Title: Apollo 3, Chapter 12, Part 1 of ?

Author: Kendall

Website: www.geocities.com/kendalxf/index.html

Fandom: X-Files

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: S/M/K.

Archive: All requests are welcomed

Date: January 21, 2003

Category: AU

Spoilers: None specifically

Warnings: Contains scenes of m/m sex. If this offends you please *LEAVE NOW*

Disclaimer: Skinner, Mulder, Krycek, Scully, Doggett, and the X-File all belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and the Fox Network.

Series: Greek Gods

Summary: Thanksgiving with the family leads to an unexpected tantrum from Fox.

NOTE: Thank you, Ursula for you beta work, exceptional as always

Apollo 3 (God of Brothers)

Thanksgiving dawned crisp, and bright. The sounds of the farm drifted through the quiet house, as Sarah Skinner made her way from her room down to the kitchen.

As she walked past what used to be her middle son's room, she stopped at listened to the sounds from within. She couldn't help but smile as she heard the three men inside telling each other to be quiet. She shook her head in amusement, and continued on her way, not wanting to intrude further. Sarah was just happy to have her family intact, after the near calamity of the previous week. She still had nightmares of loosing Walter, and the others in that freak Hawaiian storm, that had caused the boat they were on to sink, leaving them stranded on a deserted island.

But now, everyone was safe and sound, and home for the holiday. Her daughter and daughters-in-law would be arriving in a couple of hours to help her finish the food preparation. Not only were the five Skinner children going to be in attendance, but their spouses, or life-partners as in Walter's case, and children would be there as well. The elder Skinners had taken an immediate liking to Walter's lovers, and by extension to Alex's brothers as well. Sarah loved to spend time talking to Gabriel Wolff, the former priest, whom she found fascinating. She was also looking forward to the arrival of Cooper Donovan, Alex's other twin, and Chris Newman, his lover. They were bringing Rosie Sandoval, their housekeeper, from Wyoming, to spend the holiday with them. Alex had asked if it was all right if he invited them, and she had not hesitated, for a second. This meant a full house, and lots of food to prepare, but Sarah Skinner could not have been happier.

"Alex, will you get your knee out of my…back, please," Fox asked, as he shifted on the bed.

"I can't scoot over any further, Fox," Alex said, wiggling to find a better position.

"Will the two of you be quiet," Walter hissed, "My Mom should be up any minute."

"Well, it wasn’t my brilliant idea to sneak in here to sleep together, now was it," Fox grumbled.

"I didn't hear you complain last night," Alex said, "Especially when I gave you that blow job."

"I'll be forever grateful," Fox said, smiling at the memory, before growing serious again, "But you could have warned me you were going to do that, before I almost leapt out of my skin."

"And almost woke up the whole house with that yelp," Walter said, grinning.

"What did you tell your Mom?" Fox said, having heard Walter's hurried conversation with his mother, who had come rushing to his room, to make sure he was all right.

"That you were a restless sleeper, and often fell off the bed," Walter said, chuckling.

"Very funny," Fox said, squirming once again. "Walter, next time we do this, I'm going to your room, where at least there is a king size bed."

"The benefits of being the eldest," Walter said, "Come on, Fox, it wasn't that bad, and you have to admit it was rather exciting."

"Exciting! When did you turn into a daredevil," Fox said, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Alex, yes. Me, maybe. But you?"

"What? I'm too vanilla for you?" Walter said, with a growl. "I'll have you know, that it's been a fantasy of mine to make love to you in this house for a long time. The closest we've come is the barn."

"Well, we can't really call what we did last night, making love can we?" Alex said, sitting up on the narrow bed, "Blow jobs, and heavy petting, but nothing more."

"Do I detect a touch of frustration in your voice?" Fox said, scrambling to sit up. He slipped a hand under the bed sheet, and wrapped his hand around Alex's morning erection.

"Fox…stop," Alex whimpered, biting his lower lip, to keep from screaming.

"Turnabout is fair play, Alexei," Fox said, teasingly.

"No…no please," Alex said, panting hard as Fox's hand slid up his shaft slowly. His green eyes grew wide, as he saw Fox lick his lips in anticipation. "You…you wouldn't…Fox…Fox, everyone is…up by now…please Fox… Foxy…my love…please…"

"I just love it when he begs, don’t you Walter?" Fox said, as he glanced at Walter, and winked at him.

"Uhu…" was all a mesmerized Walter could say, as he stared at his lover’s play. Fox, at least was playing, Alex just seemed to be wavering between pleasure and pain.

"Do you know how hot you look like that," Fox asked Alex, never letting go of the younger man's penis. "All sweaty, and biting that lovely lip of yours…but don’t bite to hard, sweetheart, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"No…no…you are doing…a good job…of…it," Alex said, gasping for air. He was torn between wanting to scream for Fox to stop, and begging for him to take him.

"Oh," Fox said, his eyes wide with innocence, "I'm hurting you? That's really terrible of me. Here let me kiss and make it better," he added, as he lowered his head, and opening his mouth, swallowed Alex's erection whole.

Taken totally by surprise, Alex could not help the yell that escaped his lips.

A soft knock on the door froze the action in the room, as Walter Skinner Sr. asked, "Is everything all right in there, Fox? You didn’t fall off the bed again?" It was obvious by the man's tone that he was trying to keep a chuckle out of his voice.

Now, Fox's mouth was still quite full of Alex's cock, and was quickly filling with the Russian's cum, as Alex had ejaculated when he heard the knock, so it was left to Walter to answer… before his father decided to come into the room.

"No…no, Dad, Fox is fine," Walter said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Walter? Very well, son," Walter Sr. said, "Just checking. Come downstairs when you are both ready, Mother should have breakfast ready shortly."

"Thanks, Dad. We'll be down right away," Walter said, relaxing a little.

"I'll stop by Alex's room and let him know," the older man said, waiting a beat for the reply he was sure to come.

"Uhm…Dad…that's all right…Alex is in here too," Walter said, feeling his face flaming with embarrassment even though his father was on the other side of the closed door.

"Oh, okay then," the elder Skinner said, "Gabriel is not in there with you, is he?"

"DAD! Of course not," Walter said, shocked by the question.

"Fine then. See you in a few minutes."

When he heard the retreating steps, Fox finally swallowed, and barely managed to ask, "Why…why would he think Gabriel was in here?"

"He…he doesn’t think…oh God's he doesn’t think we are a foursome," Alex said, his face a study in horror at the idea.

"Of course not, Alex," Walter said, reassuringly. "My Dad has a weird sense of humor. I guess, he figured out what we were up to and wanted to have a laugh at our expense."

"How the hell are we going to face him now," Fox said, burying his face in his hands. "Oh God…your Mom. He'll tell your Mom."

Walter had to laugh at the mortified look on both of their faces. "Guys, I think my folks know by now that we have sex…"

"Yeah, but we've never done it in their house," Alex said, "Shit! How will I ever face your Mom?"

"Just the same way, my brother-in-law faces her every time he comes for a visit," Walter said, as he stood up.

"What does John have to do with anything?" Fox asked, confused.

"I'm sure Mom knows John has sex with Carolyn, and she doesn't mind," Walter said, "Come on you guys, it's not that bad. If you really don’t want to get in trouble with my folks, we better get downstairs for breakfast soon. Mom doesn't like to let food get cold."

"What can we help with, Mom?" Walter asked, as he cleaned the table.

"If you can go over to Fred's, and get the extra tables and chairs, it would be great," his mother said. "The girls will be here in an hour, and we'll start putting things in place."

"We'll be glad to get the tables," Walter said.

"Thank you sweetheart," Sarah said, patting his arm as she walked by. "Gabriel, honey do you need anything?" she called out to Gabriel, who was sitting in the den, his ankle propped up on a pillow.

"No thank you, Sarah," Gabriel called back.

Turning back to the group in the kitchen, she shook her head, and said, "That poor boy."

Alex, surprised by her words said, "What's the matter with Gabriel? He was fine last night. His ankle bothering him?"

"No, not his ankle," the older woman said, smiling, "More like his heart. I think he is missing his young doctor."

"He's only known the guy less than a week," Alex said, with disbelief, "He doesn't know a thing about him?"

"I fell in love with Walter in one day," Fox said, winking at Skinner, who blushed.

"And with me?" Alex asked.

"You took a bit longer," Fox said, as he sipped his coffee.

"Oh," Alex said, a trace disappointment in his voice.

"For you, it was a two days," Fox said, with a grin, "I had to picture you without that god-awful suit of yours. It was not easy."

Alex, ducked his head sheepishly, and smiled. Remembering what had started the conversation, he asked, "So what do we do about Gabriel?"

"I told him to call the young man," Sarah said, "But he said, it was too expensive."

"I'll take care of it," Fox said, and started to leave, when Walter stopped him.

"Fox, Gabriel is a proud man, he is not going to take charity. You help him out quite a bit, with money for his friends in Mexico," Walter said.

"You saying I have no tact," Fox said, with mock hurt.

"Yes."

"Watch and learn," Fox said, and walked to the den. Taking a seat next to Gabriel, he said, "Hi."

"Hi, Fox," the former priest said, "What's up?"

"Obviously not your spirits," Fox said, "You missing what's his name?"

Gabriel glared at him briefly, before replying, "Sawyer, his name is Sawyer…but he asked me to call him Sully."

"I know," Fox said, grinning, "Just wanted to bug you. So you like this guy?"

Gabriel looked down at his hands, and said, "Can't really explain it. I mean, I just met him…but…but I don’t know…he just got to me."

"And how do you think he feels about you?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Gabriel said, "Don't know."

"Why don’t you ask him," Fox said, and pulled out a plastic card from his pocket, and held it between to fingers.

"What's that?" Gabriel asked, eyeing the card suspiciously.

"It's a calling card," Fox said, "Unlimited minutes. My publishing company gave it to me. I can call anyone, from anywhere, and the bill goes directly to the publishing company. I guess they take it out of my earnings…but who cares."

"I can't take that, Fox," Gabriel said, shaking his head, "You've given me so much already. I'll never be able to repay you."

"I say we are even," Fox said.

Looking amazingly like a very confused Alex, down to the little lines above the bridge of his nose, Gabriel said, "How?"

"You make Alex happy," Fox said, as if stating the obvious. "He loves having brothers. Just keep being a good brother to him, and you and I are even. Now take this card, and call your…what's his name again?"

Gabriel smiled, and grabbed the card, "Thanks Fox, and don’t worry…I like having brothers too."

Fox, patted him on the thigh, and stood up. Returning to the kitchen, he saw Walter, Alex, and the elder Skinners all looking at him and smiling. "What?"

Sarah Skinner wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him, "You are such a sweet boy, Fox."

"Just like honey," Walter said, grinning at the Fox's blush.

When Sarah released him, Alex took her place. Placing a quick, shy, kiss on Fox's cheek. "I love you."

"Awww, shucks," Fox said, as the others laughed.

"It is wonderful to have all the family together," Walter Skinner Sr. said, as he looked around the table.

All excess furniture had been moved out, and the tables had been set not only in the dinning room, but in the adjoining den as well. There were thirty people for dinner, almost half of them children, but it didn’t feel crowded at all.

"It's been a while since we have all been together for Thanksgiving," Sarah said, "And there are quite a few more here than usual, but we have a tradition that I would like to continue today. Each of you would tell us the one thing you are grateful for this year. I'll start, if that all right." When everyone nodded, she said, "I'm grateful to be surrounded by the family I love, and by new friends, whom I know will become old friends."

Everyone took their turn, even the children, in giving their individual thanks. When it was Walter's turn, he said, "I'm grateful that this year, I finally woke up, and realized what was right in front of my eyes all along. Two wonderful men, who make each of my days ones I'm thankful for."

Fox, who was seated on one side of Walter, smiled shyly at the pleased looks everyone was sending their way. "I'm grateful to not only have Walter and Alex in my life, but my new extended family."

When it was Alex's turn, he swallowed around the lump in his throat, and said, "I…uhm…Walter…told me about this tradition. I guess, he knew…I'm not too good about expressing my feelings. I've been thinking about what I'm grateful…and…and I could come up with many things… but, I guess if I have to pick just one, I'd have to say that, I'm most grateful for the forgiving nature of the two men that mean more to me than my own life." Suddenly aware of all the eyes on him, Alex blushed, and looked down at his hands.

Sensing his discomfort, Sarah said, "Well, Walter and Fox, may have forgiving natures, but I for one will not be too forgiving if we let any of this food go to waste. Walter, say Grace so we can eat." Everyone agreed that it was a great idea, and when Alex looked at the older woman, he grinned at her wink.

After dinner, the family split into various groups. The children went outside to play, the women sat in the kitchen, talking and putting the food away, and the men were sprawled around the den, watching football on the big screen television.

"That was an incredible meal," Gabriel said, patting his stomach.

"You said it," Cooper agreed, "Thanks again for inviting us, Mister Skinner."

"Our pleasure," the elder Skinner said, "And please call me Walt."

"Hey, Walter, who does the cooking at your place?" Jim Skinner, Walter's brother asked.

"We take turns, Alex and I," Walter said, unbuttoning the button on his jeans, to allow for his expanding stomach.

"Fox, you don’t cook?" Caleb Skinner, Walter's other brother asked.

Fox, shrugged, and said, "Some."

"Some, like ham sandwiches, or some like spaghetti and meatballs," Jim asked.

"What does it matter whether he cooks or not, Jim?" Walter asked.

"Nothing. Just curious," Jim said, "I don’t know much about your lifestyle. Just was wondering if you, or one of them, took the more traditional female role."

"And what role would that be, son?" Sarah asked, having come into the room without anyone hearing them.

"Busted!" Caleb and Ben, the two youngest brothers said, in unison, smiling at the blush of embarrassment on their brother’s face.

"I didn’t mean anything by my question," Jim said, trying to get out of answering his mother.

"Well, in that case, I'm sure you wouldn't mind taking on one of those…what did you call it, traditional female roles, and go to the kitchen to finish the dishes," Sarah said, handing him the dishtowel in her hand.

"Oh Mom," Jim whined, "I was watching the game."

"No, I believe you were talking," Sarah said, "And you can continue talking in the kitchen…while you tell your wife why you are in there." Turning to her two youngest sons, she added, "And I think the work will go faster if Ben and Caleb help."

"What did we do?" Caleb said, shocked to be included in the impromptu punishment.

"I've known you, your whole life young man," Sarah said, "You are the Repeat, to his Pete…everything he does, you would have done soon after. Now get…the three of you." When the three grumbling men left the den, she said, "I'm sorry if they asked questions you rather not answer Walter."

"No harm, no foul, Mom," Walter said, but glanced at Fox, who had grown uncharacteristically quiet.

"When the game is done, come into the kitchen," she said, "We have pumpkin pie."

"I love pumpkin pie," Alex, Cooper and Gabriel said in unison, which made everyone laugh.

"What's that smell?" Alex asked, sleepily, as he turned in Walter's arms, to face the older man, who still had his eyes closed.

Walter, stirred slowly, and sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose slightly, "Don’t know…but smells like something is burning." Propping himself in one elbow, he looked over Alex's body, to where Fox, should have been sleeping, and said, "Maybe Fox went to check it out."

"He's been acting weird all weekend, since we got back from the farm," Alex said, sitting up.

"You know our Fox," Walter said, standing up and extending a hand to his youngest lover, "You never know what is going to set him off in one of his moods."

"I just don’t like to see him upset, that's all," Alex said, accepting the warm hug, Walter was offering.

"Let's go see what our Fox is doing, shall we," Walter said, and handed Alex his robe.

When the two men approached the kitchen, they were startled to hear a string of curses that would have put a construction worker to shame. Alex looked at Walter in surprise, and whispered, "Is that Fox?"

Whispering back, Walter said, "Sounds like him, but I can't imagine what has him so riled up. Let's be careful when we approach him all right."

Nodding, Alex followed Walter as he walked towards the kitchen entrance. What they saw, made their eyes widen in surprise.

The kitchen resembled a disaster area. There were dirty pots and pans everywhere. Spilt milk, and orange juice dripped from the counter, which was liberally coated with what may have been flour. Smoke was billowing from the toaster, and three pans on the stove were soon to follow the same path.

Fox, still in his pajamas, and wearing Walter's 'Kiss the Cook' apron, stood at the stove, cursing as he tried to grab a skillet, and burned his hand. He was so angry, that he grabbed the skillet, and flung it at the kitchen door. Eggs, or at least that is what Walter thought they had started life as, flew in every which way, before the skillet came to a sudden halt against the bottom half of the door.

"FOX!" Walter yelled, trying to be heard over the angry shouts of his lover, as Fox continued to berate himself.

"Useless…useless…can't even make a lousy breakfast," Fox was muttering to himself, and didn't notice his lovers approach.

"Fox, what the hell is going on here," Walter asked, walking towards him. Skinner stopped when he felt his slipper stick to the floor. He looked down, and grimaced when he saw he had stepped in a mess consisting of eggs, uncooked this time, and syrup of some kind. Looking back at Fox, who was still insulting himself, he tried to reach for the upset younger man, just to have his hands slapped away.

"I can do this, I don’t need any help," Fox said, glaring at Walter.

"And I am not offering any," Walter said, just as angrily, "I just wanted to get your attention, you seem to be busy berating yourself. Just what the hell has gotten into you."

"Nothing," Fox said, grumpily as he tried to push past Walter, "I'll clean this up. I'll get something right."

"Oh I have no doubt you'll be cleaning this up," Walter said, grabbing him by the arm, "But I want to know what set you off."

"I said; I don’t want to talk about it, okay," Fox said, pulling away.

"Fox, whatever it is, we need to know, so we can help you," Alex said, trying to calm his irate lover. He had seen Fox angry many times, but usually they were able to figure out what made him that way, without too much trouble. This was not the case now.

"I'm smart, aren't I?" was the surprising answer he received.

"Above average actually, genius level," Walter said, confused by the question.

"Then why the hell can't I make a fucking simple breakfast," Fox yelled, as he grabbed the saltshaker, and threw it in anger.

Alex, caught it one-handed, as it sailed past his head, and then said, "Fox, I think you need a time-out. I don’t know what the hell got you so upset about a simple breakfast, but I don’t think throwing a tantrum, is going to fix anything."

Before Fox could reply, Walter grabbed his arm again, and propelling towards the family room said, "Alex, I think that is a brilliant idea."

"I don’t want to stand in any fucking corner," Fox yelled, struggling.

"If you don’t want to add a mouth-soaping, I suggest you drop the attitude," Walter growled softly, as he deposited the still struggling Fox.

Suddenly, as if a light switch had been turned on, Fox's whole demeanor changed, and he became contrite, "I'm sorry, guys…I…I don’t know what came over me…let me go clean…"

"No. You earned yourself corner time, a good spanking…"

"A spanking…why?" Fox said, interrupting Walter.

"You were throwing things, and screaming like a maniac," Alex said, not believing that Fox couldn't see why he deserved to be punished. "You are having such a dramatic mood swing, it's like you were on drugs, or something."

At Alex's words, Fox's eyes got really big, before they filled with tears, and he wailed, "I can't believe you said thaaaaaaaaaat. I just wanted to make…make you breakfast…and…and now you think I'm a pot-head."

"Fox, I'm sure Alex, didn't mean it like that," Walter said, trying to soothe him, "But you have to agree that you are overreacting to this breakfast thing."

"Fine," Fox said angrily, as he faced his corner, "Let me do…my…my corner time, then spank me until I can't sit for a week, and then just leave me…me…the heck alone. You don’t understand."

"We want to…" Alex began, but was interrupted.

"Just leave me alone," Fox said, sobbing quietly.

Alex, opened his mouth to say something, when Walter shook his head. He followed the older man out of the room, as they made their way upstairs to change.

"What is wrong with him Walter?" Alex asked, as soon as they were in their bedroom.

"With Fox, you never know," Walter said, with a sigh. "For all his bravado, he is very sensitive. I think, Jim's teasing the other night, you know about the cooking, must have upset him more than he let on."

"But why overreact so violently," Alex asked, as he slipped on a pair of jeans.

"I don’t think even he knows," Walter said, "Let's give him a few minutes to calm down, then we'll do the spanking, and he can go to the kitchen, and clean up the mess. I think the work will settle him."

"I hope so," Alex said, "I hate to see him so upset."

"What's this spanking for, Fox?" Walter said, as he raised his hand over the bare buttocks of his upside down lover.

"I…I had a tantrum and threw things," Fox said, breathlessly as he tried to prepare himself for the impending punishment. His corner time had helped to calm him down, but he knew he would have no answers to his lovers' questions. He himself didn't know why failing at something as stupid as making breakfast had thrown him off balance.

"You lost control," Walter said, as the first spank landed, "I'm not going to say you didn't have a reason, because I don’t know why you got so upset, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that it was a good reason."

"Then…then…owwwww…why are you…spanking me…ouch," Fox said, sobbing loudly.

"Because, no matter how good a reason you had to be upset," Walter said, without stopping once, "There is absolutely, no reason, and I want you to really get this point, Fox, there is no reason for you to become violent, and throw things."

"I'm…I'm sorry…" Fox said, wailing loudly, and kicking his legs.

"I know you are, Fox," Walter said, softly, "I know you are. It'll be over soon, baby." Walter landed a few more swats as he spoke. Fox's backside was a deep red, and because he had been struggling so much, several spanks had landed on his upper thighs as well, giving them a rosy hue.

"Walter?" Alex said, softly, but loud enough for Walter to hear him, and look up from his task. "Please?"

Walter knew that Alex hated to see Fox in distress, probably even more than being punished himself. He glanced down at the sniveling man, draped over his lap, and made the decision to bring the punishment to a quick end. He delivered four more spanks, all aimed at the sit spot, and said, "All done, Fox, it's over."

Fox, who was crying too hard, did not realize the spanking had come to an end and continued to say he was sorry, and to beg Walter to stop.

"It's over baby…Fox…honey, it's okay…it's over," Walter said, rubbing his big hand in slow circles on Fox's back. When he got no response to his words, he began to gently shift Fox, until he had him sitting on his lap, his punished bottom clear of any pressure. Wrapping his arms tenderly around the shaking younger man, Walter began a litany of soothing words, in the hopes of calming him down.

"Is he all right?" Alex asked, with concern.

"Yeah," Walter said, with a reassuring smile, "He'll be fine…just needs to catch his breath." Putting his finger under Fox's trembling chin, he lifted it so he could look into the tear-stained face. "Fox, you need to take a breath of you’re going to hyperventilate." When he saw that Fox couldn't seem to concentrate enough to catch his breath, Walter blew on his face very gently. Fox, blinked a couple of times and took a shuddering breath.

"Where did you learn that trick," Alex asked, with a smile.

"Mom," Walter said, simply. "How you doing, babe?" he asked Fox, who was staring at him owlishly.

"I…I'm sor…sorry," Fox managed to say, between gasps.

"We know, honey, we know," Walter said, hugging him tight, "Let's get you upstairs for a nap, what do you say?"

"Okay," Fox said, laying his head on Walter's shoulder, "Car…carry me?"

Chuckling, Walter stood, and staggered slightly with the added weight in his arms. "Thanks," he said, when he felt Alex's hand, steadying him. "Let's go put our boy to bed."

Alex, nodded and followed his lovers up the stairs.

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable with sweats on, Fox?" Alex asked, as he entered the kitchen, to find Fox, on his knees scrubbing the floor.

"What, you don’t like my ass all of a sudden," Fox said, looking over his shoulder, and giving Alex a cocky smile.

"Oh, I love your ass," Alex said, with a grin, "But, I was more worried about your knees."

"They don’t hurt anywhere near as much as my ass does," Fox said, coming to his feet. "Boy, I sure made a mess, didn't I," he added, looking around at the now semi-clean kitchen. He had taken a three-hour nap, and after receiving some TLC on his throbbing bottom, he was sent down to the kitchen to complete his punishment by cleaning it. He knew Walter would not accept anything less than a spotless kitchen.

"Do you want to talk about what set you off, Fox" Walter asked, as he joined them.

"I've been thinking about it, but…I'm sorry…I don’t know," Fox said, hanging his head. "I know I was upset about not being able to do something as simple as making breakfast, but I don’t know why I overreacted the way I did. I wish I knew."

"Well, if you come up with something, we'll always be here to listen," Walter said, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Cooking lessons," Alex said, suddenly.

"What?" both Fox, and Walter said at the same time.

"You could take cooking lessons," Alex said.

"I don’t have the time…at least not right now," Fox said, "Maybe when I finish the new book."

"But first you have to finish this kitchen," Walter said, patting Fox's bottom lightly.

"Owwww," Fox said, wincing at the touch, "You are a slave driver, Walter."

"The sooner you finish the kitchen, the sooner you get to join me, and Alex on the couch, for some heavy- duty cuddling, and petting, and whatever else cuddling and petting lead to…" Walter said, as he walked out of the room, "Coming, Alexei?"

"Right behind you, Big Guy," Alex said, and looking over his shoulder at Fox, who stood slack-jawed at Walter's statement, mouthed 'Hurry up'.