I accidentally overheard something recently," Scully blurted out,
surprising us both.  It might be important, and I was curious myself
because of things I can't quite explain yet.

"What did you hear, and about whom?" Skinner asked.

"About D.D. Fair. This may have nothing to do with anything, but I
thought it was interesting."

I was wary now. I knew she didn't want to trust him like I did.
"What are you talking about, Scully?"

"I overhead his secretary talking to one of the female agents."

"And?" Skinner prompted.

"They were discussing .. his size and .. the fact that they thought he
was ... very good looking," she practically stammered, earning a scowl
from me.

Skinner scowled again. "And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?" I repeated, having
felt a twinge when she acknowledged the good looks of our new
benefactor.

"Well, they went on to talk about how he never goes outside during the
day and he specifically requested an office with no windows."

"And?" Skinner prompted.

"Well, don't you think that's strange? His secretary said he comes in
before dawn and leaves after dark, every night. I know we all work
weird hours, but that seems excessive. Then his secretary mentioned
that he rarely brings lunch and if he does, he often gives it away.
She's never actually seen him eat anything."

"He is new, Agent Scully. He may be trying to make a good
impression."

"Maybe."

"You think there's more to it?" Skinner asked.

"I don't know. I just thought it was peculiar and that it was worth
knowing."

"Duly noted, Agent Scully," Skinner acknowledged, frowning. He was
clearly confused by her interest in these seemingly insignificant
facts. I was too.

Then the light bulb went on. "Wait a minute. Are you saying that you
suspect him of something?"

"Not necessarily."

"What are you talking about now?" Skinner asked, clearly annoyed at
this point.

I looked at him.  "What are the main characteristics of vampirism in
folk lore, Sir? Think about it.  Sensitivity to light.  Total
nocturnal dwelling.  And they don't eat. They drink blood, no need for
regular food."

"This is ridiculous!" Skinner exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the
air and slapping them back down on the desk.

"I don't believe he's a vampire!" Scully said, her voice slightly
raised with embarrassment.

"Then what are you saying, Agent Scully?" Skinner asked.

"I just think he's a strange man. And I think it's strange that he is
so interested in what we do. And as you said, people can be
delusional and appear perfectly normal. They can think ... they are
something or someone else if their delusion is great enough."

Just then, Skinner's intercom buzzed. He pressed a button on his
phone, and said, "What is it, Kimberly? I told you I didn't want to
be disturbed."

"I know, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir. But D.D. Fair is here and says he
needs to see you as soon as possible."

"Send him in," he said. "Fair wants to see me," he said quickly,
warning us to put our conversation on hold.

As if our conversation had conjured him up, he opened the door softly
and came into the room. I was struck by two things again. One was
how silent he was for such an enormous man. He almost didn't look
real he was so huge. His longish hair curled over his collar, barely
keeping within FBI regulations and probably pushing the envelope.

He was dressed impeccably in what had to be a custom made suit for his
gigantic frame. It hugged his shoulders and tapered nicely into a
trim waist that was huge, but proportional to the rest of him. The
suit was a charcoal gray, his shirt light gray, and his tie black.
His shoes were shiny and looked new. He smiled and I found myself
sucking in my breath.

His smile was breathtaking. I glanced at Scully and found her staring
as well. Somehow, despite my own inability not to stare, I found her
appraisal annoying. The green-eyed monster was rearing its ugly
head. I imagined this man could have any woman he pleased and
probably did on a regular basis. I knew Scully wasn't prone to
flights of fancy or impromptu affairs. But Christ, I would almost
find him hard to resist if he put the moves on me, and I wasn't even
gay.

Skinner was the only one who remained cool, seemingly unintimidated
and similarly unimpressed by either his size or his looks. "D.D.
Fair. What seems to be the problem?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting. However, Agents Mulder and
Scully should hear this anyway."

"What's that, Sir?" I asked.

Skinner flashed me a warning look to keep my mouth shut. He
approached the desk and laid a small metal circle on the edge of
Skinner's desk that looked like a watch battery.

"What is it?" Skinner asked.

I peered closer, as did Scully.

Fair answered, "It's a bug. Highly advanced one too, government issue
only."

Skinner's eyes snapped up to his. He backed up his chair slightly and
I could tell he didn't like Fair towering over him.

Fair turned and grabbed a chair from the corner and came over to sit
next to Scully. He was apparently aware of the effect of his size and
sitting down minimized it.

"Where did you get it?" Skinner asked.

"From behind my clock in my office."

Skinner's eyes widened slightly. His lips pursed. "Any idea who put
it there?"

"I think Spender put it there."

"Why's that?"

"I didn't suspect a thing, but after Agents Mulder and Scully's case
in Connecticut and his body being found there, I surmised he found out
somehow where they were going. I still didn't think of this;  I
thought it was probably a leak through accounting or my secretary or
something."

"What made you check for bugs?"

"Agent Mulder suggested it."

He nodded his approval at me and I smiled weakly.

Skinner scowled again. "Spender's dead."

"Yes, but I'm fairly certain he placed this before he was killed. I
had the lab disable it. Who knows where the listening end of it is."

Skinner opened the file. "I'll note it in the file and that you think
it is related to this case."

Fair nodded. "Well, I don't know if it's any help, but I wanted you
all to know about it."

"Thank you, Sir," Scully replied.

He nodded and smiled flirtatiously at her. I couldn't believe it when
she blushed.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked suddenly, annoyed and hating
myself for being jealous.

"Certainly, Agent Mulder?" he replied quietly.

Skinner's voice held warning, "Agent Mulder ... "

"Why do you never go out in the sun?" I blurted out.

He smiled slowly. He glanced at the case file on Skinner's desk. "Do
you think I'm a vampire, Agent Mulder?"

I swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable under his steady gaze. "Just
answer the question," I demanded.

I fully expected him to tell me to go fuck myself any minute, or rant
about how ridiculous I was. Instead he raised his eyebrows and smiled
widely, apparently amused.

"I have a condition called Discoid Lupus Erythematosus."

I frowned, barely registering the big words. Scully knew them, though.
"That's would explain it," she said, sounding relieved to have a valid
excuse for his odd behavior.

"How about explaining it to me?" I asked testily.

He grinned and she turned to me, annoyed at the rudeness I couldn't
seem to rein in. I was this man's advocate and now I'm jealous of him.
I
knew Scully loved me.  What the hell was wrong with me? I wondered

Scully turned to me and said, "Lupus that causes extreme
photosensitivity to UV rays.  Discoid is the least debilitating but
it's certainly an issue to be addressed by anyone that suffers from
the disease."

"In English?" Skinner requested.

She smiled at him. "Sunlight burns his skin.  Hurts like hell.  It's
an allergy to UV rays, actually."

"Ouch," Skinner winced as he sympathized.

Fair nodded humbly. "It sucks, frankly," he said in plain language.

Scully and Skinner chuckled. I didn't. I stared at him, seeing
something odd in his eyes when he looked at me, almost through me.

Scully suddenly put her hand on his forearm where it rested on the
chair arm. I swore I saw him shudder as he turned his regard to her.
She said softly, "I'm sorry, Sir. That's got to be a difficult thing
to live with."

He smiled gently. "I'm used to it. I figure I've got quite a few
good years left."

"Of course! I'm sure you do, Sir. I didn't mean to imply ..."

"If I take care of myself, my life span doesn't need to be
unnecessarily shortened. I'm still a young man."

"Yes, you are, Sir. I'm sorry ..."

"Stop apologizing, Agent Scully. It's no big deal, my cross to bear."

"So that's why you have an office with no windows."

"And why I come in before dawn and leave after dark." He chuckled and
then teased, "They think I'm soooo dedicated."

We all laughed then. We couldn't help it. His easy acceptance of a
critical medical condition was inspirational, even if I hated him more
every second for the way he looked at Scully.

"I'll be going now." He looked at each of us in turn. "I hear the
rumors, Agents. I know everyone is trying to figure me out. But
frankly, I don't announce my condition. I don't want the Agents under
me to perceive it as a weakness. Can you understand that?"
We all nodded. "I'd appreciate you keeping this to yourselves. I'd
rather deal with the rumors."

"We understand, Ken. Thanks for bringing this down. I'll bag it for
evidence in the file."

"Talk to you all later." He turned on his heel and exited.

I noticed again the curious ... stillness about him. He was almost
statue-like, but that's not quite the term I was looking for. He
wasn't rigid in his stance or anything but he appeared ... hard, his
facial features moving little except when he smiled.  I decided I was
probably reading way too much into this.

"You could have blown it there, Agent Mulder," Skinner stated frankly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to ask."

Skinner gave me the look that said he knew I was full of shit.
"You're lucky he didn't tell you it was none of your friggin'
business."

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me."

He looked at me again, clearly telling me he knew exactly what got
into me and I had better knock it off. "That will be all Agents," he
said as he dismissed us with a wave.

We stood and made our way out, finding Kimberly blushing and looking
at the back side of D.D. Fair as he exited the vestibule into the
hallway. I thought, 'Damn, what I wouldn't do to have that effect on
women. Well at least one woman in particular.'



PART 4 (NC-17)
KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION
FALLS CHURCH, VA
10 WEEKS LATER

One month later, it began. The event that I'd known was coming.
Bloodless bodies began showing up. First in Augusta, Georgia and then
Atlanta. The next ones were found in Aiken, the southern part of
South Carolina, a mere 17 miles from Augusta, Georgia. Always,
there were two. Hilton Head, South Carolina, Raleigh and Valdese,
North Carolina. And finally coming close. Williamsburg, West
Virginia, Richmond, now D.C. I knew Falls Church was next. By the
time she hit North Carolina, I could sense her. I think I'd been
sensing her all along. Those feelings of foreboding I had must surely
have been her.

I tried to reach out to her and ask her to meet with me. But she
cloaked her mind well and I couldn't pinpoint her location or get
inside. But I knew she was there, lurking on the outside, and it was
a matter of time before we met. Judging by her audacious attempts to
expose us and lead authorities to my door by leaving a trail of
blood, our meeting would not be amicable. It would be a battle.

I dreaded it at the same time that I looked forward to it. I dreaded
it because I didn't know how powerful she was now. For that matter,
I didn't know how powerful I was at this time. I tried practicing
various skills and pushing myself to the limit. I looked forward to
it only to end this thing once and for all. At the end, I would
either be free of her forever more, or I would be destroyed. I was
sick of living with this impending cloud over my shoulder. I had no
intention of spending the rest of my undead years alone.

Alex agreed to spar with me, even knowing he could get hurt. We
practiced trying to invade one another's minds while blocking the
other out. I was much better at this than he, but he wasn't bad. His
power had grown enormously in a short time.

I fed, I steeped the blood, and I shared with Alex. He quickly gained
skills. By the day, his powers increased. I was frantic now to make
him as strong as possible. The day had come. I had to tell him the
whole truth. I had to prepare him for what might be ... the end ...
for both of us.

When I'd told him she was coming and that was the reason for all this
exercising, he did not rant and rave and call me names like I had
expected. He stared at me, his face falling into a frown. His eyes
were moist, but no tears fell. He graced me with such a look of
betrayal it speared my heart in two.

After a long silence, he said, "All this time, you knew she would
come. Even I did, by the way you talked. But you knew all along
didn't you? You knew that her coming would mean she was out to
destroy me ... and you withheld that from me."

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to that," I replied quietly.

"But you knew."

"Yes, I suspected that would be the case. Would it have changed your
decision to take the blood?"

He didn't answer my question, but only said, "You lied to me."

"No. I truly wasn't sure. And ... if I lied, it was by omission, not
to mislead you. Omission to protect you."

"You should have told me. You're motives don't mean anything to me
now. All I feel is ... how could you keep this from me?"  He
swallowed, reining in his hurt and emotional upset.  Then whispered,
his voice a violent hiss, "I trusted you.  Do you know how hard that
is for me?"

He was clearly thinking that he'd been an idiot to trust me.  That he
should have known better than to trust anyone ever again.  And he
wouldn't admit it, but because he loved me, this hurt him even more.
He felt betrayed, not protected, simply because I hadn't given him all
the facts.  I had withheld part of the danger from him.  I'm sure my
forthrightness about what he would be sacrificing had been part of the
reason he'd agreed to do it, because he felt that I was withholding
nothing from him, being totally honest with him simply by virtue of
telling him the down side of all this.  Now he was finding out that I
hadn't told him everything.  I scanned him a little deeper and
realized he was replaying every betrayal by everyone in his life and
beating himself up more than he was blaming me.  My heart ached for
him and his pain.  I realized my mistake immediately.  I should have
told him I was beholden for permission to make him and that there
might be consequences.  I had truly hoped I wouldn't have to pay those
consequences.

I suppressed a sob and reached for him, but he batted my hand away
like lightning and turned his back to me. "Alex, please. I screwed up.
I should have told you everything from the beginning, but you have to
understand."

"Understand what?" he asked through clenched teeth, his back still to
me. "That you made me knowing I would be destroyed?"

"I haven't had anyone in so ... long. I needed you, Alex. I just
wanted a little time where life wasn't so ... fucked up. I wanted to
enjoy being with you, having you by my side, teaching you all the
things my master never taught me. I wanted ... for the first time in
a century, to share my life with someone ... and not have it be all
cloak and dagger ... just enjoy loving you for a while. And I don't
know that you will be destroyed. I will do everything in my power to
prevent that from happening."

He turned to me now. I didn't hide any of my emotions. I'd told him
my feelings for him. But truth be told, I'd always held back some.
I'd wanted that dominant position in his life. I wanted his gratitude
and his submissiveness. Now I realized all that did was feed my ego.
And if I lost him ... my ego was pretty useless either way. I wanted
a companion, not lap dog. And so I let him see me, my face and my
mind wide open. I let him see the sadness.

He entered my mind and I let him in, no barriers. I didn't even give
a token resistance. I thought of losing him, and let the crushing
despair, sadness and heartache that thought caused broadcast itself to
him. A wounded sound escaped the back of my throat, "Ahhh ..."

He gasped at the depth of my emotion for him. "I love you, Alex.
Please don't be angry with me. Stay with me. We need each other. I
need you ... and whether you believe me or not, you need me. Together
we might be able to defeat her, be done with her forever. Alone ...
I wouldn't put any money on the outcome for either one of us."

He was still as a statue and silent for a long time. Then he nodded
and said, "One condition."

"Anything, love."

"No secrets ... EVER again. Not for the sake of peace, not for the
sake of protection. For no reason ... NO secrets. I'd rather be
upset, angry, frightened ... anything ... anything but lied to. I
can't TAKE betrayal, Gareth. I've had too much of it in my life. I
can't ... no, I WON'T tolerate it!" His voice was rising in volume.
"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to trust you? Huh? To
let myself believe and put myself in your hands completely? To let
myself be vulnerable and hurt by you for a greater end? To know that
for a while, I would be one hundred percent dependent on you? Do you
have any FUCKING idea how hard that was for me?" he screamed at the
end.

His chin quivered with emotion as he once again tried to regain his
composure, embarrassed by his outburst and what he had just revealed
to me.

I was silent.

"I don't think you do," he croaked, his voice now barely above a
whisper.

"It's a deal, Alex. I swear. I'll never lie to you again. I'll
never keep anything from you no matter how painful the truth is. I'd
never harm you intentionally, Alex. You MUST believe me."

"It's a one shot deal, Gareth. Screw this up and I WILL leave you.
It's my black hole. Trust. I MUST have it ... from you. You MUST be
able to share everything with me. I can't have it any other way. I
just ... can't."

"You have it, Pet. Everything I am. No secrets."

"Promise me," he requested.

"I promise."

He came into my arms then and we embraced. I buried my nose in his
soft hair and sighed, letting the tears come. He shivered and held me
tight while I cried. I could feel his defenses lower and finally
crumple. We were going to be all right. But it had been a close
call.

I raised from his shoulder and he lifted his head to mine. Our lips
barely touched. His tongue snaked out hesitantly and I met it half
way, twirling my agile tongue around the end of his. Our tongues
elongated to a couple of inches outside our mouths. They tangled
gently and he moaned softly.

He pulled back. He wanted answers now before his arousal took him
over. It was time for me to prove my promise. "How close is she?"

"I can feel her, but I can't pinpoint her location. She been leaving
a trail of bodies from Augusta and on up the coastline. The police
are baffled, of course. But her latest kill was in D.C. I'm sure
she's heading here. I've sensed her, but she cloaks her mind well.
We need to be as good at it as she is. She will prey on your
weaknesses if she senses them." I stared at him, giving him a
significant look.

"Meaning if she senses my trust in you is broken ..."

"She will fill your head with lies and try to turn you against me."

"It won't happen."

"Don't be to quick to assume. Be sure of your feelings, Alex. Be
very sure. I know I don't deserve it. But I'm asking for your
complete faith. You must choose the depth of your devotion to me.
She will know, no matter what you tell yourself."

"Do you think she will try to bargain with you?"

"Maybe.  I just don't know. That's the problem. She may just attack.
Or she may be skilled in the art of subterfuge. I haven't seen her in
three hundred years, remember. I wish I knew more."

He hung his head. Softly, he said, "I do love you, Gareth."

"Sometimes that's not enough."

"It will be. That's why you ... hiding this from me ... hurt so much.
You don't realize how hard it is for me to love. I don't give my
heart away easily. I never have. I only have once before."

"What happened?"

"She betrayed me," he said without malice. That said it all. He
wouldn't be able to bear another lover betraying him. I vowed
silently to never let him down again.

"Did you ever reconcile yourself to the betrayal?"

"Yes. I realized much later she was only doing what she needed to do
to survive. Just like I did my whole life. I was on whatever side of
the fence seemed the safest at the moment. That didn't make it hurt
any less, though."

"You can't be wishy-washy in this situation. I have to ask for
everything, Alex. I'll give you all of me. But you have to do the
same."

"I know that, and I'm not divided. That's the whole point. I got
tired of playing both ends against the middle and never knowing if I
would be crushed in between. I needed to believe in something. I
needed to take a stand or have no self-respect left. I made a
gigantic leap of faith with you, Gareth."

"And I've let you down. I'm sorry, Alex. I swear on my honor. It
won't happen again."

He smiled softly then, his lips closed. "I believe you."

"Do you?"

"Yes. I forget how long you've lived. I know loneliness, Gareth. I
thought no one knew it better than I. Loneliness and I have been
bosom buddies for many years. I can't even imagine the depth of your
loneliness all these years."

I swallowed and licked my lips. "Your melancholy may have been one of
the things that drew me to you. I sensed that you might understand how
utterly alone I felt. I've lived among mortals just to have contact
with other minds. But it's not the same. It's a band-aid, but it
doesn't cure the problem. I still haven't had anyone that I could let
know me for who ... and WHAT I am."

"I did understand your need for companionship and your loneliness.
And I thought we could cure that for each other. And we did."

"Do we still?"

"Yes. You cure my loneliness anyway."

"You're giving me a second chance. Not to be your master, but to be
your friend and companion. That's what I want, Alex. I want a friend
and a lover. Someone I can count on to watch my back."

He stepped into me again. "I've got your back, partner."

I chuckled and embraced him again. "Let's make love, dear Alex.
Let's reconnect the way we do so well."

"Have you fed?"

"Yes, earlier when you were spying on Mulder and Scully."

"What are we doing with them?"

"I don't know. They've looked for her. And once the bodies started
showing up, you knew they were following the trail. But they have
been unable to catch up with her. And they won't if she doesn't want
to be caught up to."

"Did they ask you about the bodies?"

I had told him of the bodies and that we would need to figure out who
was exposing us. I'd already known, but had kept it from him. I
regretted it now. He'd gone on his merry way, thinking this was
another rogue like David that we would easily take out when the time
was right.

"Yes, after the first two, they came to me and told me. In fact, they
heard about them before I did. I started following her trail then. I
can't find her, though. I know where's she been, but that doesn't help
me much. But I feel her presence all the time now. She is close."

He took my hand. "Well, we'll just have to be ready for her then."

I smiled sadly at him. "I love you so well, Alex. I don't deserve
you."

"No, actually, I probably don't deserve you. But I'll take you
anyway, because that's the kind of guy I am," he teased gently.

I chuckled now. "Let's go. There's nothing more we can do tonight."

I turned and he walked beside me, holding my hand. We ascended the
sweeping staircase off the foyer that led to the second story. We
were perfectly silent on the carpeted floor, practicing our stealth
unconsciously even when it wasn't necessary. Hopefully, this
heightened sense of awareness and caution would not have to last
forever. Everyone needs someone who can know them completely and love
them unconditionally. Mulder and Scully had found that in each other.
I wanted it with Alex. Without a companion for the ages, continuing
to live on was just too hard. I was weary of existing alone.

This was the end of the line for me. I would have Alex or I would
die. Zebrosia probably knew exactly how many of us there were left in
the world. She'd always kept a tight rein on the numbers, and for
good reason. Too many become too visible and threaten the existence
of all. I understood that. She'd always been the undisputed Queen of
the Blood Drinkers. The oldest known blood drinker. If there was one
older, I knew nothing of them.

But this wasn't about numbers. No, I hadn't asked permission to bring
Alex to me like I had been commanded to do three hundred years ago.
But she'd not made herself available for the asking, either. No, this
was personal. I'd killed her favorite companion. She'd purposely
hidden herself from me and left me to suffer our unresolved feud ...
alone. Somehow, she'd known this was worse penance than being
destroyed. Somehow, she knew of my desire to have someone to call my
own. And for 300 years, she'd denied me this comfort. I'd had no
choice, I told myself, but to take my chances. I'd searched too long
and been alone to long. I simply couldn't bear it anymore.

It would end here, for better or worse. I'd made my bed. Now I had
to lie in it, so to speak. Being destroyed didn't scare me all that
much, to be honest. Seeing Alex destroyed was what twisted a knife in
my heart. Were that to happen, I would probably destroy myself. I
just didn't have the heart to go on alone anymore.

XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

We reached the bedroom and undressed silently, letting our hands roam
over one another's bodies. He was hard and solid against my chest,
his hands squeezing my ass the way I liked. I leaned in and kissed
his neck, snaking a hand between his legs from the rear to cup his
balls and fondle gently. He moaned and tipped his ass up to give me
better access. I continued to suckle his neck, feeling the familiar
rush of arousal that always came the instant I touched him.

The few times I'd let him take me, I'd been a non-participant, like I
was doing him a favor. I realized this was another way of withholding
myself from him and it wasn't fair. I was turning over a new leaf.
If I asked for his total trust, I had to be willing to give it as
well.

He backed up to lay on the bed and I stopped him. He looked at me
curiously when I spun his back to the room and laid down on my back,
spreading my legs and lifting my knees slightly. "Come here, lover."

His eyes were wide and he panted faster as he crawled onto the bed on
all fours. He slid between my legs and lowered himself down, dragging
his chest up over mine until he reached my mouth. His mouth was
hungry when it came down on mine and I let him devour me, painting my
mouth with his agile tongue.

I shuddered as his hands pinched my nipples and I hissed with
pleasure, my fangs extending. He threw his head back as I grasped his
cock and pumped him gently. His mouth opened on a groan and I saw his
teeth lengthen as mine just had. My skin was warm from having fed
earlier in the evening. His was cold and the contrast was delicious.
His cock was hard as steel, as cool as glass, but it throbbed mightily
in my hand and expanded with every beat of his heart that pumped his
borrowed blood.

I let go of him and he moaned. "Awww, felt so good."

"This will feel better," I murmured and spread my legs wide, hoisting
my thick legs into the air by grasping myself behind the knees. My
stomach muscles curled into tight knots with my position and clenched
further in anticipation when I saw the expression of wonder on his
face. "Like this?" he whispered, a touch of amazement in his voice.

"Yes, Pet. Take me just like this and look into my eyes when you do."

He hoisted himself into the right position, his cool cock resting
lightly at my entrance. His elbows came down on the bed next to my
torso. I was too big for him to tower over me. He raised his eyes to
mine and when he stretched his neck up and I turned my head down, our
lips could meet.

We kissed languidly, enjoying the fission of arousal that was
building. "Come inside," I said softly, my voice an octave lower.

He stared at me and braced himself. No words were spoken as he shoved
suddenly, impaling me on his rock hard cock. I groaned as he spread
my ass wide in one decisive stroke and pushed deep until our nuts were
crushed together. He began to pump his hips, slowly at first,
savoring the feeling.

He blinked slowly and grunted softly with each impact that buried him
deep. I tightened my ass muscles as much as I could and rhythmically
milked his shaft. I whispered, "Make it last as long as you can,
lover."

He nodded. "Oh, Jesus, this is good," he panted.

I smiled at him and he returned it, never losing his rhythm, sinking,
retreating, sinking, retreating. I felt him expand inside me and
moaned as his next stroke sunk deeper into me, asking a little more of
my sphincter muscle as it widened to accommodate him.

His strokes were languid but his face was anything but composed. He
grimaced with pleasure, moaning, "Awwww, yeah," every time his cock
expanded, journeying deeper inside me.

I felt his mind touch mine and I spoke to him inside his head,*Come
inside, lover.*

His mind melded with mine, sinking deep. I let him past the final
wall and he was so deep inside me, at my core. I recalled every
feeling of excitement I'd had since seeing him, showing him pictures
of himself as I saw him ... graceful, fierce, loyal, sexy beyond
compare.

He stuttered inside my head, *Awww, Jesus. Awww, God, Gareth. Oh,
you make me wild. I lust so for you. Mmmm, fuck! Yes! Awww, yeah,
take me deep, deeper. Ahhh, man, I love you.*

My heart melted. I sank gently into his mind and felt his awe, his
reverence, his feeling of belonging when he was with me, of finally
having found his place in the world. No wonder he'd been so shaken by
my withheld information. I hadn't just threatened our relationship.
It had threatened this sense of belonging, something he felt for the
first time ever in his life. And the best, I felt his trust, flowing
out of him and flowing into me.

His hips sped up and his head fell to my breast as his breathing
increased and he grunted with every stroke. He was big now, punching
deep into my core, burying himself to the balls every time, keeping me
stretched. The feeling was divine. I roared with pleasure,
"Arrrrrgggg, yyeeaaahhh!"

He kissed my nipple and I felt his fang pierce my skin. He jerked his
head up. "Sorry! It was an accident!"

I cupped his head and brought it back down, feeling my skin itch and
burn where his fang had pierced me, right next to my nipple. *It's
O.K. Drink.*

"What?" he asked out loud.

*Go ahead. Drink from there. It doesn't matter.*

"Oh, Ggoodd, yes!" he moaned and bit into my breast, his fangs on
either side of my nipple, his bottom teeth, worrying my nipple that
was rigid as a pebble.

"Oh fuck!" I shouted aloud, as I felt it burn as he suckled hard,
pulling the blood into his mouth through my toughened skin. Every
pull made my nipple pinch and burn. There was a main vein here. He had
to pull hard to draw the blood from the muscle of my chest. The blood
in my skin and muscle was nearly crystallized with age. It hurt, but
the sensations went right to my cock and I felt myself throb and
enlarge. It was erotic pain at its finest.

He growled with pleasure and I shouted to him internally, *Fuck me,
Alex. With everything you have. Oh that's so good. Suck my tit!
Oh, baby, suck it hard as you can! Make it hurt!*

He grunted loudly, his hips speeding up to pummel my ass. He inhaled
deeply through his nose and suckled very, veerryy hard!

My entire body seized with the sensations he was causing me. No one
had ever suckled my breast before. His pulling and licking my nipple
at the same time was driving me beyond any ecstasy I'd ever felt. My
nuts convulsed and without warning began to fire sperm up my shaft. I
tingled all over from my toes to my scalp. I hissed long and loud in
orgasmic ecstasy, my cock pouring my seed onto my stomach between us.
It ran down my sides, his stomach dragging over it with every thrust.
His hands reached above his head and he cupped my shoulders, using
them for leverage to pound himself into my body harshly, increasing
the violence of his thrusts.

I was keening, hissing and spitting as I emptied my over inflated
balls. He lifted his fangs from my skin and jerked as if having a
seizure. "Aaaaaahhhhhh, aaaaaaahhhhhh, aaaaaahhhhhh, FUCK YEEESSSSS!"
he screamed as his cock throbbed and began blowing me full of his cold
seed. "OH HOLY SHIT, GAARREETTHH! OH GOD, OH SHIT, OH GOD, COMING SO
HARD! OH, AWWW, HOW CAN IT BE THIS GOOD?! AAAAHHHH, FUCK, HOW CAN I
COME THIS LONG?! SO HARD."

He paused, screamed and hissed unintelligibly as we both continued to
orgasm. Our minds sunk deeply together. I released a cascade of
memories, feelings, snapshots of him, shouting my devotion and love to
him through our connection. Then he shattered my heart by screaming
inside my mind, "OH DAMN. OH FUCK, YOU DO LOVE ME! YOU OWN MY SOUL.
I'M ALL YOURS! I LOVE YOU! MMAASSTTEERR!"

I wept quietly with joy as my orgasm died down and he collapsed in a
heap on my chest. His hot tongue, in contrast to his cool skin,
snaked out and licked the dribble of blood near my nipple. My skin
was already completely healed over. I could still feel the sting of
his fangs and the burning in my nipples, though. We rode out the
tremors of the aftershocks from the unearthly orgasm we'd both
experienced.

XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

He was a body blanket sprawled on top of me. I let my legs down and
cradled him on my body, wrapping my arms around him and letting his
head rest on my breastbone. I perched my chin on his head and moved
it over his soft hair, letting my breath flutter it across his
forehead. I kissed his hair and squeezed him tight.

He snuggled into me deeper, spreading his legs and straddling my hips,
but keeping his chest tight to mine. We stayed this way for a long
time. We were sticky and I didn't care. He was beginning to feel
warm from my blood. I sighed in contentment. Finally, I asked, *Are
you all right, Pet?*

*Never been better.*

*Are you embarrassed?*

*A little, but I meant it.*

*Pet?*

*Yeah?*

*That door swings both ways.*

His head lifted off my chest and he stared into my eyes. He said
nothing but I smiled at him. Out loud I said, "You own MY soul too,
Alex."

He started to shake his head. I cupped in both hands and kissed him
lightly. "No more Master."

"What do you mean?"

"I am your teacher, not your master. I am your lover, not your boss.
I am your companion, not your guardian. I am yours as much as you are
ever mine. Do you understand?"

He licked his lips, his fangs now tucked snugly into his gums. He
smiled an odd smile, "You mean it?"

"Equals, Alex. From here on out."

He wrapped his arms around my neck and squeezed hard. "I've never
felt like this before," he said softly.

I tipped his face to mine and kissed him again softly. "I don't think
I have either, Alex. And I've been around a lot longer than you
have."

He laid his head back down. As we drifted off to sleep with the
coming of the dawn, he mumbled, "Love you."

I petted his hair and smiled down at the crown of head. "Love you
too, Pet."

He was already fast asleep, the coming dawn still taking his faculties
quicker than it took mine. I floated in a half sleep for quite some
time, plotting what we could do to prepare for the coming
confrontation with Zebrosia. There were so many variables. I hugged
him to me again and drifted off to sleep. My last thought was, 'I
won't lose you, Alex. I'll win or die trying.'



PART 5 (PG-13)
KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION
FALLS CHURCH, VA

I woke at sunset, surprised to find myself alone in the bed. I rose
and showered and pulled the soiled sheets off the bed. I dressed and
made my way downstairs. I went into the living room and found him
standing by the far wall near the fire place.

He knew I was there without looking up and immediately began speaking.
"Oh my God, Gareth. Something is really different."

"What do you mean? I asked as I entered the living room through he
arch. "Are you all right?"

"I feel weird. Wonderful but weird. I mean ... my body feels heavier
yet I feel lighter when I walk, almost like I'm gliding.

"What else?" I asked, my attention fully on him now. Knowing the
level of his abilities was critical as he developed.

"I feel stronger, Gareth."

"You get stronger every time you drink from me."

"This is different. A big jump. I mean I feel a LOT stronger."

"Let's go out in the country and test you."

He smiled and looked down at the fire place that was set with paper
and logs. The paper and two second later, the wood, burst into
flames! He'd lit it as easily as I could now! "Holy Shit, Alex!"

He moved so fast it was as if he'd vanished. My vampiric eyes
could track him, but I knew to a mortal it would be as if he'd simply
disappeared. He stood at my side and smiled a wide, lop-sided smile.

I looked closely and could see the changes in his skin. It was
smoother, whiter, and the laugh lines around his eyes were gone. I
touched his cheek. "My Lord, Alex. It was a few decades before
my skin was that texture."

"Maybe it all caught up to me. All this drinking from you."

"Maybe. But I think there's something else going on here. What was
different about last night?"

"We were fucking like bunnies?" he asked cheekily.

I laughed at his good humor. "That's nothing different," I teased
back.

He grinned but then got serious. "It was different, though. Even that
was different, Gareth, and you know it. It was so much more intense
than ever before." His voice dropped. "You let me in like never
before."

"I keep my promises, Alex. You'll never be on the outside again."

He darted in to me and kissed me, hard and quick.

I flashed on the image of him with his fangs sunk into my chest,
suckling me like a babe and how euphoric it had been. "Oh my God!" I
exclaimed.

"What?"

"I think I know what happened, Alex."

"Know what?"

"You drank from my chest, not my jugular."

He went still. "It was harder to pull it out."

"Yes, because you were literally sucking it out of my muscle tissue.
The blood as we age is absorbed into the skin and crystallizes. It's
what makes us so hard, our skin like leather, our faces more flawless.
That blood does not flow in our veins, Alex. It fills all the cells
of the once living skin and keeps it from decomposing."

"So it is ... the oldest blood in your body," he said as if the
light bulb went on in his head.

"Yes, and the strongest. That is why we say 'steeped in blood'. We
steep it. It sinks into our very skin, and gives us a body that lives
beyond mortal death."

"It was thick and very ... almost gelatin like."

I smiled. "I think I just figured out how we are going to make you
strong ... fast. God, why didn't I think of it before?"

"Did anyone ever do it for you?"

"No, I didn't know about it ... or I never thought of it. I'll bet
not many have, if any. This is all conjecture."

"Sounds like more than conjecture."

"We'll have to test it tonight."

"You want me to drink again from your ... "

"From my breast, Pet. Yes, I do, every night from now on until this
battle is over."

His eyes sparkled with delight and anticipation. "That blood last
night was so ... " he licked his lips as if remembering the taste.
"I almost came the minute it hit my tongue."

I suppressed a shiver of excitement. "We're on to something, Alex.
If you enjoyed it more, all the better."

"Ooo, strong blood, and oh, by the way, the most intense ecstasy
you'll ever feel as a little ... side benefit," he said facetiously.

I laughed and pulled him to me. "Let's go hunt, love. I want to be
nice and full to replace what I'm going to lose."

He jerked back, having had a sudden thought. "I won't weaken you,
will I?"

"I hadn't thought of that. I don't feel weaker. Let's go test this
out. We'll have to play it by ear. This is all experimentation. I
could be wrong."

"It's the best theory I can think of."

"We don't have much time for trial and error. We'll have to hope I'm
right."

"If it weakens you, I will stop."

"No, we will just lesson your intake, some from my breast, some from
my neck. But you must become as strong as we can make you as fast as
we can. There is no pain?"

"No."

"I thought if you developed too rapidly, there would be pain."

"Maybe with regular blood there would be, but perhaps with this, the
restorative powers and the adjustment of the body is quicker as well."

"Only one way to find out."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

HOOVER BUILDING
X-FILES BASEMENT OFFICE
TWO DAYS LATER
6:00 PM

We were working late ... again. I asked Mulder, "Do you really
believe him?"

"Him, who?" he asked.

"Alex. Do you really believe he has nothing to do with this?"

"I hate saying it, but yes. This time, I believe him."

I looked at him and he was gazing back at me. "I'm stumped."

"He said this was the work of a female vampire."

"I know what he said, but ..."

"You think it's him?"

"No ... maybe ... I don't know! There supposedly isn't just him.
There's this master of his, too. It could be him." I said in
frustration.

"I don't think it's him, Scully. Don't you remember what he said,
even before this all started?"

"At the farmhouse?"

"Yeah. The reason they killed that creature was because he was
leaving bodies about. He made a point of telling us that they don't
do that. They believe it exposes them to danger and discovery. He
and
... whoever this Master is of his, dispose of the bodies or don't kill
them ... or cover it up somehow."

"Maybe something changed for him ... or them."

"What?"

"I don't know."

"These killings started in Augusta. They were here."

"We think they were here. Mulder, we saw them ... fly, for Christ
sakes! Who knows how quickly they could get to Atlanta and back."

"You believe your eyes now?" he asked, wearing a slightly amused
expression at my admission of seeing Alex and his master fly.

I sighed deeply. "I guess I have to, don't I?"

"You don't have to do anything, Scully. The point is that you either
believe he is what he says he is, or you don't. Either way, he could
have killed us easily many times and he hasn't. I'm not saying that
makes him Little Lord Fauntleroy, but it does speak in his favor. I
don't think he wants us harmed."

"We need to talk to him again. We need more information on this ...
female vamp..."

"You rang?" a voice sounded from the doorway.

We both started and looked up to find Alex Krycek leaning negligently
against the door jamb. "Jesus, Krycek! Make some freakin' noise, would
you?" Mulder scolded.

"Sorry," he shrugged, unapologetic.

"How did you get in here?" I asked.

"Friends in high places," he replied cryptically.

"We were just talking about you," Mulder admitted.

"So I heard. The lovely Agent Scully isn't convinced I'm innocent."

I stared at him, refusing to back down. My lips pursed in an
expression of annoyance and he burst out laughing.

"I don't think this is funny, Krycek! People are dying out there ...
fast!"

His laughter died down. "I don't think it's funny either. It was
just your spunk and your expression of defiance that made me laugh."

"Oh, that makes me feel better," I said sarcastically.

"Having trouble?" he asked.

"We may have some leads," I said quietly.

He wore an amused smile now. "You can't lie to me, Scully. So stop
trying, all right?"

I gave him a dirty look and he turned his attention to Mulder, lifting
himself off the door jamb and advancing into the room. I backed away
from Mulder's desk where I had been standing and stopped in front of
my table. My hand went behind my back in an instinctive gesture,
feeling my weapon snugly secure in its holster at my low back.

He looked down at Mulder and without turning said, "You going to shoot
me, Agent Scully?"

"If you try to harm us, yes."

Mulder stood up, not liking Krycek towering over him as he sat in
his chair. He blinked hard and took Alex's measure, his eyes scanning
him from head to toe.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'll be damned," Mulder mumbled.

Alex just smiled, still amused. "Like the changes, Mulder?"

Mulder tore his eyes away and looked at me. "He's taller, Scully and
he's ... bulkier, I don't know."

"That's impossible!" I said firmly. Seemed I'd been saying that a lot
lately. "He's probably got lifts in his shoes!"

Mulder looked down. "Sneakers, Scully."

I looked down and saw what looked like brand new Adidas sneakers. He
was wearing new blue jeans and what looked liked a new cotton, blue
dress shirt, buttoned up respectably.

He turned to me. "Impossible like my arm growing back?"

I just stared at him and said nothing. I was unwilling to take my
eyes off him for a second. I'd seen how fast he could move. And
whether it was a trick, an optical illusion, bio-genetic enhancement,
or if ... it was real, didn't really matter. The point was, I knew he
had the ability to get the drop on us if we weren't on our guard, and
maybe even if we were.

He hitched one butt cheek up on the edge of Mulder's desk. "Broke my
heart ... growing taller, developing more muscle, without the work,
mind you ... having to buy a whole new wardrobe. Gee, what a shame,"
he said sarcastically.

"How tall are you?"

"Six foot, three inches now."

"Will you grow taller?"

"I doubt it. Gareth says probably not. We grow about five or ten
percent taller. So it depends on how tall you were to start with."

"I see," Mulder replied.

Alex was enjoying himself way too much. "Have a seat, Krycek," I said,
waving at his arrogant perch on the edge of Mulder's desk.

He flashed me an insolent look, but lifted to his feet and turned in
front of Mulder's desk, lowering himself into the guest chair. I
remained standing, unwilling to turn my back on him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came to give you some information that might help."

"Like what?" Mulder asked.

"The name of your killer."

We both stared at him in silence. I finally spoke. "You know who the
killer is?" I said, my voice laced with suspicion.

"Yes, I do. Trouble is, I don't think that will help you find her."

"Why not? We'll have an identity to work with."

"An identity that's 650 years old, Scully. You won't find her in any
FBI database. Trust me."

"You're convinced it's a she," Mulder said.

"Yes. Her name is Zebrosia. Her last name ... has been lost through
the ages. But she is old beyond your imagination."

"Yes, 650 according to you," I said, unable to keep the facetiousness
out of my voice.

He looked at his lap and up at me again. "Why are you so hostile?"

"Why am I hostile? Isn't it obvious?"

"Not really."

"Krycek, you've been nothing but trouble since we met you. What do you
expect me to do? Welcome you with a big hug?"

He smiled widely now. "That would be nice." He leered at me in an
exaggerated fashion.

Mulder's voice was a growl. "You ever touch her, I'll fucking kill
you, Krycek."

He smiled again at Mulder. "You can't kill me, Mulder. Don't make
threats you can't back up. Gets you into trouble. Now, for the sake
of peace though, I give you my word. I'm not really interested in the
fair Agent Scully."

"You expect me to believe that?"

He turned to Mulder. "I won't touch her, Mulder. She's yours. I
know that. Plus, I'm under strict orders to help and protect you any
way I can."

"Orders from whom?"

He grinned again. "My ... companion."

"No longer your Master, eh, Krycek?" Mulder taunted.

Alex wasn't ruffled. He turned to Mulder. "No, by his own decree."

"Tell us what you came here to tell us and get the hell out!" I said
forcefully.

Mulder gave me a look that said to tread lightly.

"You're welcome," he said, a hint of disgust at my rudeness in his
voice. I didn't give a damn whether he liked it or not.

"Very well. You are looking for the Queen of the Blood Drinkers. She
is the only one of her kind known that is older than my companion. She
and my companion had a feud a long time ago that went unsettled. He
believes she is coming to settle the score, so to speak."

"What did he do to her?"

"He killed her lover."

We both went silent at the casual way he said this and then I sighed
loudly when he added, "Three hundred years ago."

After my sigh, I laughed without mirth. This was just getting
ridiculous. Alex turned his eyes on me and I felt a small wave of
dizziness. I reached behind me to grasp the table and steady myself.
It passed as quickly as it came.

He was silent for several beats and then said. "All right, I'll tell
you what I know. It's up to you whether you believe me or not. It's
up to you whether you do anything with the information or not." He
paused. "She believes in me, Mulder."

"What?" he asked.

"Deep down, she knows what I am and she believes it. But it's
difficult for her to admit she's been wrong. You know that."

"Shut up!" I nearly shouted.

He smiled and I felt the dizziness again. This time it must have
showed because Mulder was across the room and steadying my shoulders
in an instant. I saw Alex rise behind Mulder's shoulder and shouted,
"Look out!"

Mulder spun around, reaching for his weapon. I felt foolish. Alex
just stood there placidly making no move toward us. He stared at me
though. "Little jumpy, Scully?" he teased.

"Screw you, Krycek."

"Anytime, Agent Scully."

"Krycek, I warned you.  Knock off the innuendo."

"Only you get to do that, huh?" he asked casually.

Mulder clenched his teeth and I watched the muscle jump in his jaw. I
touched his arm and said quietly, "It's all right, Mulder. He's
trying to get to you."

"No, I'm not, actually. But you two are paranoid about me. So tell me
this. If you don't believe in me, Scully ... then why are you so damn
scared?"

"Fuck you," I said quietly.

He chuckled again and retreated, lowering himself gracefully into the
chair again. Mulder moved to the side but stayed near me, facing him.
"Backs to the wall, Agents?" he taunted.

"Get to the fucking point, Krycek!" Mulder exclaimed.

"Why are you so scared? How do you explain the changes in me?  My
height alone is an anomaly, " Alex presented.

He was being so fucking reasonable and logical I wanted to scream.
"Look, with all the genetic testing those Consortium bastards were
doing, God knows what they could have done to you. There has been
work done with Bovine Growth Hormones on humans. It's illegal, but
it's been done. There are any number of things that could have
happened to you."

"My, my. She can come up with scientific theories off the cuff, can't
she, Mulder? God, that must drive you insane. Does she do this all
the time? Or am I special?"

Mulder couldn't totally suppress the curl at the corner of his mouth
that wanted to become a smile and I felt anger shoot through me at his
sharing a jest with Alex. Finally, he answered, saying, "You're not
special, Krycek. Not in this case."

"You have to be a product of their experiments. There is no other
explanation."

"Except one you can't accept. I think you do believe in what I am.
You're afraid to admit it, because the reality of it is just too
frightening. It shakes the foundations of everything you believe in.
If I exist, what else could exist? Right?"

I hung my head. "You're still working for the Consortium. I know it.
You won't fool me again, Krycek."

"They're all dead, Scully," he replied.

"You mean to tell me Spender was the last of them?" I asked
suspiciously.

"Of the old Consortium, he was the second to the last."

"Who was the last?" I fired at him, thinking he would never tell me
and evade questions like this as he always had in the past.

"Kersh," he said simply.

Mulder and I both gasped. Mulder said, "Kersh was in the
Consortium?"

"Of course, you suspected that, didn't you?" He looked at me. "You
knew he'd been seen with others who were suspected."

Mulder asked, "He hasn't been found. How do you know he's dead?"

"If you're asking if I killed him or not, the answer is no, I didn't."

"But you know who did," Mulder stated.

Alex smiled. "Let's say fate intervened. There's a new Consortium
now."

"Who's in it?"

"I can't tell you that. But I can tell you that they are not going to
be working with the aliens. They are going to be working to destroy
or chase them off this planet. They plan to thwart colonization."

"How do they propose to do that?" Mulder asked.

"I don't know yet."

"Typical," I said.



PART 6 (PG-13)
HOOVER BUILDING
X-FILES BASEMENT OFFICE


"Get a pencil, Mulder," Alex commanded.

"I don't need one, Alex."

"Oh yeah, that memory of yours. All right, here goes. Although we
can't be sure, Zebrosia is most likely on a very specific mission."

"Which is?"

"Two fold. One, she is leaving these bodies trying to leave a trail
to my companion's door. Maybe she figures he won't escape the police
if they find him. Or maybe that will just be a distraction.  Who
knows?  Maybe she hopes he'll be charged with the murders. If he were
jailed, they would eventually expose him to daylight and he would be
destroyed."

"What else? You said it was two fold," Mulder reminded him.

His face went grim and he stared Mulder in the eye. "She wants to
destroy me."

"Why?" Mulder asked automatically, his stance relenting some. "What
makes you so important?"

He bit the inside of his cheek as if holding back a retort. "She
wants to take from Gareth what he took from her."

Mulder thought about this for a second and then said, "But you said he
killed her lover. Wouldn't that mean she would want to kill his
lover?"

"Yes," Alex said plainly.

Mulder scrunched his brow. My mouth opened as I realized what he was
saying. I looked at Mulder as the realization of what Alex had
admitted dawned on his face.

"Oh," he said simply.

Alex laughed again. "So you see, Mulder, you're fair Agent Scully is
safe from me."

"Just because you have a male lover doesn't mean you don't like women
too," he replied.

"How enlightened of you, Mulder. And you're right. However, I'm happy
with the way things are. I don't need anything else."

"You've always done things just because you wanted to. When did need
ever come into it?" Mulder said bitingly.

Alex looked at him, a slightly confused look on his face. When Mulder
finally met his gaze he said, "It was always about need, Mulder."

Mulder just looked down, refusing to enter into this debate.

"Look, this is getting us nowhere. Here's the deal. She is strong
beyond anything you can imagine. Stronger than those green blooded
bastards. She could kill you both in a heartbeat. Believe it. If you
think you locate her, DO NOT under any circumstances try to take her
into custody."

"That's asking too much, Krycek," I answered. "IF she exists and IF we
find her, she will be a murder suspect. We have an obligation to try
and take her down."

He regarded me seriously. "Then you'll die. If you're smart, you'll
call me. This is my cell phone number," he said as he scribbled it on
a Post It note from Mulder's desk. He ripped off the bright pink
sheet and stuck it in the center of Mulder's blotter. "I mean it.
Unless you have a death wish, if you find her, call me. Let us take
of her."

Mulder looked at him for a moment as though trying to think of
something to say. Finally he said, "You mean this. You believe she
will kill us."

"If you find yourselves between her and me, ... yes."

"You are going to fight her?" Mulder asked.

"We both are, me and my companion. Together we stand a chance against
her."

"Two men against one woman," I clarified.

He nodded. "She's that strong. Even at that, we're not sure we will
prevail. But it's the only chance we have of putting an end to her.
We need to pool our resources, he and I. You wouldn't stand a
chance."

I was struck by the sincerity in his tone. There was more to this
than met the eye. He really believed this. I couldn't believe he
could be this good an actor. He frowned heavily and I realized he
wasn't happy about the coming confrontation.

"Tough to be faced with the big bad wolf and not be sure of the
outcome, isn't it, Krycek? How does it feel to have unseen enemies and
never know when they are going to strike?"

"Scully, stop it," Mulder scolded and I gave him a dirty look.

Alex stood, and my eyes tracked him on the way up. Mulder was right.
Whether he had grown or was wearing lifts in those sneakers, which I
doubted ... he was definitely taller. Mulder used to be taller than
him. Now, Alex was taller than Mulder by about three inches.

He approached the door way and turned. He regarded us silently for a
few minutes and tipped his head to one side as if receiving a message.
Then he focused on us again. "I know you won't believe me, but I was
never your enemy. And Agent Scully, to answer your questions ... it
sucks to know potential disaster is coming and feel powerless
against it. The only thing that can kill her, besides us, is sun or
fire. And even fire she would resist for a while.

"I know you won't believe me," he said looking at me. He turned to
Mulder. "But you might, so I'll tell you. She can paralyze you with
her mind. She can make objects fly across a room. She can fly. And
... she can start fires with the will of her mind. She can move so
fast, your human eye will not see her move. It will be as if she's
vanished. You saw me do it. She's probably a lot faster than I am.
She can hear through walls and see for miles."

He paused and looked at me. "I know you've wished I would just
disappear many times. That I would be gone from your lives."

I shook my head in denial, suddenly wondering how he was making me
feel like the bad guy here.

He shrugged. "You may get your wish. Because if my companion and I
don't destroy her, she will have destroyed us.  This will be a fight
to the death.  And there's every possibility, that she will be the
victor. In case you're curious just how nasty this vampire queen is
... I'm scared. I'm VERY scared."

This last was said quietly. On that note, he turned and left the
office. Mulder and I stared after his retreating back. "Are you
getting the same bad feeling I'm getting, Mulder?"

"Yeah, I am, unfortunately. I know he was just a man like every other
man before, but he wasn't afraid of much. Now he has all this
strength and all these abilities and he's scared of this vampire."

"This woman."

"It's a vampire, Scully, and you know it," he stated, not even
bothering to debate with me about it. He wasn't even going to argue
about that aspect with me anymore. I felt a flash of anger and tamped
it down.

"Oh!" I exclaimed as I thought of Alex leaving. I ran out into the
hallway and scanned the floor indicator above the elevator. It
stopped on the third floor. I had no way of knowing if that was
Alex's elevator or not, if he'd gotten off on another floor, or if he
was still in the elevator or not.

Mulder poked his head out, saw the direction of my gaze and followed
it. I turned to see him chew on his lip. He drove me nuts when he
did that. I could almost see the gears turning in his head. He was
incredibly sexy when he was chewing on a problem. Those unconscious
mannerisms of twiddling with a pencil, chewing his lips, drove me
crazy.

"Want to follow?" he said.

"Let's," I replied.

I hit the button to call the elevator and he came out into the hall,
locking the office behind us. The car arrived and we got in. As it
lifted to the third floor I said, "He might have gotten off sooner. I
don't even know if it made stops before the third floor."

"Can't hurt to take a look. He said he had friends in high places.
Who do you think it is?"

"I don't know. I only know I don't think it's Skinner."

"I agree."

The door opened and we went down the hallway, trying to peek into the
offices on the floor. Most had glass windows. Some had the blinds
shut. We did a circuit of the hallway on the floor and saw nothing.
"There's no way to tell which office he's in, even if he did come up
here," I said.

"Want to wait by the elevator and see if we see him?"

"No, this was silly anyway. He had too much of a head start."

The halls were deserted and I looked down the hallway to the left and
again in front of us and saw nothing. It was late. Most agents had
gone home. This floor was all brass though and most of them would
have gone home as well. It was even dark enough out for D.D. Fair to
have left.

I thought of him and felt a dart of some unknown panic. He was a huge
man. Alex said that he grew when he became a ... whatever it is that
he was. Damn it! I believed him. God help me, but I believed him.

Mulder saw the look on my face and said, "What? You just thought of
something, didn't you?"

"Let's go downstairs."

He didn't question me, just followed me into the elevator which still
hadn't left the floor. We got the basement and he unlocked the
office.

I followed him in and he turned to look at me and asked, "You just
figured something out, didn't you?"

"I might have. I don't know."

"What?"

I looked around. Remembered Alex's vague comment about this vampire
being able to hear through walls. Could he do it too? "Let's go
home, Mulder."

He approached me and put his hands on my shoulders.

"What is it?"

"I don't want to talk here," I said, looking up at the smoke detector
and the light fixtures on the ceiling, wondering as usual if the place
was bugged or being surveilled.

He nodded, noting the direction of my gaze. We silently packed up our
things and put on our coats. He placed his hand on my lower back in
his familiar gesture as he walked me back to the elevator. We
descended to the garage and got into his car.

"Let's take your car," I said.

"You want to leave yours here?" he asked. He was surprised. I rarely
wanted to do that. I didn't like being without my car.

"Yes, you can bring me back to get it tomorrow. Let's go to my
place."

He nodded, looking more worried as the minutes passed. "Whatever you
say, Scully."

We pulled out of the garage and headed for Georgetown. I put my head
back against the headrest in the car and closed my eyes. God, I hoped
I wasn't right. What I was thinking was ... unthinkable. I felt a
wave of certainty. I could be wrong. This was TOTAL conjecture on my
part. No basis in fact. Mulder would love that! I could be wrong
... but I didn't think I was.

XXXXXXXXXX
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, D.C.

We arrived at my place, which had been swept for bugs the day before
by the Lone Gunmen. We hadn't said a word on the ride home. As we
entered my apartment, he asked, "Are you hungry?"

I smiled, knowing that meant that he was. "Order a pizza, whatever
you want, just get mushrooms on my half."

He grinned and headed for the phone. I headed for the bedroom and
changed out of my suit and into sweat pants and a sweater. I washed
my
make up off and brushed my hair. I felt better.

I went back into the living room to find Mulder had removed his dress
shirt and shoes. He still wore an undershirt and dress slacks, but
now I could see the definition of the muscles in his chest and down
his abdomen. Unable to stop myself, my eyes swept over him. I met
his gaze and he was smiling. "Like what you see, Agent Scully?"

"Indeed, I do, Agent Mulder. Every sexy inch," I teased back.

He motioned for me to come to him and I sat down on the couch next to
him. He put his arm around my shoulder and I snuggled close.

"O.K., we're here in your apartment, comfortable for the most part and
fairly certain there are no bugs in here. So what did you figure
out?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" he asked, his voice rising as if to ask what all the fuss
was about.

"I had a thought. It's total ... conjecture on my part. There is
absolutely NO reason for me to think this, but I have to wonder."

"About what? You're not making sense yet, Scully," he said.

I turned to him and our eyes met. "I think I know who Alex's master
or companion or whatever he wants to call him ... I think I know who
it is."

Mulder's eyes got wide. "Who?"

I licked my lips. "You won't believe me and I have no proof."

"Try me."

I swallowed, knowing this could cause a debate.

He nudged me and repeated, "Who, Scully?"

"Deputy Director Fair," I said quietly.

Mulder was still for a second, then his corners of his mouth turned up
and fell again. His brow scrunched and he looked at me strangely, as
if trying to figure out if this was even remotely feasible. Finally
he said, "That's the last person I expected you to name."

"I know it is."

"Why do you think that?"

"Unsubstantiated ... hunches."

"That's not like you, Scully," he said simply.

"I know."

"What pieces did you put together? What makes this fit for you?"

I looked away and closed my eyes, not wanting to be distracted by his
inquisitive face. At least he wasn't dismissing it outright. That
was a good sign. Maybe he wasn't as enamored of this guy as I
thought.

"He's big, Mulder, and Alex mentioned that he grew when he was made a
vampire."

"So now you believe he's a vampire all of a sudden?"

I sighed loudly. "I don't know, but in the absence of any other
explanation, I'm going to run with it. Whether he really is some
mythical creature from folklore, or whether he just 'thinks' he's a
vampire, for the sake of argument, let's say he is."

"O.K., I'm with you so far."

"D.D. Fair never leaves the building during daylight."

"Right."

"He has no windows in his office and has never been seen to eat or
drink anything."

"Right."

"He's an enormous man."

"Yes, his height is unusual but not unheard of. There are hundreds of
basketball players around the world that are just as tall. It's not
like he's nine feet tall."

"I know that, but there's more."

"Please, clue me in."

"This may sound dumb."

"Hit me," he encouraged. His eyes sparkled. He loved it when I ran
on supposition and conjecture. He loved it when I had a hunch. He
was encouraging me on that fact alone. He liked to encourage that in
me. Whether he agreed with me now or not, I couldn't tell. But he
would hear me out. We always heard each other out.

"This is weird, but remember when he came into Skinner's office while
we were there?"

"Yeah."

"He's so big, Mulder and yet ... he was silent as a cat. If the door
hadn't squeaked I wouldn't even have heard him enter. But I wasn't
paying a lot of attention to detail at that point. Later, when he
went to leave and took my hand ... I don't know."

"What?"

"It gave me the creeps."

"The creeps?" he asked, clearly amused with my unscientific choice of
words.

"Yeah. You know. The old heeby jeebies."

He laughed now. "Could it be just because he is that big and when he
comes close, it's really apparent? I wouldn't blame you for being a
little intimidated by his size."

"I'm used to being short, Mulder. I'm used to having to look up to
see people's faces. I do it with you all the time."

"Not that far up."

"Huh?"

"You're not used to looking that far up. You don't crane your neck to
look at me unless I've got you soldered to my chest."

"Soldered?" I asked.

He chuckled. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, but that's not it, I swear. I did take a step back, but that
wasn't intimidation. I swear. I just wanted to get a better angle
to see his face, instead of his ribcage."

Mulder laughed out loud now. "All right, so ..."

"Well, I was hyper-aware of him and he looked at me like, ... I don't
know, it's the weirdest thing. It was like he knew what I was
thinking."

Mulder was silent for a moment. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, I was paying more attention at that point, so I watched him
leave. Again for a big man, he was so quiet. I couldn't even hear
his feet on the carpet. Skinner is a big man and has a heavy tread;
this guy's even bigger, and he didn't make a sound. It was like he
... "

"What?"

"Oh man. I hate feeding you this stuff."

He grinned. "What? It was like he ... what?"

"Like he glided," I said softly.

"Why didn't you mention this before?"

"I didn't think of it then. I just thought, maybe because he's so
big, he's learned not to stomp around and tread lightly. Then I
didn't think of it again."

"Until we were upstairs."

"Yeah, well I made the connection with Alex. He startled us both. We
never heard him in the hallway. The door was open, but we never heard
him until he spoke."

"That was weird, he startled me. That's why I scolded him."

"I know. But he's silent, Fair is silent. He's bigger, Fair is just
big. He says he's a vampire, Fair never eats. He says fire and sun
can kill them, Fair never goes out in the daylight."

"He said he had some sort of Lupus."

"Yeah, I know, Discoid Lupus Erythematosus."

"Whatever," he mumbled.

"It would be interesting to get a hold of his medical records, don't
you think?"

"Are you thinking of investigating our Deputy Director, Scully?"

"Not investigating, exactly, but ... digging around a little."

"We'd have to be real careful, Scully. If we're wrong, we could blow
it, big time. He's been on our side so far. I'd hate to ruin that."

"Me too, but even you questioned him before you knew about the Lupus.
We just accepted that at face value."

"Well, we couldn't exactly ask him to provide proof on the spot."

"No, we couldn't, but I know where he lives."

"You do?" he asked. His tone made me turn to look at him.

"Down boy," I said.

He deflated. "Sorry."

"I've never been there, but I heard those girls talking in the
bathroom. One of them was his secretary."

"Kelli."

"Yeah, that's her name. She mentioned that he'd told her he owned a
home in Falls Church and a townhouse in Georgetown."

Mulder whistled softly. "Big bucks."

"Yeah, townhouses aren't cheap and guess what?"

"What?"

"I checked out his address in Falls Church."

"You did? Why?"

"I've been more suspicious of him from the start than you have,
Mulder."

"I know." He paused. "And?"

"And he doesn't own a house."

"He doesn't?" he asked, his interest piqued.

I grinned. "He owns a mansion, Mulder. It's huge!"

"He lives there by himself?"

"I don't know. I looked up the address in City Hall Records. There
was a floor plan in there. There's 14 rooms, Mulder, it's a palace.
Whether he lives alone or not, I don't know, but he's the only one on
the deed."

"Well, he obviously has money. And we know the Bureau, even the brass
doesn't get paid THAT much. But who knows? He could come from
money."

"That's true. I didn't dig any further ... at the time."

"But you want to now?"

I turned to him again, "Yeah, I do."

He nodded. "All right. I'll bite."

"We should have some sort of cover story if he catches us snooping."

"Let me think about it for a day or two. Don't do anything until I
come up with something."

"Or I come up with something."

He nodded again. "Of course."

"Maybe we can enlist the boys to help us," I said.

"I'll call the Gunmen first thing in the morning and see what they can
dig up. Maybe they can follow the money."

The doorbell rang.

"Pizza Man!" Mulder said and stood up off the couch, his mood changing
like the wind.

I smiled as I watched him nearly skip to the door. Food always put
him in a good mood. I thought of D.D. Fair and was swept with another
wave of foreboding. Christ, I thought, I hope I'm not right. Because
vampires or not, if he wasn't who he said he was, then he was probably
part of this new Consortium Alex was talking about. Alex was
obviously a part of it. That's the only way he could know so much
about it. I had my suspicions that our new D.D., who seemed to come
from nowhere, had a history we weren't going to like. I decided to
keep my suspicions about the Consortium to myself for the moment.
Mulder was willing to check the guy out and that was good enough for
now. I didn't want to nix his support by pushing my suspicions too
far. One step at a time.

I thought of Alex again and his odd statement about being scared. We
couldn't rush in ... Mulder was right about that. We needed to be
careful. But I wondered just how much time we had. My gut was
telling me we didn't have much left.

I sighed and got up to get drinks as Mulder paid the delivery boy and
returned to the kitchen with the pizza. He put it on the kitchen
table while I got paper plates and napkins.

He rubbed his hands together in front of him after opening the box.
He grinned at me as he looked up. He was so boyish and cute
sometimes. I smiled at his enthusiasm and then laughed when his
stomach growled loudly.

"Let's feed that thing, shall we?" I teased.



PART 7 (R)
KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION
FALLS CHURCH, VA
TWO NIGHTS LATER

Alex came into the living and regarded me staring out the bay window
of the living room. The night was clear and the stars were out.

"What is it?" he asked, sensing something wasn't right.

"We have visitors," I said calmly.

He snapped his head toward the window and back to me. "Who? Is she
here?" he asked, trepidation in his voice.

"No, not yet."

He visibly relaxed and then turned to the window. He closed his eyes
and I knew he was scanning the area. He blinked suddenly as he opened
his eyes and turned to me again. "What are they doing here?"

"I don't know yet, exactly."

"You haven't listened to them?"

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

"I was waiting to see if they were going to ask to come inside."

"They are just sitting the car across the street from the gate.
Smells like a stake out to me."

"They might have wanted to talk first."

"Why don't you go out to greet them?"

"And freak them out that I knew they were out there?"

"They have to have seen all the cameras around the fence on the
perimeter. Anyone who lives in a place like this has elaborate
security. They won't think anything of it."

I nodded, but didn't otherwise move. After a minute, I asked, "Were
you careful when you came here last night?"

"Yes. I always am. Now that I can move fast, I generally do it all
the time to practice."

"So they wouldn't have seen you enter here?"

"No, I don't go through the gate anyway."

"I know, you jump the damn fence."

He chuckled. "Good exercise."

"Showing off for an audience of one?" I teased.

"Who? You?"

"Yourself," I said dramatically.

He shook his head in amusement. "Just enjoying being able to leap 12
feet in the air, clear the fence and land without hurting myself.
It's all new to me and I'm enjoying being able to move that way. It's
the only way I can find out what I can do."

We were silent a few moments and then he asked, "Do you think they
were following me?"

"They might have after you visited them."

"I don't think so. I think I would have sensed them."

"Not necessarily, if you weren't on your guard."

"With Zebrosia out there, I'm on my guard constantly if I'm away from
you."

I looked at him and motioned him to me on the couch. The lights were
out in the living room and no one could see into the one way windows I
had in the entire house anyway. Back lighting would cast shadows, but
I rarely turned on the lights unless I had guests. Saved on the
electric bill and I didn't need it. Not that I needed to save money,
but it never hurt. As wealthy as I was, I didn't like to spend
needlessly. This was the most ostentatious display of wealth I had
allowed myself in modern times. I owned properties all over the
world, but as the years went by, the dwellings got smaller and less
conspicuous. The simple reason was that there were more people now.
That sounds ridiculous but it's true.

Centuries ago, people were clustered in cities and farming towns.
There were vast tracts of uninhabited land. I'd built castles and
homes in these wildernesses back in those days, or appropriated
abandoned ones. Modern times had forced me to learn to live as a
modern man. It was harder and harder to hide in some ways and yet,
easier because the suspicions of the old days were dwindling. People
weren't generally that superstitious anymore. Back then, if you were
strange, you were as likely to be branded a witch or heretic as not
and ostracized by the masses. Ignorance had bred fear.

Alex went to the window and stood behind the enormous tapestries that
were pulled back even though no one could see in. He was being
cautious and that was good. It wouldn't look good if they found Alex
here. I had no worries about him hiding from them if they came in.
The house was huge and he could disappear in the blink of an eye.

He peered down the long driveway that led to the entrance gate. We
watched in silence for a while and then he straightened up a bit.
"Mulder's getting out of the car," he stated simply.

I could see him from here. His features weren't crystal clear but
sitting here on the couch facing the window, I could see to the gate.
I saw his lanky form approach the gate and look up at the camera and
then down to the call box. I stood and went to the front door in the
foyer off the living room and pressed the intercom button.

"Want to come in, Agent Mulder?"

He jumped, startled at my voice coming out of the speaker. "Oh! Hi!
Uh, yeah, we were wondering if we could come in and ask you a few
questions. Sorry to bother you at home."

"Why all the cloak and dagger? You've been out there for a half an
hour."

He glanced guiltily at the car and I watched Agent Scully exit the car
from the vertical window next to the door. "What's going on Mulder?"
her voice sounded through the speaker in the house as I held the
receiving button down.

"Uh, he's invited us in."

"Let's go in then."

"Answer the question, first, Agent Mulder."

He said, "We didn't think anyone was home. All the lights were out.
We were ... uh, waiting to see if you would arrive home from being
out."

I looked at Alex and he shrugged. "He's probably lying."

I hit the button for the gate and it ponderously swung open. They
trotted back to the car and pulled a U-turn, pulling through the gate
and drove up the drive as I shut it behind them. I turned to Alex.

"Make yourself scarce. Don't let them see you here. Not yet."

He nodded and went by me, giving me a peck on the cheek and then
ascending the stairs. I knew he would be able to hear us from
wherever he hid upstairs. I flipped on the lights in the foyer and
the living room. I turned and faced the fire place, starting the fire
to the prepared logs in the hearth. The logs burst into flames,
dissolving the wadded up paper that sat beneath them.

They exited the car and approached the porch, climbing the three steps
and crossing to the door. As he raised his hand to push the doorbell,
I opened the door to greet them.

He stepped back and smiled at me. "Good evening, Sir."

"Good evening. Come in."

They crossed the threshold and I closed the door behind them, waving
them into the living room. They were wide eyed as they browsed the
paintings and antiques. They sat on the sofa and I took up my usual
spot in the wingback chair facing them.

"Beautiful home, Sir," Agent Scully began.

"Thank you. I take it you thought it should be lit up like the fourth
of July if I was home?" I asked, levity apparent in my voice.

Scully blushed slightly and said, "Uh, not exactly, but we didn't see
any lights other than the few spot lights on your fence."

I nodded toward the fire with my head. "I was enjoying the
fireplace."

"That is nice," she said.

Mulder was silent through all this and striking a deceptively
negligent pose. He kept glancing at the fire as though it shouldn't
be there. I probed him gently and smiled as I realized he was
thinking about Alex's statement that fire and sun destroyed vampires.
To his thinking, if I was a vampire, I would probably be afraid of, or
at least avoid fire.

I shouldn't have been surprised that they made the connection between
Alex and I. But I was surprised they'd figured it out so fast. I was
even more surprised after a gentle probe to find out it was Scully and
not Mulder that had put the pieces together.

"Can I get you something to drink?" I asked.

"No, we're fine," they said together and I smiled widely, amused that
they had spoken together. They flashed each other a silly grin and
then turned their focus back to me.

"So what did you want to ask me?"

Mulder cleared his throat. "Well, I guess we're just curious about
some things."

"Such as."

"Do you live alone?"

"Most of time."

"Most of the time?" Scully asked, as if this were an odd answer.

"I have friends come and stay from time to time."

"Family?" Mulder asked.

I frowned, faking sadness. "No. I have no family, Agent Mulder. I
was an only child and my parents passed away ... a long, long time
ago."

"I'm sorry, Sir," he said.

"That's quite all right."

"Being a Deputy Director must pay well," he said, clearly thinking
there was no way I could have all this on my salary and wondering if
rather than being a vampire, I was into something illegal.

I laughed good naturedly and said, "Not this well. I come from a long
line of old, family money, from my great, great grandfather on down.
At the end of the line, I was the only surviving heir and so inherited
a fortune, one from each parent. They were both from wealthy
families."

Scully pursed her lips. "May I ask where you come from, Sir?"

"My father was Italian and my mother was Egyptian," I lied. Both of
my parents were Egyptian and so long dead, they weren't even mummies
anymore. "I grew up in Italy, but we later emigrated to the United
Kingdom."

"You don't have an accent," she stated.

"No, I've worked hard at not having one."

"But there is a dialect," Mulder said.

I tilted my head toward him. "I'm afraid that when you travel the
world, you tend to pick up phrases that stick with you."

"Archaic ones?" he asked.

I raised my eyebrows, remembering Alex telling me the same thing. I
would have to watch that. I came upon an answer almost immediately.
"I guess you could think that. You see, I know several languages ...
Arabic, Italian, Spanish, French and English. I know a bit of German
as well. Some things ... many things in fact, don't always translate
directly from one language to another and so ... you come up with
these substitute ways to express yourself."

"Are you fluent?" Mulder asked.

"Yes, in all but German."

"Wow, that's quite an accomplishment. Must have taken you years."

I regarded him sternly now and he squirmed a little in his seat,
readjusting his pant leg to cover. I was making him nervous. "My
whole life, Agent Mulder. Traveling helps."

"I'm sure."

"Was there a point to this inquiry, or is this just a friendly visit?"
I asked, feigning irritation.

Scully cleared her throat. "Sir, we don't want to upset you."

I looked at her without responding. She licked her lips. "I guess
you were just a mystery to us."

"And?"

"Forgive us, but we've ... had some bad experiences with superiors in
the Bureau. I don't know if you're aware of ... certain elements of a
shadow government."

"Shadow government?"

Mulder sat up straighter and leaned forward some. "I want to tell you
a story."

I waved my hand in the air, "By all means, I can't wait," I said
facetiously. If I took their inquiries without a bit of question or
irritation, that wouldn't look normal either.

"Bear with me, Sir. First, another question."

"Oh goody," I sighed.

Scully's eyes darted around the room, taking in the expensive
furnishings.

Mulder pinned me with his gaze. His next question was a test. "Do
you believe in extra terrestrials, Sir?"

Scully glared at him, clearly upset that he would ask me that
question. It embarrassed her sometimes, his total lack of guile when
it came to all things paranormal. The question, on the surface, did
sound a bit trite, but he was serious. And I knew the question was
anything but trite to him.

I let the silence float for a moment and then said quietly, "Yes, I
do."

He looked surprised but pleased. Scully frowned.

"Sir, over the years, we've come into information that led us to
believe and later know that there was a group of shadow government
figures called the Consortium."

"Made up of who?" I asked.

"Some were scientists, some were FBI, CIA, MI5 from England, spies
from Russia. It was a global concern."

I blew air out of my pursed lips. "Really?"

He licked his lips and I wondered how they would taste. "Yes, and
they had contact with an alien race that has plans to colonize the
planet."

Now my eyebrows shot up as I knew that if I didn't feign some sort of
disbelief, I wouldn't be credible. "That's quite a supposition, Agent
Mulder."

Scully cut in. "Mulder, why are we telling him this? No one has ever
believed us before. There's no reason to believe D.D. Fair will
either. You're just making us look ... like ..."

"Crack pots?" he filled in, looking only slightly wounded at her
reprimand.

I decided to cut in. "No, it's all right, Agent Scully. I'd like to
hear what you have to say."

Mulder swallowed again and cleared his throat. "Well, these men found
out that the aliens planned to infect the human population with a
virus. This way they could eliminate the human race and take over the
planet."

I nodded gravely, as though considering what he said but highly
skeptical. "Go on."

"So they hired scientists and experts from around the world and tried
to develop an antigen to the virus."

"Did they succeed?" I asked the obvious question.

"To a degree."

"We don't know that, Mulder."

"That antiviral saved your life, Scully! How can you say that?"

She frowned again. She knew all this to be true, but found the
blatant telling of it to a virtual stranger disconcerting. In the
open, she could hear how ludicrous it sounded and it
embarrassed her, even though she knew it shouldn't.

"When you were taken to the Antarctic?" I asked.

She startled and looked at me. "How do you know about that?"

"It was one of the first stories I was told about you two when I came
here and was told I would be in charge of the X-Files over Assistant
Director Skinner. Quite a tale."

"Who told you the story?"

"Jenna Cassidy, a couple of secretaries gossiping like they do. I
heard your monikers. It intrigued me."

"What monikers?"

Boldly, I said, "Mr. and Mrs. Spooky."  They both cringed. "I didn't
give
it any credence."

"Why not?" she asked. "Everyone else does."

"I'm a world traveler, Agent Scully. If I've learned nothing else it's
that you can't judge a book by its cover. And unlike most, I do
believe in the paranormal." I gave her a significant look and she was
the first to avert her gaze.  "I've learned to judge people on their
own
merits and make my own judgments. I listen to what others have to say
but I draw my conclusions. I don't let other people draw them for me."
This last
was said with a bit of pretended insult.

"I didn't mean to say that you listen to gossip, Sir! I'm just saying
that most people believe what they hear if they hear it enough."

I waited a beat or two as if considering and then stated, "Well, I'm
not most people."

Mulder jumped back in. "No, you're not. I sensed that right away
about you. And make no mistake, Sir. We've really appreciated your
support, more than we can say."

"I appreciate your solve rate," I stated as any superior would. "As
far as believing in aliens, it's not something I advertise. I think
it's incredibly arrogant of us to think we are they only intelligent
life in the universe, don't you?"

He smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. "We're used to being ...
ridiculed," he said by way of defense against their reactions. "We're
different and we know it. It's hard to describe what it's like. I
mean, we try to maintain our dignity and in a way, our solve rate does
that for us in spite of everything else, but still ... it's hard to
take, being different, going against the grain. And whenever we got
close to any members of this Consortium, we found big trouble.
Accidents would start to happen to those around us. Evidence would be
destroyed or mysteriously disappear. They didn't want us to find out
what they knew."

"About aliens," I stated.

Scully hung her head, no longer willing to participate in this inquiry
or storytelling, but not willing to abandon her pride either. She was
sitting there resolving to bite her tongue and just back Mulder up if
there was trouble.

"Yes, that and other things. They controlled some of the brass in the
Bureau, senators and congressman."

"Lots of power players, eh?"

"You have no idea. And when we tried to expose them ... we were
nearly killed many times. We've lost a lot to trying to fight them
and expose their lies and their conspiracies. Most people don't
believe there is a conspiracy."

"Isn't working for a vaccine, if there is indeed a virus, a good
thing? A noble cause?"

"It would be, except they didn't plan to give it to the world. They
planned to save themselves."

"Ah, now I'm getting it."

"Look, I've been different all my life. And since finding the X-
Files, I've been everything from teased, to ridiculed to downright
shunned. I'm used to it. I accept it as part and parcel of doing
this job and I accept the consequences. I chose it, but I hate when
it reflects on Scully. Unfortunately, guilt by association is hard to
get past."

She looked up now, touched by his concern. "Mulder, I stay because I
believe in what we do. I don't blame you for other people's
ignorance."

"It doesn't make it any easier to be so ... different minded than
others."

With a touch of irony, I said, "Oh, I know NOTHING about being
different."

"Sir?" Scully inquired, her one word encouraging me to elaborate.

I smiled sadly at her. "I'm wealthy, Agent, Scully. And I'm a big
man. I know this. I'm a damn giant. It doesn't escape most people's
notice and it rarely goes without comment . I get stared at wherever
I go. I feel like a damn zoo exhibit sometimes. Agent Mulder scored
points with me immediately on a personal level because he failed to
comment on it when we first met."

"Oh," she said softly and looked at her lap again.

Mulder's eyes darted back and forth between me and Scully. He was
relaxed now. He knew I didn't buy his whole story. Actually, I did,
but I wasn't letting on. That would be too obvious. He was
encouraged that I wasn't dismissing them outright.

"I didn't mean to insult you, Sir," she said quietly, feeling a touch
of sympathy for me.

"You didn't. I'm merely pointing out that I know what it's like to be
different. And I have no choices where my differences are concerned.
They just are."

She looked at me and gave me a sympathetic smile. She was warming to
me and wondering how in the hell she could have ever thought I was a
vampire. I grinned internally at that thought. The face I showed her
was still and reserved. She still knew all the pieces didn't add up.
I might have to reveal myself to them before this whole affair was
over. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that tonight.

Mulder said, "Well, you have a taste of what's it's like to be stared
at and whispered about behind your back. But that's not the point of
the story. I don't even know how we got off on this tangent."

"I don't either," I replied.

"Sir, my point is that we came into some information that there is a
new Consortium."

"So there are now two groups?" I asked innocently.

"No, our ... informant said that all the members of the Consortium are
dead, and that a new one has formed."

"They all died?" I asked.

"Died or were killed in freak accidents. Some were old. One man was
killed in a car explosion because they found out he was trying to help
me. He was an Englishman, and gave me the vial of antidote that saved
Scully. Others disappeared without a trace. Some were found
murdered."

"Sounds like a lovely group," I said sarcastically.




PART 8 (PG-13)
KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION
FALLS CHURCH, VA

"We're worried about this new group. Our informant says they are not
like the last one, that they want to save us from colonization rather
than work with the aliens to save their own butts. We don't know what
to believe."

"Are you asking for my help in investigating this group?"

"Not yet. We don't even know who they are." He looked at me with a
penetrating gaze, as did Scully. "Maybe you can put out some
feelers?"

I concentrated on making my face motionless and without expression.
They were looking for a spark of recognition in my eyes. I gave them
nothing but a blank stare. "Are you going to try and find out?" I
asked finally when neither of them spoke.

"We'll always be trying to find out. We don't know what we're dealing
with unless we do."

"I see." I paused. "Why did you come here tonight? This couldn't
have waited until we were in the office?"  They both avoided my gaze.
"What is this really about?"

"I guess we're just suspicious of anybody new," Mulder said finally.
We hated the old Consortium, make no mistake and no one's going to
mourn its passing. The thing is ... the devil you know."

"Ah, so you don't like knowing there is another group and not knowing
who they are or what their agenda may be."

"Exactly. I guess I wanted to ask you to let me know if you ever
heard anything of this nature. By the way, Spender was in that
Consortium."

"He was CIA."

Mulder and Scully both stared at me. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. He was a bastard, though."

"How so? You knew him obviously."

"Unfortunately. He was a strange character. I only met him a  few
times and he seemed to hint that the CIA had the power to tell the
Bureau what to do and that we should cooperate. That was what he
came to ask me about when I met with him."

"That was the day we met."

"Yes, he was there before you. He didn't come right out and say it,
but he made a veiled threat that I was to cooperate with his 'company'
... or else."

"What did you tell him?" Mulder asked.

"I told him I took orders from one man only, Director Mullen. And if
he had an issue with that, he could talk to Mullen."

"Ooo, I bet that went over well," Mulder said sarcastically.

"He wasn't pleased. He may have had his protections and allies. But
I have mine too. I know who I can trust most of the time. I'm a
fairly good judge of character. And his stunk to high heaven. His
character, that is."

"Were you surprised when he showed up dead?"

"I wasn't expecting it if that's what you mean, but yes, I was
surprised. He seemed so cock sure of himself. I figured he must know
something I didn't. Or more likely, know someONE I didn't."

Mulder then said, "Sir, there's one more thing."

"What's that?"

"We can't find any trace of your existence anywhere outside of your
current residences."

"Many of my investments are made through accountants and brokers."

"I understand that, Sir. But ... we can't find evidence of your
residence in England."

"I was there, I assure you."

"I believe you," Mulder said. "I also think you're not completely
truthful about who you are either."

I stood abruptly. "What are you implying, Agent Mulder?"

He didn't pull back from my stare. He looked right back at me. "One
last question."

"Make it quick, because I'm about to terminate this interview. My
personal life is none of your business, Agent Mulder. What would make
you think that it is?"

He swallowed harshly. He was still holding my stare. "You're right,
it's none of my business, your personal life, that is. But your
professional life is and should be public record. Only we can't find
a record of you."

"That doesn't mean there isn't one."

"I suppose but ..."

"What's the last question, Agent Mulder and make it snappy!"

There was a beat of silence and Scully stood, ready for fight or
flight.

Mulder stared at me for a few moments and then asked, "Are you a
member of this new Consortium, Sir?"

I let the silence hang in the air. *Should I tell them, Pet?*

*I wouldn't, unless you're prepared to give lots of details about your
plans and how and why,* he answered quickly. I knew he'd been
listening to the entire exchange.

Scully asked, "Well?"

"I'm trying to decide whether to be flattered that you think I'm so
powerful or insulted that you think I'd be involved in a government
conspiracy to hide aliens and harm you," I stalled.

Mulder seemed deflated at my calm answer. Scully went on alert. As
paranoid as he was, Mulder would let his guard down at the oddest
times. He was truly lucky to have Scully to watch his back.

"I had to ask, Sir," he replied placidly.

Scully looked at him incredulously. "He hasn't answered the question,
Mulder! That was a very nicely executed evasive answer, but it wasn't
an answer."

Mulder looked up now, glancing at her and her defensive stance and
then back to me, sitting casually in the chair. He had taken my
answer as a negative, but seeing Scully's stance, he was instantly
leery again. He didn't know if he agreed with her, but he trusted her
instincts and he was reacting to them. It was an interesting exchange
of communication between them without a word spoken. Body language
was telling him all he needed to know. I was glad to see that
screwing her hadn't softened that non-verbal communication between
them.

He stood up and backed up slightly to stand at her side. "She's
right. It wasn't an answer and I have to have one. I have to know if
you're friend or foe. I could dig further into your background.
But I'd rather face you like a man and ask for what I need to know."

He was implying that if I didn't answer him, I was a coward.

Alex spoke to me silently. *You want to tell them, don't you?* He
didn't sound disappointed. Just a bit weary.

I sighed. *I'm afraid I do. They could be invaluable to us, Alex.*

*Should I come down to help?*

*I think so. Give me another minute.*

"I want to say something to you first. Then I'm going to tell you
everything you want to know."

*Alex, there's coffee in the kitchen made by the maid earlier. Go get
them cups of coffee. Hers with milk, his with milk and two sugars.*

I waited for him to balk at this menial task, but he didn't. A moment
later I glanced at the staircase as he flew by at warp speed,
invisible
to them and entered the kitchen. He'd never made a sound. I was very
proud of my protégé and partner.  I'd never seen anyone learn to
master skills as quickly as he had.

"We're waiting," Scully coaxed impatiently.

"You two have got to be the most impressive pair of agents I have ever
seen," I said quietly.

No evidence that my comment affected them showed except a slight
widening of Mulder's eyes and slight squinting of Scully's eyes. He
was more prone to flattery. She became skeptical of ulterior motives.
It was odd.

"You are so different, and yet you work together like well balanced
scales. My compliment flattered Agent Mulder and made you
suspicious," I said to Scully.  "My previous answer made Agent Mulder
feel guilty for asking and made you think I was a consummate
politician."
I continued.

"What's your point?" she asked.

*Come in now, Alex.*

From behind them, he entered the room, not making a sound, a mug of
coffee in each hand.

"His point is that you are a paradox."

They both spun around to face Alex. Scully spun so fast, her hand
shot out to the arm of the sofa to steady herself. Mulder blurted
out, "I told you to make some freakin' noise, Krycek! Jesus, are you
trying to give us both a heart attack?

Alex and I both laughed and neither of them were amused. He silently
held up the coffee cups. "Sit down and be comfortable. We're in for
a long talk."

They took the cups and sat. Mulder sniffed it but then raised it to
his lips. Scully's arm shot out to grasp his forearm. She was
peering suspiciously into her cup. My God, I thought, does this woman
ever let her guard down? In one way, I admired her caution. On the
other hand, it was a tense way to live.

"There's nothing in the coffee, Scully," Alex responded. "Just milk
in yours, milk and two sugars in Mulder's. Just the way you like
them."

"How do you know how I like my coffee?" she asked.

He smiled. "I know a lot of things about you, Scully. About Mulder
too. I dare say where you're concerned, I know more about you than
you do."

She bristled and I admonished Alex. *Don't piss her off, Alex. We
want their cooperation. And she will be the difficult one to
convince. Don't insult her unnecessarily.*

*I'm sick of her suspicion. She's always hated me.*

*Maybe because you taunt her constantly.*

*I do not!*

*Enough! Not now.*

He receded from my mind, obeying the command, even though I wasn't
supposed to be giving him orders anymore. I knew there would always
be an element of that in our relationship. He was my partner and I
would keep no secrets from him. But if it came down to the wire, he
would obey me in my anger. That was good to know.

Mulder looked at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Alex didn't answer, looking to me and raising his eyebrows, asking how
to answer this one.

Scully said, "Krycek's presence immediately makes me even more
suspicious of you. He was in the old Consortium. He's openly
admitted to being in the new one. So that pretty much answers my
questions right there." She turned to Mulder. "We're wasting our
time here, Mulder. We haven't lost any enemies. We've just gained
some new ones. Let's get out of here before this gets ugly."

She saluted me with her coffee cup, nearly slammed it down on the
coffee table and stood with military precision, turned on her heel and
took two steps. *Stop her, Pet, GENTLY!*

Alex was in front of her in an instant, his hands on her shoulders.
He nearly winced as he gathered his composure to speak civilly to her.

He spoke softly with effort, "Dana ... please don't leave. Neither of
us wants to hurt you."

"But you will if you have to, is that it?" she countered.

His lip curled up. His hands slid down gently over her shoulders and
lightly grasped her biceps. "No. I wouldn't hurt you ... for any
reason," he said, his teeth clenching at his admission.

She observed him with an odd look, recognizing something in him for
the first time.

There was something going on here between the two of them. And
unspoken tension that had probably never been acknowledged. Then it
hit me like a ton of bricks. Oh my Lord, he wants her. He has always
wanted her. And he has always been jealous of Mulder's connection to
her. She, on the other hand, had no designs on Alex. But deep down,
there was an attraction to the danger he represented. She thought he
was handsome and good looking, but it was purely a physical thing with
her. She could ignore that. Physical attributes were not what was
important to Dana Scully.

Unfortunately, Mulder saw it too. He stood. "Get your hands off her,
Krycek. I don't care who or WHAT you are. Touch her again and we'll
never have another civil conversation."

He dropped his arms instantly, looking hurt. He turned his back on
them and walked to the window, staring out into the driveway. I
turned to look at him. They couldn't see his face from here, hidden
in the shadows of the tapestries that hung at the sides of the bay
window. But I could. He was blinking rapidly, breathing slow and
deep to regain his composure. He was stung and it seemed that it hurt
him more every time one of them rebuffed him. I realized he had long
held a desire to be in their inner circle. I could feel the
disappointment and resignation in him, that he would never have their
trust.

He also knew that he had given them no reason to trust him. That he
didn't really deserve their trust. But he wanted it. His mind was
spinning back over all his dealings with them and realizing that he
had always been mysterious and much too ambiguous to gain the trust of
either one of them. They respected honesty and forthrightness, even
if it wasn't what they wanted to hear. They didn't like ambiguity and
they didn't like hints or cryptic messages or half explanations. He
was standing there wondering why this simple truth had never dawned on
him before. There was silence in the living room as we all stared at
his back. I could see his eyes in three quarter view.

I spoke to him, *Alex, come back and sit in the chair. I'll let you
tell them. You be my voice tonight.*

He spun at looked at me, surprised by this request, but pleased. He
was worried at the same time. He did not have a tight rein on his
composure. He approached slowly and I said, *Maybe composure isn't
all it's cracked up to be.*

He sat in the overstuffed chair next to my wingback and across the
from the sofa. I had a vague sense of a stand off. Mulder, always
the perceptive one when it came to body language asked, "You both do
that, why is that?"

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"You tilt your head to the side, as though you're ... thinking ... or
listening for something."

I raised my eyebrows at Alex. Better watch that, I didn't realize I
made any outward sign that I was speaking telepathically.

*Gareth?*

*Your call. You can tell them if you want.*

*You want them to know ...*

*Just tell them I'm telepathic.*

Alex smiled and straightened his head. "Here's your first shocker,
Agents."

"Do tell," Mulder said sarcastically.

"Your esteemed superior, Kendall Fair is telepathic ... oh yeah, and
so am I," he added flippantly.

Scully's jaw dropped. Mulder just blinked rapidly in surprise. "You
can talk to one another ... "

"Inside our heads, yes, without speaking a word, yes," Alex replied.

"Pleeassee! This just keeps getting more fantastic, Krycek!" Scully
exclaimed.

"I didn't ask you to believe it, Scully," he said. "In fact, I
suspect you won't believe half of what I tell you. You'll believe all
the bad parts, of course. Because that's what you do when it comes to
me. You'd hate to have to admit that you'd been wrong about me."

"I'm not wrong about you, Krycek. You're a manipulator of the highest
degree. You're a double talker and you help whoever can get you what
you want at the moment."

He hung his head. "That's not true." He lifted his head to look at
her. Quietly, but with intensity, he said, "I've risked my LIFE to
save you both ... more than once. Quite a few times, as a matter of
fact. I've put my own ruin on the bargaining table to make sure you
two could go on with your work. I've ALWAYS believed in you and what
you do."

Mulder said, "Could have fooled us."

He turned to Mulder. "I know I haven't been totally honest with you.
I don't blame you for your suspicions. But doesn't anyone in your
world deserve a second chance? If I was ever less than honest, it was
because I didn't want to die. I would have been no good to you dead."

"You killed my FATHER, YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" Mulder suddenly screamed.

Alex physically rocked back in his chair. "I'm sorry, Mulder."

"You're sorry! You're fucking sorry, all right."

Alex's mouth crumpled into an expression of distress. He said, "I was
ordered to do it, Mulder."

"Ordered ..."

Alex held up a hand to stall him. "I tried to refuse. I told them he
could help us, tried to make them find a use for him so they would
keep him alive long enough for me to warn him. That's how they
worked. If someone was useful, they would keep them around. When
they no longer provided a service or use for them, they were
eliminated to protect the secrecy of the program if they gave any hint
of talking. They refused to see it my way. They said kill him or be
killed. His life or yours! And if they'd killed me, they would have
sent someone else to do it anyway. What the fuck was I supposed to
do?!" he shouted at the end.

Mulder had no answer and neither did Scully.

Alex said, "Was I supposed to give my life for your father's, Mulder?
Sacrifice myself for the noble cause of letting him live a few more
years? Because that's all he would have had. A few more years. And
then they would have found another reason to kill him anyway. He'd
grown weary and he wanted to tell you everything. They couldn't allow
it. You were too close already."

Mulder said, "So he was killed for growing a conscience."

Alex nodded. "Basically, yes. If he'd sworn to keep the program a
secret, they would have left him alone. But he was vocal about being
fed up and feeling guilty about what he'd done and what he'd done to
his family. He wanted to make amends. He wanted to tell you. If
he'd kept his mouth shut and just told you, it would have happened
differently. But he wasn't smart enough not to mouth off beforehand.
They knew what he was going to do and he died for it."

"By your hand," Mulder reiterated.

"Yes. By my hand. And I'm truly sorry, Mulder. I wish it could have
been different. I really do."

"You were a fucking puppet, Alex," Mulder said.

He closed his eyes and opened them again. "You're right, I was."

"And I'm supposed to believe you're not now?"

"I'm asking you to believe that, yes. I've changed, Mulder. I've
always believed in you, but I've changed my mind about the ends
justifying the means. I'm older now, I'm not as impulsive and I'm not
as quick to panic as I was back then. Everything is different,
Mulder. The old Consortium is gone."

"All dead?" Scully asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Yes, all dead."

"And the new Consortium?" Mulder asked. "Who's in that?"

*Tell them of the other members, love.*

"Do you remember the Windemere?"

"Yes," they said in unison. Mulder continued, "He's the one that gave
me the vaccine for Scully and her location."

"He died for that," Alex stated bluntly.

"I know. His car blew up right after I got out. I'm lucky the
explosion didn't kill me too."

"Well, his grandson, Philip Windemere, is a British politician and an
accountant and will handle all of our finances."

"Windemere?" Scully asked.

"That was the well manicured man's real name, Oswald Windemere."

She nodded. "We all had handles back then, or nick names. Increased
the chances of our true identities NOT coming out."

"Who else?" Mulder asked, as Scully had produced a small pad from the
inside pocket of her suit jacket and was writing the name down.

"Clyde Vogel," he said simply.

"The senator from Maryland?" Scully exclaimed.

"Yes, he's well connected on the Hill.  Even has access to the
President."

"That's scary," she mumbled.

"In the scientific corner, we have Dr. Brian Sullivan."

"I've heard of him," Scully said.

"He's a brilliant research scientist, and was here under diplomatic
immunity after being tossed out of France. We have given him enough
to hold his loyalty, changed his identity and sent him back to France
to work in a facility we have set up there."

"What is he working on?"

Alex smiled without humor, "A better version of the weak vaccine that
saved your life, Agent Scully. If he finds it, we will try to mass
produce it."

"With whose money?" she asked the obvious question.

"Mine," I said.

She turned to look at me, her expression surprised. "It would take
billions of dollars to produce enough vaccine to immunize the majority
of the world's population."

"I know," I said simply.

She and Mulder stared and he asked, "Just how wealthy are you?"

"I can safely say I'm probably the richest man in the world, Agent
Mulder."

"How can that be that we've never heard of you before, then?"

I regarded them with amusement. "Because unlike most rich folks, I
don't care to advertise my wealth. Every nut with a cause comes out
of the woodwork asking for a hand out. My wealth is spread all over
the world and I take great pains to conceal my identity, so the paper
trails are very hard to trace back to me directly."

"You have companies and tax shelters, in other words," she concluded.

"Among other things, yes."

"So you've retained your wealth by NOT being altruistic?" Scully
asked, clearly trying to find fault with me somehow.

"On the contrary, I give thousands of dollars every year to various
organizations that work on cancer and disease research. But I do it
anonymously through various corporations, rather than in my name. And
I am a silent partner in most of my corporations."

She was finally impressed, and the fact that my money was going into
scientific research to cure disease pleased her. She just couldn't
make up her mind whether I was a good man or not.

Mulder broke in again. "Then there's you, Alex. You admitted to
being the muscle of the group."

"The muscle but also the ... arbiter between the other members. I'll
settle any disputes on procedure or contacting others to obtain
information. Basically, I'm a liaison between them and the head of
the
group. But let me get this straight right now. We are not like the
old Consortium. We have no nefarious purpose. Our main goal is to
develop a vaccine and begin inoculating people quietly through
doctors around the world."

"How do you plan to do that?" Scully asked.

"We're going to pretend to discover a virus of some kind that we can
advertise as virulent and use this to convince the medical community
that we must inoculate everyone like we do for measles and various
other nearly extinct diseases. It will become part of the childhood
inoculation process. That is our hope anyway. Our secondary purpose
is to stop anyone, including aliens, that try to get in the way of
achieving that goal."

"So you're willing to kill," Scully added.

He looked at her. "Only as a last resort. We would try other things
first."

"Like what?"

"Bribery, trying to turn them to our cause."

"But you won't tell the public of this threat?" she asked.

"We can't, Scully. Surely you can imagine the mass panic this would
cause? Come on. Some wouldn't believe us and could cause a stink
and create all kinds of delays for us. The ones that did believe would
panic and alert the aliens to what we are trying to do behind their
backs. We can't risk that kind of exposure. If this is to succeed,
we have to do it under wraps and as quietly and quickly as possible."

She didn't respond but I could tell his words had sunk in. She did
realize that telling the general public would be a bad idea. It stuck
in her craw, though, that there would be more lies and subterfuge.

"It's the only way," I added. "Believe me, I've looked at this from
every angle and I can't figure out another way to do this without
exposing everyone involved to danger and delays. Secrecy is our best
weapon, for now anyway."

She perked up at that statement and looked right at me. "Alex said
the exact same thing about being a ..."

"Vampire," Alex supplied. "Come on, you can say it, I know you can,"
he mocked, imitating Mr. Rogers.

*Lose the tone, Alex. This is exactly what I'm talking about. It's
insulting ... and beneath you.*

She frowned. Her bottom jaw stuck out in irritation and she pulled it
back, clenching her teeth. I continued to stare at her which unnerved
her a bit.

Finally, Mulder got back to it and asked the one unanswered question.
"They're using your money, so you're the bankroll." He turned to
Alex. "So who is this leader you are a liaison for?"

There was silence again and Alex hesitated. Finally I said, "One
guess, Agents."




PART 9 (R)
KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION
FALLS CHURCH, VA

They looked at me, showing no outward reaction. Scully did swallow
heavily. I could smell a faint whiff of fear from her. Mulder didn't
seem as shaken. He said, "I knew it. Sitting here, you obviously
knew everything Alex did. I knew you had to be involved, but I didn't
really suspect that you were the ..."

"Head of it?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said lamely.

"My money, my calls," I said simply. When they said nothing, I said,
"I really am trying to do something noble here, Agents. I hope you
can come to believe that after you've had time to think about it. I'm
trusting both of you with this information. Do you understand what
that means?"

Scully looked up. "That if we spill the beans, we're dead meat?" she
asked plainly.

Mulder winced.

I looked at her, schooling my expression to a blank mask. "I have a
soft spot for you two, or you wouldn't here right now. You don't know
it, but I've watched you for years, followed your work. I admire both
of you, and I'm an even bigger fan of the way you work together. I
would like for you to help us when and if you can. That's all I ask.
And of course, I ask that you keep it to yourselves. I'm banking on
the fact that you will appreciate our honesty in this situation and
respect it."

Mulder blew air out of pursed lips. "Whew, this is a lot to take in,
even though I suspected it all. Having it confirmed makes it very
..."

"Real?" Alex supplied.

He didn't respond. Scully asked, "You've put us in a bad position."

"How so?" I asked.

"If we talk, we die. If you ask us to do something that's against our
beliefs and we don't do it, we die. We have no idea what you will ask
of us."

"I will take great pains to see that you are never asked to do
anything you wouldn't probably do on your own anyway. I don't wish to
make you liars or hypocrites."

"You're asking us to cooperate with the very conspiracy that we were
trying all these years to expose."

"No, Scully," Mulder interjected. "This concern isn't out to get us.
I don't believe that they are. If they were, we'd be dead already.
If they were the same, we would still be looking for answers about
their agenda, instead of being handed them on a silver platter."

I nodded in agreement. "We would love to have you actively work with
us, but we know that's too much to ask, and I won't ask more of you
than you are willing to give as long as you keep our confidence. You
are free to refuse any request without consequences as long as you
don't expose us."

Scully sighed. "I guess we don't have much choice in the matter.
That's what bothers me the most."

Alex said, "You always have choices, Scully. Sometimes they are hard
ones, with lots of consequences. But we always have choices. I've
made some really bad ones in the past. But I'd like to believe my
work here will make up for some of them."

"Did you kill my sister?" she asked quietly.

I looked to Alex, actually not knowing the answer to this question.
He said firmly, "No."

He didn't elaborate and I knew that he had been involved somehow. As
if echoing my thoughts, she said, "You were involved though, weren't
you?"

"I knew about it," he said. "I didn't pull the trigger. I think they
were after you and got her by mistake. I know it was a mistake."

I could read him easily now as he sat there using all his willpower
not to show his roiling emotions. He had been there. I saw the
picture of a man pulling the trigger and him rushing forward to turn
the woman over and his eyes going wide as he relived the discovery
that his partner had killed the wrong woman.

He hadn't wanted to kill Dana either, any more than he had wanted to
kill Mulder's father. He didn't think he could do it and had said so.
That's why the other man had been sent with him. Ever since, he had
regretted that night. Had it been him alone, he wouldn't have made
the same mistake.

He would have made sure it was her, and then ... he wasn't sure, but
he'd had a vague plan to warn her to run, to get out of town for a
while and report back that he couldn't find her. He'd wanted to
ditch his partner from the moment they'd sent him along, knowing he
might not be able to do this hit as easily as he had done others. He'd
been enamored of her even then. But alas, he hadn't been alone and
his incompetent partner had nearly created a disaster. I read this
all easily from his mind as he relived it.

"A mistake?" Scully said.

"I'm sorry for that too, Scully. But I didn't pull the trigger."

She nodded, accepting that this was all the detail he was willing to
give and not sure she wanted the details anyway. What did it matter
now? Melissa was never coming back.

"Wait a minute!" Mulder said suddenly.

We all turned to him, awaiting the next question from his agile brain.
He looked at Alex and then at me and back to Alex. "You say you're a
vampire. You say you have a master or a maker, or whatever you call
it. Who is he? Is he involved here to? Wouldn't he resent D.D. Fair
having all your attention."

"He doesn't own me," Alex said.

"Come on, Alex. He must be a large part of your life."

"He is," he said calmly. "My relationship with him and my activities
in the new Consortium are separate, compartmentalized duties, so to
speak.

*This could get messy,* Alex projected to me.

*You're doing fine. Use my real name.*

"Where is he now?" Mulder asked.

"I don't know. Probably out looking for Zebrosia."

"What did you say his name was?" Scully asked, looking pointedly at
me.

I simply returned her gaze without flinching. Alex answered,
"Gareth."

Mulder asked me, "You believe in his vampirism?"

"Yes, I've seen it with my own eyes." I looked at Scully. "And I
believe what my eyes tell me."

She scowled at me, glaring, but not responding.

"It doesn't bother you?" Mulder asked.

"No, not as long as he's on my side," I joked.

Mulder flashed a quick smile at my humor but lost it just as quickly.

"What's his last name?" Scully asked Alex.

"Who?"

"This Gareth."

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" she asked, clearly not believing him.

"No, he's never told me. He uses several aliases in the mortal
world." *Was that all right to say?* he asked.

*Too late now,* I said.

As I feared she seized on it. "Like what?"

I reminded Alex. *Viking.*

"He uses the name Viking quite a bit."

Mulder's eidetic memory served him once more. "That's the name of the
owner of the property in Connecticut, Scully. The name of the guy
that let us rent that house."

"I remember," she said.

"It fits," Mulder said. "We never met him personally. It was all
done through his real estate agent."

Scully nodded, this puzzle piece falling into place for her. She
wasn't totally convinced but she believed Alex in this for some reason
she couldn't fathom. She just sensed he was telling the truth, about
this nugget of information anyway. Then she remembered that the best
con artists mix the lies with the truth to confuse the matter. Just
enough truth to make them seem credible.

Good lord, this woman was tough. I wondered if she would ever let go
of her suspicions where Alex was concerned. I was afraid they would
always be there to some degree. I felt sad for Alex. It would take a
major event to get her to change her mind about Alex.

Little did I know, that event was about to happen in a very short
time.

"Something isn't right about all this," Scully said quietly.

Mulder looked at her. "There's a lot to consider, Scully. I think we
need to ponder everything we've learned before we make any decisions
about our next move ... or what we're willing to give."

"You'll give everything, Mulder," she said without a trace of doubt.
"You always do."

"Only if I believe in it, Scully."

"And you do. I know you do. Already ... I can read it in your face,
Mulder. You believe everything that's been said here tonight."

"You don't?"

"I don't know what to think yet. I need some time to assimilate this.
You're right about that."

"We better get going."

They stood and Alex walked them to the door. I stayed seated.
"What's bothering you, Scully?" Mulder asked. "Other than the
obvious."

She shook her head. "Later. Let me think on it for a while. It will
come to me."

I knew what it was. She was still connecting me with Gareth. Even
though Alex had provided her with my other names, she had been sure I
was Alex's master. And she was right. The funny thing was that it
had been pure gut instinct that had led her to that suspicion. Yet
instinct was the thing she simply couldn't believe in one hundred
percent. And so there was this constant conflict in her between her
instincts and her intellect. The logic told her that we were two
separate people. There were explanations for my strange habits and
behaviors as D.D. Fair. Instinct told her something she'd heard
hadn't been the full truth. It would nag at her.

Mulder, in contrast, had no such conflict on most issues. His
intellect was superb, his genius I.Q. working flawlessly with his
eidetic memory. And he used these gifts to further his heart, his
passion. He knew he was intelligent, but he didn't discount or
distrust his gut instincts. He held them in as much regard as he
appreciated his intellect. For him there was no such internal
conflict. It was why he was able to make the leaps of intuition that
he did, the ones that amazed those around him.

The only conflict Mulder came up against concerned Scully. Her
inability to merge her mind and her heart, or her gut instincts, was a
source of frustration for him. He loved her deeply and well, but this
one flaw of hers was something that frightened him. He was afraid
someday that her unwillingness to open her heart would get her hurt,
or worse ... killed, simply because she refused to believe what her
own eyes were telling her, let alone what her gut told her.

I didn't know what it would take to change that for her, or if it ever
would change for her.

"I'll be in touch," Alex said.

Mulder nodded in acknowledgement.

Alex reached for the door to open it for them when all hell broke
loose.

My mind was otherwise occupied with questions about my agents'
characters and so I was not paying as much attention as I should have.
The crashing of the bay window that sprayed glass in every direction
as she came crashing through it had me out of my chair and facing her
wrath before her feet landed on the carpet.

Mulder and Scully, along with Alex, had turned, startled by the crash.
I braced for her attack, but it didn't come. She folded her arms
under her breasts and adopted a deceptively relaxed pose. I knew
better than to trust that. I felt her try to probe my mind and I
threw up a wall of iron around my psyche. She actually flinched when
her awareness hit that wall and bounced back to her.

She smiled, a smile so evil and wicked, it sent chills down my spine.
Despite the centuries, she was as beautiful as ever, more so, if that
were even possible. Her skin was milky white and flawless. Her long,
lustrous, brunette hair fell down her back in waves, highlighted by
bits of safety glass that clung to her waves.

"What the fuck?" Mulder whispered. I glanced briefly at them, seeing
both Mulder and Scully had their weapons in their hands. Those Sigs
were nice weapons, but useless against her.

*Flank her,* I said to Alex and then quickly threw up my shields
again. He moved so fast he disappeared. Mulder and Scully gasped as
he came to a halt in front of the broken bay window, materializing
before their eyes as he stilled.

Zebrosia didn't even turn around. She was arrogant and clearly
didn't think he was a threat. I said to Mulder and Scully. "Agents,
get out of here."

"What did she throw through that window to break it?" Scully asked.

Alex answered. "Her body. Now get the fuck out of here."

Comprehension dawned on them as they realized who this woman was. I'm
surprised the medieval outfit didn't tip them off. She was wearing a
blood red gown that hung to below her knees. The bodice was tight,
laced up and showcasing her breasts and her slender waist. She looked
like something out of King Arthur's court.

She pivoted on her heel to look at Alex, staying between us. We now
formed a triangle; she in front of the fireplace, which she glanced
at briefly to judge the flames, me in front of the sofa and Alex in
front of the bay widow.

"So we meet again," I said, finally.  "I've been waiting. You always
did
like to make a dramatic entrance."

She laughed and turned to Alex. I saw him tense, in full defense
mode. I'd told him to be defensive unless I told him the time was
right to be aggressive. Her eyes swept over him from head to toe.

"Oh, he is a pretty one, isn't he?" She licked her lips. "I sensed
you appreciation of his beauty. You're really in love with this one,
aren't you?"

"Can we talk about this?"

She laughed again, a grating sound that bounced off the walls. I saw
Mulder and Scully wince at the volume of the sound as they stood
poised in the archway, aiming their weapons. She was totally
unconcerned, which told me just how powerful she was.

"You knew the rules, you broke them," she said simply. "You were a
good boy for a long while."

"Exactly, for a long time. Too long. I wanted to ask permission, but
you made yourself scarce. You hid yourself from me on purpose. How
can I ask you for something if you won't show yourself or make
yourself available for the asking?"

She smiled another amused, evil smile, not showing any teeth. "That's
called a clue, Gareth mine."

Mulder and Scully both drew in harsh intakes of breath. All the
puzzle pieces were on the table now, weren't they? Agent Scully's
last question had been answered. She was still confused, as I'd shown
no sign of my condition as Alex had. I almost laughed. She thought
of it as a 'condition'.

"This has gone on too long, Zebrosia. Aren't you tired of it? Was I
supposed to be alone forever? If you'd come to me to resolve this, I
may have stayed with you. We could have been happy again."

"You killed Amet," she said.

"You killed Vanessa," I countered. "Eye for an eye."

"I loved him."

"You were selfish. You wanted us both. Why couldn't I have anyone?
You know I wouldn't have been careless. You knew me better than
that!"

"I was never more alone than after you killed Amet. I couldn't stand
the sight of you!" she hissed. "I loved him. You killed that for me.
I've never been able to love since. You doomed me to eternity without
love!"

"I've been alone for 300 fucking years, Zebrosia! That's a long time
to hold a grudge! I didn't doom you to an eternity without love. You
CHOSE not give it or receive it anymore. Big difference."

Mulder and Scully couldn't fathom this conversation. They were
stunned into immobility. They didn't dare move and draw attention to
themselves. Glances between them communicated that they had resolved
to watch and wait this one out, interfering only to defend themselves.

"HOW DID YOU DARE TO KILL AMET? I AM YOUR QUEEN!"

Calmly, I said, "You WERE my queen, my everything ... right up until
you rejected me and then killed my fledgling. Then you were just a
vindictive and selfish." I shouted at her. "Who denied who, Zebrosia?
You're
a damn hypocrite."

"I ALONE control the numbers," she threw at me.

"This isn't about numbers and you know it!" I countered.

"No, it's not. You took the love of my life away from me out of
simple jealousy and spite, you petty little bastard! And now I'm going
to take away the love of your life. You killed Amet. I'll NEVER
FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT!" she spat.

"Only after you denied me my fledgling. You loved him best. No, I
didn't like it. Yes, I was jealous. But I accepted it. I never
thought to harm him. I thought to make a companion of my own."

"And leave me," she added with venom.

"Yes! Was that so horrible? You didn't want me. I was just a
substitute when Amet couldn't keep up with your desires. I was worth
more. I AM worth more than that. Why should I have played second
fiddle to anyone?  Would you have? Clearly, NO! You wouldn't even
let me have that little comfort of a fledgling to call my own. I was
supposed to wait around at your beck and call like a damn
prostitute! I couldn't do it!"

"I taught you everything you know and you defied me!"

"Only because you rejected me!" I said through clenched teeth. "I
loved you as much as you loved Amet. Didn't you know that? You
taught me, you nurtured me and I became attached. And then I fell in
love with you. Then when you were through with me, you discarded me
like old trash. You broke my heart too. And what? I wasn't
supposed to be bitter? I wasn't supposed to be hurt? I wasn't
supposed to want something better for myself?" My voice was thundering
as I let my rage burn through me at the remembered anguish of her
rejection. She'd bluntly told me Amet was her favorite and she'd call
me when she needed me. Basically saying, 'go out and play now and come
when I call.'"

"We end this tonight," she declared.

"I thought you would be unreasonable."

"What would be reasonable?"

"You let me have Alex and I promise never to make another as long as
he lives."

She laughed again, a bitter sound. "No, if I let him live, then ..."

"You'd ruin your reputation for never showing mercy," I said.

She hissed, her fangs extending. I saw Mulder and Scully flinch where
they stood. I resolved not to take my eyes off her. She could strike
at any moment.

"You insolent bastard!" she cried. "My mercy was not killing YOU that
day!"

"Mercy would have spared my fledgling AND your lover. But
you couldn't stand it that I might make it on my own, could you?
You're a damn control freak, blown up with your own power. And how
much comfort has that been the last 300 years? I don't need you. I
NEVER needed you. I've done very well on my own, as you can see."

"You'd be dead if I hadn't taken you under my wing. Oh yes, you've
done well, living among these pathetic mortals! Betraying who you
are."

"No, Zebrosia. You never understood. It's not an US against THEM
situation. It's survival and trying not to go mad from loneliness and
isolation. I held out as long as I could. You look like a joke from
the middle ages with your archaic costume. Where the hell have you
been hiding?"

"You lie. You didn't wait all this time. You made one a century ago.
Did you think I didn't know?"

"She killed herself in the sun."

"I know, she died before I could get there, the pathetic little
creature."

"I chose badly."

"Yes, you did," she said haughtily.

"I chose wisely this time. I don't make the same mistake twice."

"Are you telling me this is a mistake?"

"Yes, I am."

"You know nothing!"

"No, Zebrosia. You're hugging despair because of your isolation.
Before your rampage up the US coast, when was the last time you went
out? When was the last time you fed? Or have you just held court in
some remote location plotting your revenge against me and every other
blood drinker that you perceive has done you wrong?  You don't want
me, but you don't want anyone else to have me either. That's the
height of arrogance! The height of selfishness! You CHOOSE to be
miserable and isolate yourself from humans. I choose another way."

She was silent for a moment and then hissed, "And you will die for
it."

She struck with the speed of lightning and the fury of a viper. She
rose into the air and sped towards me. I ducked and she flew over my
head. The cathedral 20 foot ceilings left plenty of room for her
aerial display. She rose to the ceiling and dove towards Alex. He
moved but not quick enough. She landed on his chest and knocked him
to his back on the floor.

Her strength was enormous as she held him pinned to the carpet. He
struggled and hissed, his fangs emerging. She threw her head back and
laughed as she prepared to kill him the way I had killed Amet.

That one moment of gloating was all he needed. Alex heaved with
all his strength and rolled, taking her with him. Her eyes flashed
with fury and surprise at his strength. I was there in an instant,
pulling her arms away from his throat where they had gone the moment
he landed on his back.

Alex now straddled her hips. Between us, we pulled her hands away
from his throat. She was so strong. In this position, she didn't
have the leverage, though, and it was enough of an advantage for us to
overcome her, for the moment anyway.

"You'll die!" she hissed, with the fervor of one that has lost her
mind. I tried to pin her arms by her head. She thrashed mightily.

Alex ripped her bodice open with one grab and her full, D cup breasts
stood up perfect as silicone fakes, the nipples erect and dark pink
with blood.

He opened his mouth and she screamed. The noise was blood curdling
and the next thing I knew, Alex was flying through the air backwards
as she threw him into the air and wrenched from my grasp, gaining her
feet once more.

Alex executed a perfect back flip in mid air and kicked off the wall,
landing on his feet in the middle of the room. I had a brief thought
to wonder what Mulder and Scully thought of all this but I didn't dare
take my eyes off her. She was clearly impressed with Alex's skill,
but not intimidated by it. "He is strong, Gareth."

"Yes, and I am stronger. You can't beat both of us."

"The hell I can't." She spun toward me and ignited my clothing. I
went up like a torch.

I screamed as I felt my skin begin to burn. I heard the sound of
running feet as I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it at her as
she rushed me. Her arms raised to grab at me, my pants still flaming
when the slab of glass from the coffee table landed on her back,
smashing the back of her head and driving her to her knees on the
floor. I skipped backwards, screaming again as the flames burned my
legs. I patted frantically at them when I was suddenly hit from
behind by a gigantic hail of water. I turned my head to find Scully
wielding a spaghetti kettle of water. Mulder emerged with a mop
bucket full of water and Scully ran to get more for her kettle.

I couldn't spare them any more attention. Zebrosia had been stunned
as Alex wielded the coffee table with his mind. She recovered quickly
and spun back to Alex as she gained her feet, lifting about two feet
off the floor. She flew at him and he picked the table up again,
batting at her with the steel metal frame. She lurched sideways and
cart wheeled over the rear of the sofa.

She released a battle cry that would have curdled my blood had I been
mortal and flew back at Alex, easily clearing the sofa. I dove at her
from the side, intercepting her flight. I bear hugged her around the
middle and lifted into the air myself. She struggled for a hold on my
neck and snapped her head forward.

I felt her fang pierce my skin and I jerked my head away, throwing her
away from me with all my strength.  She flew through the air, crashing
into the wall and sinking quickly to the floor, but never losing her
feet. Oddly, she hadn't paid any attention to Mulder and Scully.
That was about to change.

She glared at Alex and his clothes went up in flame. He instinctively
ran toward the archway and Mulder was waiting, dousing him with a
bucketful of water from the mop bucket.

Alex muttered, "Thanks," and spun to meet her again.

She charged me instead and Alex moved into the room again, trying to
grab her arms. At the last second she veered from me and leaped into
the air, sailing towards Mulder. She was now pissed off that they
were interfering with her revenge. They had not been important enough
to warrant her attention before now. I heard the crack of the gun as
an echo as Scully fired from the hallway.

Zebrosia screeched an ear splitting wail and sank to the floor but
landed on her feet. Her bodice was hanging around her waist. She was
naked from the waist up. Blood poured down her sides where the bullet
had entered and exited. It had slowed her down but I could already see
the wounds healing and closing over.

She was truly amazing. So strong. Too bad she's crazy, was my next
thought. She ran towards Scully, easily batting Mulder out of the way
and sending him onto his ass in the foyer. He leaped to his feet
again, but she was on Scully by then. She surprised me when she
didn't try to bite her.

Instead she easily lifted the small agent into the air and flung her
into the living room with such force that she flew backwards through
the air, her arms and legs forced out parallel with the floor by the
force of the throw. She was headed for the stone chimney flu above
the fire place.

I knew in that instant that she would probably die from the incredible
impact with the stone. I started for her anyway.

Mulder cried out a heart rending scream, "NNNNNNOOOOOO!"

Alex was in the air in a heart beat, leaping higher than he had ever
leaped. I could see him but I knew Mulder couldn't. He had moved too
fast. I saw it as if it happened in slow motion.

He'd taken two steps, and leaped into the air like a basketball player
going for a lay up. His arm extended. He reached her height just in
time, wrapping his arms around her waist and twisting to put his back
to the wall. They both crashed into the stone chimney, vibrating the
walls with the force of the impact.

Alex's body had cushioned her, taking the full brunt of the impact.
He was stunned and cried out as he became visible to Mulder with his
sudden stop.

I moved quickly, already in motion as they plummeted to the floor. I
arrived in time to wrap my arms around them and steady them before
they crumpled to the floor.




PART 10 (PG-13)
KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION
FALLS CHURCH, VA.

Scully was wide eyed and stunned, turning to look over her shoulder at
Alex. His head was split open in the back and blood was running
through his hair and coating his neck. His expression was near
lifeless, his eyes blank and his jaw slack. I knew he would survive,
but he'd been hurt badly by the impact.

She turned in his arms, snapping out of her stupor and raising her
hands to his head to check the cut. He stood placidly.

I felt my rage rise up in me at seeing him hurt and I roared, turning
from them to face her as Mulder shouted, "Ahhhh, nooo! Please!"

I raced toward them as she descended. Her fangs were sunk into his
neck and his body jerked. I grabbed her hair and yanked with all my
strength, hearing some rip from her scalp.

I heard Alex say to Scully, "I'll heal. Go to him."

Her arm swung back to swat at me and I grabbed her arm at the wrist,
jamming my knee into her elbow and bending it backwards, snapping the
bone. That did it.

She screamed, jerking her fangs from his throat. He grabbed his
throat and rolled away from her, his back now to the front door in the
foyer as he sat propped, staring at his bloody hands. Blood ran down
his neck from the wounds. Scully dodged by me, having left Alex when
she saw Mulder was in need.

My rage added strength to my already considerable power. Her
arm was already healing but for now, it hung useless at her side as
she
staggered to her feet.

We both rose into the air, hovering at about two feet, knowing we
moved more agilely in the air. I opened my mind and threw all my
hatred at her for the hurt she had caused me. I slammed into her
mind, none too gently.

She screeched and flew into the living room again, trying to throw up
her defenses. But I was already inside. She'd not been expecting it
and had dropped her defenses. Careless of her, and a sign of her
arrogance.

I followed her and we collided again, thrashing in the air, trying to
get at each other throats as we tumbled across the room. I was
surprised to find we were nearly matched. Of course, her arm wasn't
healed yet. Alex staggered away from the fire place, his hands on the
back of the couch, supporting himself as he watched our own private
little air show.

My bare chest heaved with the effort of these sustained, quick,
darting movements. Scully was holding a dishcloth to Mulder's neck
to stop the bleeding. She must have gotten it from the kitchen.

I spun rapidly in the air, my leg coming up like a tree trunk and
hitting her in the jaw. I heard bone snap and she screamed again,
hissing and diving after me as I flew backwards and towards the
ceiling
to put some space between us, and give myself room to maneuver.

I felt the sting of blackened flesh where I had burned. We
didn't sweat, but I felt the sensation of being extremely hot on the
inside which told me I was reaching the limits of my endurance.

I darted to the side as she flew at me and she had to bring herself up
short or crash into the wall. It was enough time for me to zip across
to the opposite side of the room, hoping to gather what strength I had
left.

She glared at me, hissed and launched herself at me again in a move
any flying squirrel would be proud of. I held my arms wide, bracing
for the impact, knowing she would plow us into the wall above the
broken bay window.

To my surprise, Alex somehow found the strength and leaped into the
air again as she passed overhead. He couldn't fly yet, but I'd never
seen anyone jump as high as he could. His timing was impeccable and
I'd swear he'd been waiting for just the right moment to intervene. He
did the same move he'd pulled with Scully, wrapping his arms around
her waist and leaning back. His pull slowed her down enough that she
didn't crash into me, but it didn't stop her flight and I merely
grunted when she plowed into my chest.

Alex's weight dragged her down and we descended almost comically
slowly to the floor. Our feet touched down. She struggled and Alex
fisted her hair in his grasp, yanking her head back. We both had her
squished between us.

*Nice move, Alex. It's time to kill her,* I told him.

*Me?* he asked astonished.

*Both of us. Go to the right on three.*

She hissed and squirmed and I felt her try to ignite us but
concentrated and felt my body turn ice cold. She gasped, and I could
tell she didn't know this was possible.

Her momentary hesitation was her downfall and I counted, *One, Two ...
THREE!*

Alex and I descended at the same time. Me sinking my fangs into her
jugular from the right, and he taking her left side from the rear.
She screamed like a wounded bat, high pitched wailing screams as he
jerked and struggled to escape from our grasp, but she couldn't
overwhelm us both. Had I been alone, there would have been no doubt
of the outcome.  And I know she could have killed Alex if she'd let go
of
her arrogance for two seconds. But I was strong and Alex now was
nearly as strong as I was and the two of us ... she was no match for
the
two of us now that we had her immobilized.

I pulled heavily and felt the ebb and flow as Alex pulled from the
other side. Her blood was incredibly sweet and thick, not gelatin,
but only one step from that.

I swallowed, drinking like a pig. I felt her incredibly strong blood
flow into my veins and it began to seep into my skin and muscle. I
imagined I could almost feel myself hardening. She was like holding
marble.

Alex moaned as the ecstasy hit him from glutting on such strong blood.
It was the strongest we would ever have, I was sure. There was not
another like her in the world. As strong as she was, her arrogance
and rage had brought her down. A good lesson to be learned.

All her knowledge of the others flowed into my mind in a series of
pictures. Now I would have to figure out where those pictures were
from. She was woefully ignorant of modern times. She must have been
away from civilization for a long time. I almost felt sorry for her.

We all three sank to our knees, her legs trailing between Alex's big
thighs as they straddled her ass. As always happened when I fed, I
was hard and throbbing between my legs. I knew Alex was too when I
heard him grunt and thrust into her ass, driving her hard stomach
against my cock.

I grunted in response and we continued to feed. Soon, there was
nothing left but a drop here and there. She was a hard, dry
husk. I released my fangs from her throat and he followed my lead.

He looked at me over her shoulder. His eyes were bright and feverish,
his lips ruby red. He licked the last from his teeth, his fangs still
extended as mine were.

"We're not done."

"We're not?" he inquired softly as he glanced at her motionless body.

I smiled. *Which breast would you like?*

He groaned, knowing what I was suggesting. She was amazingly still
alive, the ancient blood in her skin clinging her body to life. She
was helpless now though and stared vacantly at me.

I laid her gently onto her back on the floor. We knelt beside her and
lowered to her bare breasts. They looked like the mounds of Venus. I
nodded.

Alex didn't hesitate and neither did I. We sank our fangs into her
breasts and pulled hard, heaving our chests with the effort to pull
the blood from her muscle and skin. The first squirt that hit my
tongue made me dizzy. It was so thick and fragrant that my head spun
in ecstasy. Alex groaned again, unable to keep his pleasure hidden.

Her body jerked. It was hard work, but we finally extracted every
drop of blood from her now lifeless body. Just before she succumbed,
her body jerked once more and her feeble mind touched mine. She said,
*You are now the King.*

I shuddered, realizing what she was telling me. She knew all of us
and she was saying I was the oldest living and strongest blood drinker
in the world. I felt another wave of dizziness and my body jerked as
I felt warmth flow into me like a wave. It was what was left of her
spirit, and I greedily inhaled the scent of her new blood in my veins.

Finally we raised our heads. We turned to see Mulder cradling Scully
in his lap, her face buried in his neck to hide her eyes. They sat
propped against the base of the staircase. He glanced at us but then
averted his own eyes. They hadn't been able to watch.

I stood and lifted Zebrosia's now lifeless body into my arms. She was
light as a feather. I felt renewed and so incredibly strong. I
stepped easily out of the broken window and sank easily the couple of
feet to the ground. I laid her down several feet from the house and
ignited her body, watching it flash burn into immediate intense heat
that incinerated her to ashes in but a few moments.

*Hand me that coffee cup, Alex.*

He went to the couch and retrieved the now spilled coffee cup that had
met its demise in the tussle. One edge was chipped. It was cracked
and the handle broken off.

I knelt down and carefully scooped up her ashes into the cup. I
returned into the living room, hopping easily up and through the
window. I surveyed the living room. What a mess.

I said to Alex, "Let me mix this with water. We drink and we're
done."

"Water?" he said, as if the idea repulsed him.

"Yes, just enough to make it liquid and easy to swallow."

He looked skeptical but nodded.

"Take care of them." I indicated Mulder and Scully as I went into the
kitchen. I turned on the tap and let it run until it was warm, then I
let the water flow over the cup or so of ashes I'd collected.

I'd remembered drinking my master's ashes and the strength that had
given me. I didn't know if it would make a difference here but I
wasn't willing to leave anything undone.

I sighed with relief that it was finally over.

I returned to the living room to find Mulder and Scully on the couch,
she still in his lap. They were both looking at us fearfully.

Mulder's neck was still seeping blood. *Put saliva on his neck,
Alex.*

Alex stepped forward and Mulder flinched. They were going into shock.

Alex spoke softly as if to a child. "I won't hurt you. I promise.
I'm just going to stop the bleeding, all right?"

Mulder didn't answer but he didn't protest either. Rather than bring
his mouth near Mulder's neck, which he knew would frighten him after
this experience, he spit onto his hand. Crude but effective.

He lifted his fingers slowly, letting Mulder track his movements with
his eyes. He shrugged and cringed slightly as Alex's fingers smeared
his thick saliva on his neck wounds.

Then he shivered again as the weeping holes closed up. Alex glanced
down and saw that Scully's forearm was cut. He lifted it gently as
she sat there like a rag doll. His forefinger came down and wiped up
the streak of blood that had dried on her arm. He wiped it on his
tongue and shivered, then moaned softly at the taste of her innocent
blood.

His eyes widened and he said, *She's pregnant, Gareth.* Then he spit
on his fingers again, gently wiping it over her soft skin on the
underside of her forearm. She flinched but let him do it. She stared
in awe as the angry red line disappeared and her skin reconnected as
if by magic. There was now no trace of her cut.

He stared at her and then at Mulder again. "Well, I guess you got
more than you bargained for tonight," he said in the understatement of
the century.

I laughed mirthlessly. "Jesus, Alex. This isn't how I planned this,
that's for sure."

"I know," he answered as he stood. By silent agreement we weren't
going to hide our thoughts from them by speaking telepathically unless
it was something that would send them further into shock. I didn't
really see how that was possible. Good thing they both had strong
hearts or they may have perished by now from heart attacks.

I drank my half of the cup and held it out to him. He eyed it and
said, "No, you drink it all."

I grasped his wrist and raised it up. I pressed the cup into his
hand. "No, equals, remember?"

His eyes moistened and he swallowed. Then he took the cup and raised
it to his luscious lips, throwing his head back as he swallowed it all
in one gulp. He shook his head at the nasty taste and then set the
mug on the mantel.

I walked over and closed the thick tapestries in front of the window
to block some of the night wind that was now turning cold. It didn't
affect me or Alex, but I could see Mulder and Scully shivering. I
then picked up another log from the stack next to the hearth and
tossed it on the fire. I ignited it and threw another on, igniting
that too and causing the fire place to throw off a wave of heat toward
the couch.

Scully sighed. "It will be warm again in a minute," I said.

There was no point in turning on the heat, which would escape through
the broken window. I would have to have that fixed tomorrow. I
turned to my two favorite agents and said, "You've been through a big
shock. I have extra rooms. Why don't you stay here tonight?"

Scully shook her head but Mulder looked at her and said, "Do either of
us really want to drive right now?"

She looked like she was about to cry but said, "I can't stay here."

He nodded his understanding. I squatted down in front of them. They
both stared at me, not daring to take their eyes off me. "I was going
to tell you. I knew Agent Scully had her suspicions, but I wanted to
gain more of your trust first. This isn't how I wanted you to find
out."

"You don't say," Mulder muttered sarcastically.

I licked my lips and looked up at them again. "Look, you've seen the
best and worst we can be tonight. I make no excuses to you. I did
what I had to do. This is a confrontation that's been in the making
for a long time."

"Obviously," Scully muttered.

"I had no choice. I wasn't going to die just so I wouldn't be
revealed to you. But now you have me in a delicate situation."

"How's that?" Mulder asked.

"You could easily expose me."

He barked out a chuff of laughter that held no humor. "Who the hell
would believe us?"

"Even rumors that I am anything other than above board could force me
out of the Bureau. And if people poke too hard, I would simply
disappear again, like I have so many times in my life time.

"I'd rather stay here and do what good I can do."

"And kill people along the way?" Scully asked, no malice or
righteousness in her voice now.

"I don't kill good people, Agent Scully, only evil ones. And I don't
have to kill to survive. That's a myth."

She stared at me. "How do you survive then?"

"I can take what I call the 'little drink.' I hypnotize the person,
take a few mouthfuls and heal them up. I release them and they have
no memory of it ever taking place. It doesn't harm them. They
regenerate what I take over night."

"Doesn't it turn them into ... into ..."

She was clearly worried about Mulder having been bitten. Every bad,
cheesy vampire movie was now flashing through her head.

I shook my head, "No, being bitten doesn't turn you. Alex can attest
to that. It's another myth. It's a fairly long and arduous process.
It takes nearly two weeks."

She sighed in relief. Mulder didn't respond yet, but I could see his
body relax further into the cushion of the sofa.

"Look, you're exhausted. I can only remain up for a few more
hours. I must be locked in my room by day break. Stay here. I
promise we won't hurt you. It may sound stupid, but you're safer here
than you could be anywhere else."

Mulder looked at Scully, clearing wanting to take me up on the offer
despite his misgivings and mixed emotions. Scully was weary and
finally nodded, not sure she could stay awake for the trip home to
Georgetown. She thought briefly of a few hotels on the way home
and wondered whether she could make it there or not.

Then she looked at Mulder, saw the weariness in his face. She slumped
and nodded her acquiescence. She slid off his lap and they tried to
stand. Both staggered and grabbed the sofa for balance.

Alex stepped over and easily scooped Scully into his arms.

Mulder finally animated and said, "Let her go!"

Alex looked at him saddened and said, "I won't hurt her. I'll just
carry her upstairs. You're both about to collapse from shock."

Mulder shook his head but didn't have the strength to resist as Alex
walked away. I followed his lead and bent down, easily lifting Mulder
into my arms. He gave a token squirm of discomfort but I said, "I'll
bring you to her. You must rest. Then you must take care of her.
She's with child."

He tensed and struggled slightly but then relaxed, realizing he was
too confused to fight with me. I followed Alex up the stairs and into
the best of the guest rooms. It had a queen sized bed with fluffy
bedding, antique dressers and a bathroom off the sleeping room. Alex
pulled down the covers and set Scully gently on the bed. He took her
shoes off and she didn't protest. She looked like a little doll
sitting there. I sat Mulder next to her and did the same.

*Do we undress them?* he asked.

*I don't think that's a good idea right now. We're lucky they let us
touch them.*

He nodded and said, "Good night. We'll talk tomorrow evening."

In a spurt of affection he leaned forward and kissed Scully's
forehead. Mulder lifted his arm to swat him away, but he was gone too
fast and his arm just fell to his side. Alex then surprised me when
he leaned into Mulder and did the same, placing his lips on his
forehead and giving him a soft kiss.

"Sleep well," he said.

We turned and left the room, closing the door gently and made our way
to the master suite, closing ourselves behind the iron door of our
windowless room.

I thought of what we had done tonight and I felt sad. I sat on the
bed and removed the rest of my clothes. I glanced down at my chest
and was shocked to realize that it was completely healed already. A
smudge of ash was the only indication that I'd been burnt. Good lord,
that was fast.

I stood and turned, finding Alex naked now. I said, "I need a shower
first, I'm covered in ash and ... debris."

He smiled and said, "Can I join you? I still have blood in my hair."

"Of course. Is it still weeping?"

"No, it's healed closed."

We entered the large bath off the master bedroom and I filled the
Jacuzzi tub with water, dumping in some bath salts. We lowered
ourselves into the rose scented water and sighed, taking the sponges
on the deck of the Jacuzzi and sponging off all the grime.

I slid off the bench seat I was perched on and went under, wetting my
hair which was already beginning to grow back and now down to my
shoulder blades. I emerged and wiped the water from my face. Alex
did the same and came back up. The room was turning steamy from the
hot water.

I felt warm anyway from the incredible blood in my veins. We sat
opposite one another and rested. I said, "She spoke to me, Alex."

He lifted his head from its relaxed pose and stared at me, waiting.
Then he said, "What did she say?"

"Just before she died, she said, 'You are now the King.'"

His eyes widened but he waited for an explanation. When none came, he
asked, "What does that mean to you?"

"She knew every blood drinker in existence, Alex."

"And she was bequeathing her throne to you?" he asked facetiously.

I shook my head. "Not by appointment, Alex. She was telling me
something very important."

"What's that?"

I turned to hold his gaze. "I'm the oldest living blood drinker in
the world ... and the strongest."

He sucked in his breath, not quite gasping. "That would mean ..."

"You are probably a close second, despite your young age. Because of
the fact that you have drank from me and from the well, so to speak."

"My God," he muttered. "What does this mean?"

"It means that I have a responsibility."

"Which is?"

"I need to seek out the other blood drinkers. I need to know where
they are, who they are, and how strong they are."

"You're going to impose rules on them?"

"I don't know. Zebrosia's numbers rule wasn't a bad one, Alex. She
just misused it when it suited her purpose. We can't have the planet
overrun with blood drinkers. We could kill off the human population
that we need to survive if that were to happen."

"Not if they all took little drinks," he reasoned.

"But they wouldn't, Alex. That's the point. And I can't be there to
instruct every one of them. There is no way to really control what
they do except to ask that they conform to the rules."

"But you know how bad it was to be subjected to solitude."

"I wouldn't do that to anyone. What I'm thinking is that we need to
find them. Any that are alone, perhaps we can hook them up with
others that are alone."

"That's a good idea. How are you going to find them?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I think I can already sense them. Can you?"

He closed his eyes for a few moments and said, "I think so. I'm not
sure. Is it like a slight tug on your consciousness?"

"Yes. It's a matter of zeroing in on those points to locate them. We
are much stronger now, or will be after her blood has a day to steep
into us. She showed me where some of them were."

"I feel stronger already. I almost orgasmed when I first sucked it
out of her breast," he admitted.

"Me too."

We smiled at each other. He said, "God, I'm getting horny just
thinking about it."

"That will have to wait, I'm afraid."

He frowned, looking utterly disappointed.

I laughed. "We're exhausted, Alex, and we may have some
repercussions."

"Like what?" he asked, looking worried all of a sudden.

"Don't fret. But we may have some pain taking on this blood. It is
thick and slow to steep into our cells. I just don't know. I don't
want to worry you. I just want to warn you so you are prepared and
don't panic if pain does come."

He nodded, looking much more somber now. "I'll be ready. It was
worth it before."

I smiled gently at him, holding up my arms. He came into them and I
hugged him tight. "It may not happen, Alex. I've never had blood
this strong either. I just wanted to mention that it's a possibility.
Now let's dry off and snuggle up. We may sleep longer than usual this
day."




PART 11 (NC-17)
KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION
FALLS CHURCH, VA.

I lay spooned behind her in the big queen size bed. We were so close
we could have been in a twin size bed and had room to spare.

My shock was wearing off. As open minded to extreme possibilities as
I claimed to be, I'd been thrown for a loop by what I'd seen tonight.
I'd been shocked, incredulous, amazed ... and yes, so frightened I
thought I was going to shit my pants.

When those fangs had sunk into my neck, I'd said the first really
fervent, heart felt prayer of my life. I'd shouted in my mind, 'God,
if you're not there, I AM FUCKED!'

I'm sure Scully wouldn't have approved of my choice of vocabulary, but
I didn't really have time to come up with an eloquent speech at the
time. I was still reeling from seeing Scully fly through the air like
a rag doll and seeing Alex materialize behind her and save her life by
taking the impact upon himself as they crashed into the chimney.

There was no doubt in my mind that she would be dead had she hit that
wall on her own without Alex's body to cushion the blow. I had mixed
feelings about that. On the one hand, the thought of his hands
anywhere on her precious body made my rage boil to the surface and all
my protective instincts come to the fore.

On the other hand, if he hadn't intervened, she would be dead.
Therefore, I owed him for her life and there was really no way I could
ever repay him for that. It seemed whatever Alex's agenda was, it did
not include harm to Scully. And he'd been hurt by saving her. I knew
that also. The force with which they hit that stone was tremendous.
That had to leave a mark. His seeming desire to protect Scully gave
me some measure of relief. I really didn't care if I died, except for
the fact that I know it would cause Scully to grieve and I didn't want
to cause her any more pain than I already had in our years together.
But now, Gareth said she was pregnant. There was even more at stake.
I hadn't even had the presence of mind to ask how he knew. But I
believed him without a doubt.

Seeing D.D. Fair ... excuse me, Gareth fly through the air and commit
acrobatic feats of daring was another thing it would take me a while
to comprehend. He'd definitely saved my life by breaking that
vampire's arm and turning her attention to himself. Another few
seconds and she would have weakened me. Fortunately, she'd only
gotten maybe one mouthful of blood when she was ripped from my body.
I'd felt the mighty throb of my heart as she had pulled my blood from
my body. I'd felt my heart crash against my ribcage twice and then
she was gone.

The instant erection and near orgasmic pleasure I'd received from her
attempt to kill me was confusing me a bit. I mean after all, she WAS
trying to kill me, and here I was sporting wood like a teenager. I
don't think anyone noticed, not even Scully when she came to my aid.
I felt a modicum of relief realizing that she had left Alex's injuries
to tend to mine.

If I was having a hard time taking all this in, I couldn't even
imagine what was going on in Scully's mind at the moment.

I nuzzled her hair and kissed the back of her neck softly. She sighed
and snuggled closer to me, her luscious bottom landing in the cradle
of my pelvis. The room was silent and dark when she spoke into the
stillness. "What now, Mulder?" she whispered.

"I don't know, Scully. I can't figure this out tonight."

"Me neither. I don't know what happened down there."

I sighed, tamping down my frustration, trying to respect her feelings
and not be angry at her ever present denial. "They killed her."

"There's no evidence of that."

"Nope. Not even ashes. I don't know if you noticed, but they drank
those too."

She cringed and muttered, "Yuck."

"Yeah well, I have a feeling we'll be told what happens now."

She wiggled loose from my grip and turned onto her back, peering at
me.

I raised up on my elbow so I could see her face better. I touched her
cheek with my free hand, cupping it gently. Waves of affection and
love swept through me and I realized just how close I'd come to losing
her. "I was so scared, Scully."

I felt my face crumple into an expression of agony, trying to suppress
the sob that wanted to emerge.

Her hands came up to cup my face and her thumbs traced my eyebrows and
then my nose, swept over my cheeks and finally rubbed my lips. I
kissed her fingers and she pulled me down to her. I kissed her
tenderly, softly.

She released me, our lips slow to pull away from one another. She
said, "I almost lost you. God, Mulder, when I ever saw that ...
creature on top of you ..."

Her voice trailed away and she swallowed. "I was still dizzy from the
fall and I ... couldn't get to you right away and ... Alex was hurt
too and ..."

I put my fingers over her lips. "Shhh, I know. It's all right. The
important thing is we both survived."

"I know. It's made me realize just how precious you are to me,
Mulder."

"I love you, Scully. I can't even really tell you how much. I've
never been an Alex fan, you know that. But he saved your life down
there." My breath hitched in my throat. "I'm grateful for that. At
the same time ... I don't know how I feel about him now."

"I know what you mean. I would have been dead, Mulder ... had I hit
that wall. I know my head would have cracked open like a pumpkin."

I cringed. "Jesus, don't say that." The imagery alone was enough to
make me nauseous.

"Well, I'm grateful too. And just as grateful to D.D. Fair. He saved
you from that vile creature."

I noticed she kept calling her a creature, rather than a vampire.
Yet, she called Alex and Fair by their names. "Yes, I suppose we owe
them both."

"I didn't want to stay here, but I was too tired to leave."

"I know. I'm waking up now though. We could go if you want. I can
drive. You can sleep in the car."

"No, they saved our lives, Mulder. I doubt they will harm us now.
Now that I've had a few minutes to think about it, I'm not frightened
anymore ... not about being here, anyway. I am frightened of what is
to come."

"I think we'll have to play it by ear, Scully. I have something else
to tell you. We owe Alex more than just your life."

"What do you mean?"

"Gareth said you are pregnant."

"What?!" she cried.

"Well, actually the quaint phrase he used was 'with child'."

She breathed deeply a couple of times. "I'll make an appointment for
testing tomorrow ... to be sure." She was still slow to believe.
She would need confirmation.

I lowered my face and kissed her again. This kiss was laced with more
passion  than the comfort kiss from before. Her tongue twined
with mine and I moaned softly, deepening the kiss.

She pulled back a little and I let my body fall on top of hers,
pinning her leg and side to the bed. My hands came up to capture her
wrists and place them next to her head on the pillow. Her hair was
mussed, her lips swollen and she looked so fuckable right now I could
hardly breathe.

She said, "We shouldn't do this now," she said when I pressed my
erection into her hip.

"I don't care. I need you."

"Mulder, we're in D.D. Fair's house!"

"We're in Gareth's house, and after all that's happened tonight, I
don't think I'm going to stand on ceremony and worry about my
manners." My comment came out sharper than I intended.

She frowned. "Mulder, we need to be on guard."

"I think the threat has passed, Scully. The immediate one anyway.
The threat was Zebrosia and she's dead."

She looked at me for a long moment and then I felt her go limp
underneath me. I took this as permission to proceed and lowered my
lips to hers again. I wasn't sure but I could swear I heard her
mutter, "Fuck it."

XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

Her demeanor changed all at once and she kissed me hungrily, clacking
teeth with mine and raking her nails down my back. One hand shot
between us and wrapped around my erection covered in silk boxers.
After they'd left, we'd somehow managed to strip down to our
underwear.

I reached behind her and released her breasts from her lacy white bra.
It fell away and we had a comical moment of twisting before it was
finally removed. By mutual agreement we shed my boxers and her
panties, kicking them to the foot of the bed. I made to roll over
her, when her legs locked behind my thighs and she rolled us quickly.
I ended up underneath her, my rampant erection pressed between us.

She spread her body over my torso, straddling my hips and we kissed
again, bruising lips and pressing deeply into each others faces.
Finally she sat up, lifted onto her knees, grasped my cock in one
hand, holding it straight up and plunged her incredibly tight body
down on top of my shaft.

I cried out, "Oh God! You make me feel so ... alive!"

She was panting as she stopped, wiggling to adjust to my sudden
intrusion. She moaned.

I raised my knees, putting my feet flat on the bed, which tipped her
pelvis forward and rubbed her clit on my pubic bone.

She groaned and began to rock back and forth holding me deep inside
her hot, wet tunnel. I threw my head back and began to thrust into
her, short, quick jabs. She gasped and her hands dug into my
shoulders where she supported her weight.

My voice was hoarse with arousal when I cried out and growled, "Awww,
yeah. Ride me, Scully."

Her eyes widened but did as requested. I felt her knees pull up a bit
and she leaned forward as she began lifting and lowering herself on my
aching cock. Her rhythm increased quickly and soon she was lifting
and impaling herself at a rapid speed. The sound of our panting,
grunting,
and the wet slap of our bodies filled the room.

She cried out, "Ahhhhhhh, Awwwwww, Ahhhhhh, Awwwwww," with every
thrust that embedded me inside her.

Without warning she leaned down and rolled again. I flipped over in
between her legs, never leaving her sheath. She hollered, "Mulder,
FUCK ME!"

Didn't have to ask me twice. I began pumping into her with everything
I had, slamming myself balls deep. Her legs raised up along my sides,
her knees nearly in my armpits and I sank deeper, groaning and crying
out with pleasure as I felt the pressure rise in my nuts.

Just when I thought I couldn't hold out any longer, she cried out, "Oh
YES, Just like that! I'm coommiinnggg!"

I pounded into her as she spasmed around my cock, her body quaking and
quivering beneath me, making me feel like a God. I was the one making
Dana Scully feel this pleasure. I was the one she wanted. She was
MINE!

I bellowed like a wounded boar and jerked mightily as my balls
clenched and shot my cum up my shaft. I jammed into her, holding
myself inside, swiveling my hips and pressing deep as my balls emptied
in wave after wave of orgasmic bliss.

I collapsed onto her and felt her shiver with aftershocks. I went to
lift off her as I caught my breath and she whispered, "No, stay on
top of me. Love to feel you surround me."

XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

"I'll crush you," I protested weakly, feeling exhaustion finally come
over me like a giant wave.

"No," she whispered, barely audible now as she drifted to sleep.
"Safe here ... with you."

My heart grew large and warmth spread through my chest. I made her
feel safe. I don't how the hell that could be, but I was a selfish
bastard and I would take it.

I rested my head on her shoulder, my lips kissing her collarbone. She
sighed and her breathing fell into a deep regular pattern. I
whispered, "I love you, Scully."

There was no response. She was already asleep. I felt my eyelids
droop, no longer able to fight the inevitable. I glanced at the
window and noticed the sun was coming up. That was the last thing I
remembered until hours later.

xxxxxxxxx

I knew he had no plans to take me tonight. But as we lay there and
listened to our two guests, it became inevitable. The sounds of their
lovemaking made my cock rise.

I felt Gareth gently probe my mind and I opened the gate, letting him
sink deep inside. We lay facing each other and I closed my eyes,
listening with my new ears to the sounds from down the hall. I could
picture them together.

Mulder's lanky, muscular, brown frame over top of her petite, toned,
white skin. I let my imagination take flight and pictured them, his
ass rising up and down in a frenzy between her beautiful thighs, her
feet in the air, bouncing with the impact.

XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17

I felt Gareth's huge cock grow stiff against my abdomen. I rubbed my
hard cock against his. He moaned gently in my ear and watched the
pictures I was imagining.

His hand reached between my legs and grasped my knee, raising my leg.
I spread myself willingly for him. I could hear her mewling sounds of
pleasure as Mulder plunged into her hot depths. "Awwww, Ahhhh, Awww,
Ahhh."

The sound echoed in my head as I pictured him again, his ass rising
and falling in a hard, quick rhythm. I imagined how hot she was
inside. I recalled the feelings she'd had when Mulder had first made
love to her. I moaned at the remembered feel of the hot throbbing
between her thighs, the tingling rush of wetness and later the aching
pulse of her sore muscles as he violated her body.

I pumped Gareth's cock in my hand, until I felt my fingers separate at
its rapid growth. Without warning, he wrapped an arm around my waist
and flipped me over, slamming my face into the pillow. He lifted my
ass into the air by cupping my hips. His blunt, wide cock head slid
down between my ass cheeks. Lifting his hips, he plunged the entire
length up my ass in one hard thrust, pinning my body with his hands on
my shoulder blades.

I cried out at the stabbing pain that shot through my bowels. "Oh,
Jesus, yes!" I mumbled as I felt the pain stiffen my own throbbing
hardness and make it swell. The cold head of my cock was pressing
into my navel and leaking jism like a leaky faucet.

He slapped my rump with incredible force. I screamed a low man scream
again and felt his cock throb and punch further into me as he jerked
his hips. He was not thrusting. He was just rocking, roughly,
jerking his cock in and out quick and hard, maybe an inch. Every few
strokes, I felt him grow, punching deeper, stretching my taut anal
ring until I felt it sting as though it would rip.

I reveled in the stinging erotic pain that caused me so much pleasure.
My pictures had been wrong, I realized, when I heard Mulder say,
"Awww, yeah. Ride me Scully!"

I rearranged my fantasy, seeing her above him, his hands on her milky
breasts, pinching her nipples till they were purple with blood and
watching her tight, tiny body, slither up and down his cock, which I
knew was considerable in size in its own right.

Gareth moaned behind me as he saw the picture I conjured in my mind.
He began to assault my ass, no longer able to prolong the pleasure of
thrusting. He slammed himself into my core, hitting home, that
magical spot inside me that made my balls cringe and feel like they
were going to bust.

I tightened my ass muscles, squeezing him with my new found strength
and control of all the muscles in my body. He bellowed and hissed,
hunching behind me and riding me hard. His hands slipped to my hips
as he continued his merciless pounding ... just the way I liked it.

I could feel him leaking inside me, actually feel my tissues absorbing
his fluids and swelling my nuts. Every thrust made my aching cock
swing between my legs, making me moan out my pleasure.

A particularly hard thrust sent me sprawling flat onto the mattress.
He followed me down, his cock thickening and stretching me beyond
anything I'd ever know. Now his thrusts drove my cock against the
sheets.

He reached up and under me, finding my pebbled nipples and squeezing
hard until I cried out from the knifing pain. It only made me harder,
longer, thicker. The stronger we became, the more we could take and
give. I'd never imagined such strength. I'd never imagined such
pain. I'd never imagined such euphoric pleasure.

My gums throbbed and I hissed around my extended fangs and cried out,
"Oh Yes! Fuck me hard! Jesus, hold off as long as you can. Fuck me
deep as you can. Oh shit, it's sooo good! The more it hurts, the
better it feels. Oh Christ! Yes, Gareth, yes, Gareth! Fuck my ass,
baby! Tear me up with that rod!"

He groaned loudly at my dirty talk. I knew he loved it in the
bedroom. He was so refined and polite in normal conversation. But
here, in the darkness and between the sheets, he wanted crude,
screaming, hard sex.

He stopped thrusting all of a sudden and I whimpered. "No, don't
stop!"

"Shhh, Pet. Let me calm down a bit. I never dreamed it could be this
good. This new blood, Alex, oh God, it's making me ... oh God, yes,
oh, God, I've never grown this wide, never been so hard. Oh God,
feels so good.  Your ass is so tight, your muscles so strong.
Squeeze it for me, Alex. Oh YEAH!" he shouted as I did just that,
clenching and releasing my ass muscles with all my might.

I twisted and glanced over my shoulder. Oh My God! He was fucking
HUGE! He slipped backwards so I could see. Inch after inch backed
out of my ass. I'd never seen him this long. I felt dizzy as I saw
how big around he was, his girth brushing his muscular thighs. Good
lord, he was big around. His cock head looked as big as the large end
of a baseball bat.

I couldn't look. I turned away and he impaled me again, driving deep
and hard. He hit me just right and I couldn't stop the orgasm that
hit me like a freight train with no warning. His baseball bat size
cock ripped into my body and lifted my ass off the bed with the force
of his thrust. I screamed with the knifing pain and began ejaculating
into the sheet.

He screamed behind me and I felt my body flooded with his sperm, warm
now from all the blood we'd taken tonight. It was like getting a warm
enema as he filled me to the brim and it began to leak out around his
shaft and trickle down my legs. I have no idea how long we orgasmed
but it was beyond anything I'd ever known.

He finally released me and I felt my ass closing up, the tissues
reconnecting, the organs readjusting inside my body that had been
displaced by his pole like rod shoving so deep it felt like he nearly
reached my heart.

XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION

He rose and changed the sheets, a near nightly ritual and crawled
under the sheets again, Mulder and Scully forgotten in our own sexual
haze. We were asleep in minutes.




PART 12 (PG-13)
HOOVER BUILDING
THIRD FLOOR
D.D. SKINNER'S OFFICE
TWO DAYS LATER

"There's nothing else you can tell me about this?" Skinner asked,
looking at Mulder.

I answered instead. "Not really. The window in D.D. Fair's home was
shattered, but we couldn't find any evidence of a missile that broke
it. It's possible it bounced back outside and the perpetrator took
off with it. Whatever it was though, it must have been heavy. That
window was double paned, safety glass."

"Nothing was taken?" Skinner asked suspiciously.

"No, I don't think they expected D.D. Fair to be home and really
didn't expect us to be there, drawing weapons. They never got inside.
Unless they took something from outside, but D.D. Fair says he doesn't
see anything missing from the grounds."

"How did they get out?"

"We found a breach in his fence. Looks like they used some kind of
machinery to bend the bars enough to slip through. He had the window
and that section of fence repaired yesterday," I replied, hating that
I had to lie to him.

"Nothing on the security cameras?"

"Nothing. Although we know a good hacker could probably divert the
feed and show nothing."

"So you think this was more than one perpetrator?"

"Yes," Mulder answered. "But honestly, the chances of us figuring it
out are slim. You know how it is in cases like this," he added.

"Yes, Agent Mulder, I do. Unless they try again, there's little we
can do with so few leads."

"Story of our lives, huh?" he teased gently.

Skinner allowed the corners of his mouth to turn up now. I think he
almost felt sorry for us. "So ... why were you there again?"

"We needed to ask him some questions," I said.

"And it couldn't wait until the next day in the office."

"No, we thought we were being followed."

"By whom?"

"Alex Krycek," Mulder answered this time. "He waltzed in here three
days ago like he owned the place. I'd love to know whose ass he is
kissing."

Skinner smirked. "Me too, Agent Mulder. I'll be on the lookout for
him. What do you think he wants?"

Mulder pretended to ponder this. "I don't know. He claimed the old
Consortium was dead and gone. So maybe he wants to sell information
to his contacts ... who knows what Alex Krycek does and why? I've
never been able to figure him out. He screws us one day and helps us
the next. I've never known what to make of him, frankly."

I nudged Mulder gently with my foot. He was elaborating too much. If
he got too chatty, Skinner would become suspicious and think we were
covering something up.

He looked at me now and I didn't see any suspicion in his face. "All
right then, Agents, you're dismissed. I'll mark this one open and
cold. I'm waiting on a fax from the Richmond field office. I may
have a case for you later today or tomorrow."

"Concerning what, sir?"

He sighed. "There's apparently been another killing like the last
ones."

"The last ones?" I asked, my heart rate accelerating.

"Another body with no blood, Agent Scully. Turned up in Richmond.
To date, they've been able to keep it from the press. But that won't
last long. They want to solve this quick before it gets out and
everyone panics."

"Jesus," Mulder muttered.

"What's wrong, Agent Mulder?"

"Nothing."

"Do you think it's the same perpetrator from before?" he asked.

"Do you?" Mulder countered.

"I suspect so. There's only been about a four day gap since the last
one. And that perp hasn't been caught, so I'd have to say chances are
it's the same perp. We need to find this one."

"We'll do our best, Sir," I answered. "Let us know when you have the
information."

"You'll be the first to know."

We stood and nodded at him and headed for the door.

"Agents?" he stopped us.

We turned and I asked, "Yes, sir?"

"Off the record ... do you think D.D. Fair is on the up and up?"

"Sir?" Mulder asked, asking for more information.

"Do you think he's crooked?"

I took a steadying breath. "I don't think so, Sir. He was very
forthcoming when we asked our questions about his past. He was
irritated but he answered them. I got no impression that he was
hiding anything."

Skinner nodded, trusting our judgment and I felt like a schmuck all
over again. "Very well, I'll call you as soon as I receive that fax."

"Yes, sir."

We exited the office and walked in silence to the elevator. It came
to the floor and we stepped inside, glad to find it empty.

The doors closed and we descended toward the basement. "Well," Mulder
breathed out, "that was uncomfortable."

"Yeah, and I think it's going to get more uncomfortable before we're
through."

He sighed heavily again. "I think you're right. How the hell do we
get ourselves into this shit?" he asked.

It was a rhetorical question. I shrugged and the car stopped, the
door sliding open with a hydraulic hiss.

We proceeded down the hall and Mulder unlocked the office. We entered
and he turned to close the door, hitting the light switch at the same
time.

I gasped and Mulder spun around.

Alex Krycek sat negligently in Mulder's chair. We both stared, saying
nothing.

"Good afternoon, Agents," he greeted us.

"What are you doing here?" Mulder asked harshly.

He smiled. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"Your new case."

"We haven't received it yet," I told him.

"We didn't do it," he said.

Mulder glared at him. "You expect us to keep believing that?
Zebrosia's dead now. You can't blame it on her anymore."

"I know."

"And get the hell out of my chair!" he shouted in his irritation.

Alex got slowly to his feet and moved out of the way. Mulder swung
around behind his desk and fell into his chair, the leather creaking
loudly.

"We think it's another rogue. He could have been traveling with
Zebrosia and was left behind. Or he could be someone seeking us out.
We don't know yet. But Gareth has a fix on him."

Alex and Gareth had explained the following evening the significance
of them killing Zebrosia and taking on her blood. They were now the
two most powerful vampires in the world, according to them anyway.
Personally, I didn't doubt it. Yes, I believed in them now. I'd seen
too much not to. I didn't like the hold they had over us, but there
was nothing to be done for now. We had to protect their secret and
the new Consortium. We were now a part of a conspiracy instead of
chasing one and trying to expose it.

We were both uncomfortable with this new status. We didn't want to
become what we hated; people who kept the truth from others for the
sake of the greater good. In this case though, for now anyway, we had
no choice.

"So what are you going to do?" Mulder asked.

"Give us two nights. We'll find him and take care of him."

"We need a perp, Krycek."

He turned to look at me. "Let me talk to Gareth. Maybe we can kill
him without draining him, or make him weak enough that you can catch
him and destroy him yourselves."

"Oh goodie," Mulder said sarcastically.

"I'll be in touch."

Alex headed for the door and I stopped him. "Hey!"

He stopped and turned with his hand on the door knob. I hadn't even
asked how he got into the office and I wasn't going to. There was no
point but I did ask. "How can you be here at this time of day?"

I knew D.D. Fair came and left while it was dark. But he stayed here
all day in his windowless office. How was Alex going to get out the
building without frying to a crisp?

He grinned. "I can make short trips outside now. I can move fast
enough to make it to Georgetown before I burn. That blood we took is
so strong. It's given me a lot of skills and a greater tolerance even
for the things that could kill me."

"What will happen if you aren't quick enough?"

"I might get a tan," he grinned cheekily.

I wasn't amused.

"Don't worry about me. We'll solve this one for you, Agents. Gotta
keep that solve rate up, you know."

"Oh, brother," I murmured.

He waved over his shoulder and glided out of the office, silent as a
cat.

Mulder and I looked at each other. We both shrugged at the same time,
wondering how long it would be before this all blew up in our faces.

THE END.

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"The armchair is the neurotic's spaceship." Bob Earle
"When you talk to God, they call it prayer. When God talks to you,
they call it schizophrenia." - Fox Mulder