ALEX? Part 3 (Disclaimer and headings in Part 1 )
"There you go." The super said, as he opened the door to Skinner's apartment. In the rush to the hospital, the keys were left inside.
Alex didn't move. "Thanks." He said, still staring inside. He went straight to see Marita after he left the hospital, and hadn't been back here since.
"Hey, I know it can be hard coming back home afterwards." The man smiled at him. "Had my first heart attack 5 years ago. I couldn't wait to get home, but when I did come back, it was unnerving. Funny how things like that can haunt you."
"Yeah, funny." He tried to smile at the man, but all that came out as a worried glance. He thanked the man again, and entered the apartment.
He quickly turned on the lights, and looked around. Everything looked the same as it did that night, but that didn't mean Skinner wasn't present. He wouldn't have come at all if he didn't need to check Skinners' messages. In a few days he'd be gone, but until then he couldn't raise suspicions, not when he was already so close.
Turned out he only had one message anyway. Mulder.
"Hey, hope everything's okay. Went to see you at the hospital but you were already gone. Scully wants to know if we should reschedule the baptism. Give me a call, and let me know if you still need that friend we were talking about earlier."
Baptism?
He looked around Skinners desk, and found his day planner. He flipped to that week. There it was, that coming Sunday.
10:00-Godson's Baptism, St. John's Church
Godson?
He chuckled, picked up the phone, hit star 69, and wrote down the number.
He could hear Mulder on the other end."Hello?"
"Yeah it's me, I got your message."
"Hey. How are you doing? I went to see you at the hospital a couple of times, but you were sleeping, and the second time you had checked out."
"Yeah, thanks for the clothes."
"How are you? Did what happen have anything to do with what we talked about earlier?"
"No, it was just a heart attack. I think the whole thing was just been in my head. I'm taking sometime off. I'll be out of town for a couple days, but I'll be there for Sunday. No need to reschedule. After that I'm going on vacation."
"I've never known you to take a vacation."
"Yeah? Well, doctors orders."
"Are you sure your okay? We can postpone the baptism."
"Nah, I'll be fine." He smiled, "Besides, it wouldn't be nice to keep my Godson waiting."
Alex heard crackling. The bulb on one of the living room lamps exploded.
"You still there?" Mulder asked. "What was that?"
"Nothing, just the TV. I gotta go. See you Sunday."
As he hung up, the second lamp in the living room exploded, followed by the one on the desk. Like a chain reaction, every bulb burst, until the entire apartment was black.
His eyes raced around the room. He couldn't see anything. He began to feel his way to the door.
Skinner appeared.
Alex gasped, and took several steps backwards, tripping over the coffee table.
Death had not been kind to Skinner. Bloated blood vessels covered his body. He started to approach Alex.
"What do you think you're going to do?" Alex asked, still on the floor. "Kill me? It won't be that easy this time. Whatever you do to me, you do to yourself."
Skinner stopped.
Alex got up, and casually brushed himself off. He walked around Skinner. When he reached the door, he turned around and grinned.
"I thought having to go through limbo with a hole in my head was bad, but man you look like shit. Hope you enjoy that hell as much as I did." As he left the apartment, Skinner disappeared.
Mulder sat on the couch, staring at the phone. He was glad Skinner was okay, but something didn't feel right. Perhaps he was looking too hard. It was horrible, but he actually felt a tinge of disappointment. As much as he was enjoying this new life with Scully and the baby, the idea of having a paranormal case to investigate, FBI or not, sparked some excitement in him.
"Mulder?"
He looked up, and saw Scully puzzling at him. Bags were under here eyes, and she had Will's spit up on her nightgown, but she still managed to look beautiful, to him at least.
"Is the little guy all done supper?"
She yawned, and sat down next to him. "Yep, we've got a few hours reprieve until his midnight snack. I asked you who was on the phone, but you didn't answer. You were staring out at nothing. Is everything Okay?"
"Uhm, actually everything's fine. It was Skinner. He said he' was doing fine, and that there was no need to postpone the baptism."
She stretch out and placed her head on his lap. "That's good. I was worried about him. I hope he takes some time off now."
"He is. He said he was going on a vacation after the ceremony. Kind of unlike him, don't you think?"
She yawned again. "Well he has been through a lot."
He ran his hands through her hair, "Several hours of reprieve you say?"
"Mmhmm, "she murmured
"Well, there's an Ed Wood marathon on TV tonight." He teased,
No answer
"Scully?"
She was sleeping. He looked down at her resting on his lap, smiled, and grabbed the remote.
"Looks like it's just you and me Ed."
Alex sped into the parking lot of the Gleason Motel. He didn't think Skinner would be able to leave his apartment yet. It took him a few weeks to learn how to get around, but if he were wrong, Marita would definitely be a target.
He rushed into the room, and looked around. Marita was sleeping in the bed. He shut the door, flicked on the light, and leaned up against the wall to catch his breath. Marita stirred.
"Alex?"
"Yeah, it's me. Go back to sleep."
He went to the bathroom, and showered. By the time he came out, Marita was asleep again.
He crawled under the covers, and spooned against her. It felt so good to be able to feel her warmth again. It was so cold when he was-
away.
He just intended to lie there with her, not wanting to push her. He knew how strange all of this was to her. Not just him having another body, but the body of the man she'd murdered. If all went well, soon things would be closer to normal. They'd have time for all the other things after that, but as he put an arm around her, she and arched closer to him and moaned his name.
Was she still asleep?
He whispered back. "Marita?"
Still with her back against him, she took the hand, and ran it over her breast.
"Alex" she moaned again.
He bit his lip. He didn't know if she was dreaming or conscious, but he was scared to say anything. It felt so good, and although he knew it was wrong if she was sleeping, he didn't want her to wake up.
She starting rubbing against him. A groan started to escape from his mouth, but he held it back, afraid that any noise could cause her to open her eyes.
She took his hand, and guided it lower.
Again she called his name.
He couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop. If she opened her eyes and started screaming, he'd stop, but until that happened he wanted to enjoy this.
He lowered his head into hear neck, and started kissing it, as she reached behind and guided him inside her.
He gasped. She began rocking her hips thrusting back and forth, moaning encouragements, all the while keeping her eyes shut tight.
He moved with her, careful to only allow quick breaths to come out until the end when, as she screamed, he finally let out one of his own. He raised his head, and looked down at her face. Worried she'd now open her eyes, and realize what had happened.
Her eyes were still shut. She had a smile on her face. She brought his hand up, and kissed it.
"Thank you" she said.
"Marita?" he whispered.
"Shhh, get some sleep. We have an early flight to catch tomorrow."