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Skinner looked round the dark office and swore angrily. Mulder could be relied upon to be in his office before everyone else and still in it after everyone else. Except tonight. And Skinner could guess why. Slamming the door he left the building, making his way down to the empty parking garage. ************ ‘Who is it?’ ‘It’s Skinner. Open the door Mulder.’ Reluctantly, Mulder unlocked the door, unhooked the chain and pulled the door open. ‘Um, hi sir.’ ‘Don’t you ‘hi sir’ me Mulder. Do you have any idea how much trouble we’re in if anyone finds out what I did?’ ‘Um, yes sir.’ All the way over, Skinner had recalled Catherine’s words. He needs help. He needs you. You have to help him. And be nice. But here, in Mulder’s apartment, he forgot the words and everything else she’d tried to tell him. ‘If you ever, ever, hold out on me again, so help me Mulder, I’ll…’ Skinner realised he was shouting and stopped. Mulder was staring at him, shaking, his usually pale face sheet-white. Dammit. Okay, deep calming breaths. In. Out. In. Ow, that hurts. Okay. Better. ‘Have you eaten?’ Mulder shook his head, still terrified. ‘Get your coat.’ Numbly, Mulder walked into the living room, picked his coat up from the couch and walked back into the hallway. ‘Mulder, promise me, here and now. You have something like that, you tell me, okay?’ ‘Yes sir.’ ‘Okay. Let’s eat. Any Italian places round here?’ Calmer now, Mulder half-smiled. ‘You in the mood for cannelloni sir?’ Skinner opened the door. ‘Why not. Dinner’s on you. And while we’re out, you can get Scully some flowers.’ ‘Yes sir.’ Mulder walked out ahead of Skinner and pressed the button for the elevator. ************ Catherine poured two cups of coffee, handing one to Skinner. While she hadn’t expected Walter to take her up on her offer of weekly lunches, he had. And, as usual, they left any discussion about Fox until her house keeper served coffee. Discussing the problems Walter had encountered in the previous week, she now knew, took all of the time it took to consume the preceding three courses. She stared at Walter. ‘Let me see if I understand. You want to sit in while Fox…auditions for a new Dom?’ Skinner nodded. ‘Yeah.’ Catherine laughed. ‘And what the Hell makes you think anyone would let you do that?’ Calmly, Skinner came out with an answer he had already thought about. ‘Because they get Fox.’ ‘There are one or two people who would be suitable. But they might not like the idea of you sitting in…’ ‘Then they don’t get invited.’ Skinner interrupted sharply. Catherine said nothing for a moment, then sat back. ‘Very well, I’ll see what I can do.’ ‘Thank you.’ Skinner got up and pulled on his coat. ‘You know, there is a simple solution to this.’ ‘No.’ Skinner said firmly. ‘I thought I told you…’ Catherine shrugged. ‘I thought maybe I could wear you down.’ ‘I was a Marine. I work for the FBI. I don’t wear down.’ Skinner said crossly. Catherine smoothed Walter’s collar. ‘Oh, under that expensive suit, you’re just like all the rest Mr Skinner. Human.’ ‘Maybe.’ Skinner admitted grudgingly. Catherine got up and opened the door. ‘I’ll call you when I’ve made the appointments.’ ‘Thanks.’ Skinner nodded curtly, then left. ***************** Walter realised, too late, that they should have discussed the set-up beforehand in a lot more detail than they had. Was he expected to contribute? Just to sit quietly? Offer an opinion? And, if so, at what point? Still, the first ‘guest’ – Walter wasn’t sure what to call a man or woman who was in your home with the sole purpose of letting someone decide if they got to control another human beings’ will for a few hours a week - was due in a few minutes and Fox hadn’t been still for at least the last two hours. His nervousness was, while understandable, beginning to rub off, and Walter wiped his palms on his slacks. The doorbell startled both of them. Walter heard Fox’s voice in the doorway, then another voice, low and quiet. Alan. An experienced Dom whose sub had been diagnosed with an illness – Catherine’s notes didn’t specify what – leaving him looking for someone to replace the younger man. ‘Alan, this is a friend of mine, Walter.’ The two men shook hands and Fox swallowed hard before pointing to an armchair. They had discussed how Fox should refer to Skinner, and, after a little persuading, Skinner had given in to the idea that first names were all that was required. Still, calling his boss by his first name had been a weird experience. ‘Please, have a seat.’ ‘If you were concerned for your safety, Fox, we could have met in a public place. Or at the club. A chaperone really wasn’t necessary.’ Alan seemed cross that Fox would consider him a danger. ‘Oh, no, Walter’s not here to protect me. He’s just here to meet you.’ Alan shrugged, then sat back. ‘So, why me?’ Skinner frowned slightly. Clearly, he had misunderstood how the meeting would go. Far from deciding whether or not Alan was right for him, Fox was expected to convince the older man he should be taken on. He settled into the armchair and listened carefully. As he listened, out of habit, he appraised the man. Around his own age, but shorter by several inches, stockier, and with less careful personal grooming habits. Skinner had the feeling Alan got what he wanted. By whatever means. Fox had thought of his opening sentence for some time. Flattery with just a little truth. ‘You’re experienced, you’ve got a good reputation and you’re settled in DC.’ ‘If I moved to Siberia, Fox, I would still make arrangements to meet you.’ Walter felt a little sympathy for Fox as the evening went on. Alan seemed to view the meeting as a waste of his time and responded to every comment Fox made with a reply in a tone which suggested that he had many more interesting ways to spend an evening. Finally, Alan looked at his watch. ‘I’m expecting a conference call at home with some of my overseas managers in an hour. I have to go.’ Fox smiled nervously. ‘Okay. Um, thanks for coming over.’ Alex got up. ‘Fox, I have no idea what odd ideas your last Dom filled your head with. If Catherine hadn’t persuaded me to come here, I would never have considered visiting you at home. Particularly…’ He looked briefly across to Walter ‘as you clearly don’t trust me. Still, that will come with time. I understand your last Dom was less than trustworthy. If I decide to take you on, you’ll hear from me within the week.’ Without waiting to be shown out, Alan left abruptly. Skinner shook his head as the door closed. ‘Never mind, Fox. Catherine has two other…’ Fox smiled. ‘I liked him.’ Quickly, Skinner said: ‘I didn’t.’ Fox laughed quietly. ‘Yeah, but you’re not the one’s gonna be letting him…y’know.’ Skinner nodded, not sharing Fox’s mood. ‘Exactly. And if you’re gonna let someone do that kind of stuff to you, it should at least be someone…’ Fox waited while Skinner found the right words. ‘Someone you can respect Fox. That guy was so full of his own sense of self-importance, he didn’t care about you.’ Fox tried to lighten the suddenly dark mood in the apartment. ‘You’d have made a great boyfriend repellent you know.’ Seeing Skinner’s face, Fox realised he’d made a mistake. ‘Um…sorry, I didn’t mean…’ Skinner seemed to suddenly snap out of his thoughts. ‘It’s okay Fox. Let’s get some fresh air. I’ll even buy you a hot dog from that Polish guy.’ Fox’s eyes lit up. ‘Can I eat it walking along?’ Skinner shrugged. ‘Sure. That way you throw up on the sidewalk and not in the apartment.’ Huffing in response, Fox had his jacket on and keys in his hand before Skinner had even got to his feet. Click here for the penultimate part of Part One of this series Return to the X-Files Fic Index Return to the West Wing Fic Index
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