�Sucketh.�
She smiled at him. �You always know just what to say.�
�I was-�
�Engineered that way.� She finished with him. �Yes, I know. I�ve heard it. Too many times.�
They were silent; she could feel that he was about to fall asleep.
�It has been a long time, Alex. I missed you.�
Krycek opened his eyes and looked at her. He seemed ten years older and ten years younger at the same time. She stared back at him silence before reaching out to trace a scratch on his forehead. She could only guess that it�d come from a branch on their hurried walk back.
�I missed you too, Dana.�
�You look tired.�
�I am tired.� He closed his eyes and laid his head down on his arm. �So tired.�
She continued to stroke the scratch on his face. �You gonna sleep here on the floor?�
�Uh huh.� He answered sleepily.
�You want a pillow? A blanket? You want to at least get on the couch?�
�Huh uh.�
She smiled at him. He was already asleep. It had been less than a minute.
***
Scully woke up the next day on the couch. She had fallen asleep on the floor too, but had been yanked out of sleep just before sunrise by a horrid nightmare. She had woken up, breathless, her heart racing. Krycek had immediately opened his eyes and looked at her.
�You okay?�
She nodded back at him. �I�m fine. Nightmare. Go back to sleep.�
He closed his eyes and she covered him up with a blanket, stuffed a pillow under his head, then got the fire going again. She had fallen asleep on the couch.
When she woke up again, she was confused when she saw that the room was empty. For a second she thought she had only dreamt that Krycek had been there. Then she realized that the blanket was covering her, the pillow under her head. The smell of coffee was in the air.
Scully stood up and wandered the small cottage. She saw him sitting outside at the small patio table, drinking coffee and staring over the lake. She poured herself a cup and wandered out onto the deck. He looked her way when she pushed open the sliding glass door.
She smiled, still not believing that he was here after all this time. That they could actually have a normal conversation. Their time in Newport Beach seemed so far away. �Looks different during the day, doesn�t it?�
He smiled at her and kicked the chair across from him towards her. �Have a seat.�
That statement brought back memories of years ago. A memory of her standing up from her kitchen table, Alex Krycek inside her apartment. She had wanted nothing to do with him. She wanted him to turn around and walk away. Skinner was right next to him; she could have him removed, if she wanted. Alex Krycek�
She thought back to that night. She remembered the odd feeling that had come over her. The feeling that something had changed. Something had happened when she told him to have a seat.
Something important.
Krycek had stared at her, an odd look on his face. She knew that he had felt it too. That he was also aware that something had happened.
Something important.
On the deck in the Greater Seattle Area, Scully smiled at Krycek as she sat down across from him at the patio table. She eyed him with her head tilted to the side. �You do that on purpose?�
�Do what?�
�You know.�
�Don�t think I do.�
�Don�t play dumb with me High IQ Man. I ain�t falling for it.�
�Gibson will be with Cade.� Krycek said.
Scully frowned at him. �What made you think of that?�
Krycek smiled. �High IQ�s.�
�Gibson is the only person I know with an IQ higher than yours.�
�Yes, but we don�t need to talk about that.�
�What, that Gibson is smarter than you?�
�There�s certainly no need to rub it in.�
She laughed. �What time is it?�
�Two o�clock.�
�Oh my god!� Scully screeched. �Did we sleep all day?�
�We must have needed it.� He replied. �I know I did.�
Scully looked over the water and took a sip of her coffee. �I haven�t been sleeping much myself.�
�It�s almost over, Dana.�
�Yeah.� She replied. �We just keep on telling each other that, don�t we?�
Krycek looked at her until she met his gaze. He raised his eyebrows and she smiled.
�What?� She asked.
�Nothing.� He replied. �Just wondering what�s going on up there in that red head of yours.�
She looked at him with mock amazement. �You mean you don�t know?�
�I�m starving in a big way.�
�Why haven�t you eaten?�
�I was waiting for you.�
�Such the gentleman.� She joked. An idea suddenly came to her. She grinned at him.
�Really?� He asked. �You wanna?�
�I don�t know.� She replied. �It almost seems too weird.�
�Seems really, really weird to me.� He answered. �I keep thinking of the last time we were there.�
�You�re right.� Scully shook her head. �Way too weird.�
They were silent for a moment. He looked at her and she grinned.
�Although I wasn�t able to have a Hurricane last time.�
***
�Am I the only who feel�s really weird about this?� Alex asked.
On the way across The New Orleans Caf�, they passed by the table they�d sat at over three years ago and they looked at each other, remembering.
Spender pulled out another chart and laid it on the table in between the two. 'This is the DNA of your unborn child.'
Krycek suddenly stood up, knocking over the chair in the process, and hastily walked out of the restaurant.
As they sat down at a table in the back corner, they looked at each other and laughed.
�This was where you found out that Cade was yours.� Scully said.
�What a totally screwed up night that was.� Krycek said loudly, trying to talk over the band. They were doing a wonderful cover of B.B. King�s �Ten Long Years�.
It had been ten long years. Ten damn long yours since she had been assigned to the X-Files.
Scully shook her head. �Do you realize it�s been over three years since that night?�
�Doesn�t seem like it.�
�That�s because we�ve been separated most of the time.� She said softly.
Krycek met her eyes when the waitress arrived.
While gorging themselves and vegetarian jambalaya and hurricane�s, Scully had reminded him that he�d promised her a trip around Pioneer Square when she wasn�t pregnant. After dinner he showed her around, club hopping and drinking themselves into oblivion. They wound up on Capitol Hill, in a bar called The Bad Ju Ju Lounge. The inside had flames over the bar, medieval in d�cor, with bats hanging. They only played racket. Slayer, Pantera, Sepultera, Metallica. They took a booth in the back and drank Fat Tire on tap.
�Alex.� Scully had said drunkenly. �I don�t think I�ve ever seen you drunk.�
Krycek grinned. �What�s your point?�
�I�ve seen you drink, but I�ve never seen you drunk. There�s a difference.� She laughed and pointed at him. �You�re really shitfaced. I can tell.�
�Thank you, oh tactful one.�
�It doesn�t seem like it�s been so long.� Scully said. �Seems like we were just here, in Seattle.�
�Yeah, I�ve been shot about four time since then.�
�Mulder�s girlfriend shot you good.� She slurred.
�Yes.� He replied. �She knew exactly what she was doing.�
�Alex.� She said again. �Mulder moved on with life.�
�I know.� He replied. �I�m sorry, that must have been hard for you. I�m sure you wanted some kind of closure in your relationship.�
�Yes and no.� She said. �It had been a long time. Things change. I know that. I�m glad he moved on. It was probably either that or go insane. And he didn�t need to be any crazier. But what I meant was, he moved on and you never found anyone. No one.�
�I wasn�t looking.� Krycek laughed and looked away. He shook his head. �I think we�re both far too inebriated for this conversation.�
�You�re not looking that together, Alex.�
�However,� He said, pointing at her. �I can still walk. I don�t expect the same from you.�
�Oh come on.� She grinned. �You can tell me.�
He hesitated. �What was the question?�
�How come you never got a girlfriend?�
�You want the truth?�
�I seek nothing else.�
�The truth?�
She looked around. �Is there an echo in here?�
�The truth?�
�Cut it out!� She squealed.
He laughed like a little kid, throwing his head back.
�You�re evil.� She said.
He reached out to twist her ring around her finger. �I�m glad you found your ring, Dana. I noticed you were wearing it when it connected with the side of my face.�
�I�m sorry for beating you up, Alex. But you�re avoiding the question again. You�re so good at that.�
�If you must know.� He said. �The only person I�ve ever loved died a few years ago.�
�Alex.� She said, a sad look on her face. �That�s horrible.�
Krycek laughed and stood up from the table. �Beer?�
�Just one more.� Scully grinned at him. �And Alex��
�No.�
�Come on!� She protested.
�No.�
�Just one!�
He shook his head. �No way.�
�Please?� She smiled and batted her eyelashes at him.
He grinned at her blatant attempt to be cute, then rolled his eyes and walked away. She watched him over at the bar, talking and laughing with one of the bartenders, oblivious of all the stares that women were throwing his way.
He returned and set a beer down in front of her.
She huffed. �You suck.�
�You know,� he said as he sat down at the table. �I don�t need this abuse.�
She shook her head at him. �You love it.�
He looked at her slyly and held up a cigarette.
�I knew you couldn�t deny me.� She reached for it and he pulled it away.
�The last one.� He said.
�The last one.� She repeated, then gasped in surprise when he stuck two in his mouth and lit them both. �Alex, I�m appalled at you!�
�The last one.� He reminded her, holding a cigarette to her. �And only because we�re celebrating.�
Her fingers brushed his when she took it from him, their eyes never breaking contact. �And what are we celebrating?�
Krycek held his beer up and she followed suit. �The end.� He said.
She shook her head and smiled. �Not the end, Alex. The beginning.�
�And there goes the maudlin alarm.� He said, knocking his glass against hers.
Scully laughed and looked around the bar, taking a swallow of her beer. �You know, Alex, with your messed-up hair and black pleather jacket, all the girls keep checking you out. And the cigarette doesn�t exactly take away from that whole sexy Bad Boy image you have going on.�
�I have that going on?� He blew out smoke and raised his eyebrows at her. �Dana Scully, if I didn�t know any better, I�d say that you just hit on me.�
She tapped her cigarette in the ashtray. Damned if she wasn�t blushing. Almost forty years old and blushing. She snuck a glance at him to see he hadn�t moved, hadn�t averted his eyes. He was just grinning that damn evil grin of his, staring at her through the hazy smoke of their cigarettes. She could see the holy terror he must have been to high school fathers. She could see how any teenage girl would go starry-eyed over him. She could almost see the old Krycek in the look he was throwing her way. But that man didn�t exist for her anymore.
He hadn�t for a long time.
She returned his gaze, taking a hit off the cigarette. She blew smoke to the side and smiled at him. �Well, you know, all the girlie�s say you�re pretty fly.�
Krycek smiled back, holding her eyes with his. He shrugged. �For a white guy.�
They took a cab back to Pioneer Square to get some veggie dogs from the corner hotdog stand. It was very late and the bars were closing. People were milling around everywhere on the streets and the two of them had struck up a conversation with a young couple in line. They were students of the University and came down here every weekend to blow off steam. The four of them ate their late night snack together and shared some beer. When the couple�s cab had arrived, they gave Krycek and Scully a Heineken each and left them sitting on the bench in front of the New Orleans Caf�.
Krycek opened a can and held it out in her direction, causing a memory to wash over her.
'Brewski's!' Langly exclaimed. 'Flow me a Heinie?'
'Have at it.' Scully said, waving in the direction of the refrigerator.
'I'm impressed.' Krycek said. 'I didn't know that about you.'
'What?' Scully asked.
'That you were a boardhead.'
'I went to Berkeley for my undergrad.' Scully said. 'Spent a lot of time with the surfers in Santa Cruz.'
'Sharky.' Krycek smiled.
'Woofy.' Scully replied.
They had smiled at each other in spite of themselves.
Scully looked over at Krycek, years later, to see him grinning down at her. �I think that was the first time we ever connected.� He said softly. �You know what I mean.�
�Yeah. I know what you mean.� She returned his smile and looked over her shoulder, at the sign in the window. �It always comes down to the New Orleans Caf�. Who would have thought back then that we�d be here like this? That we would be having a kid together, that we�d run away to hide in Newport Beach, that we�d go through everything we have, that we�d become so close�� She closed her mouth, aware of her rambling.
A moment of silence stretched out and he blinked at her.
�You tired?� She asked softly.
Krycek pondered for a moment before smiling. �I think I�m still drunk.�
�Can you buy me those one karat diamond earrings tomorrow?�
�I�m not that drunk.�
She laughed, putting her hand on his leg, like she did all those years ago. When the two of them had been sitting on this very same bench, after he�d just found out that the baby was his and couldn�t process the fact. �With you, Alex, one can never be sure.�
Krycek�s face suddenly grew serious. He sighed; he seemed upset.
�What�s wrong?� She asked softly.
He shook his head. �I just can�t believe we�re both here. I missed you, Dana.�
Scully was mortified to find herself on the verge of tears. Again. She went to brush hair out of her face, and he caught her hand. She interlaced her fingers with his and they held hands on the bench between them.
�I missed you too, Alex.� She looked down at their hands. �More than I thought I could.�
Krycek smiled at her somber gaze. �I need to say something to you.�
She couldn�t reply. She could feel his hesitance and his eyes were unusually serious.
�If nothing else, this whole mess has taught me to not let time slip by. To say things that need to be said. When you were taken, when we thought you were dead, I regretted never telling you.�
She swallowed, trying to calm her nerves. She couldn�t imagine why she should be frightened. But she was. �Tell me what, Alex?�
He took a deep breath and laughed. �This is going to sound really corny, so bare with me. You were the first friend I ever had, the first person to ever know the real me, to know everything about me. You�re the only person who ever bothered to look beyond everything else and accept me. You are the first person to ever love me for who I am.� He hesitated and cleared his throat. �I believe, I really do, that if you hadn�t let me in your apartment that first night, if you hadn�t listened and had turned me away, that I would never have become the person I am today. I think I would be dead, one way or another, physically or emotionally. You saved my life. You saved me from myself. And I just wanted you to know. I wanted to thank you.�
She listened to him in disbelief, tears in her eyes. She shook her head. �I can�t even think about how different my life would be if you hadn�t shown up that night. You believe that I saved you, but in reality, you saved me. I grew up in a military family with strict rules and regulations to live by. I went off to college and struggled through all new rules and regulations. I went into medical school and the Bureau. I was always fighting against all the chauvinism. I was dry inside. You gave me life. You saved me. You were the first person to ever know the real me, to know everything about me. You are the first person to ever love me for who I am, because I never knew who I was before you came along. You saved me from myself. I think it�s me that should be thanking you.�
They regarded each other in deafening silence. The moment stretched out until he reached over and put both of his hands on her face. She closed her eyes as he kissed her on the forehead.
This surprised her. Not only had Krycek kept his distance from her in all the time she�d known him but also the gesture was incredibly familiar. Kissing her on the forehead�It was something she�d used to do when she�d wanted to reach out to Mulder and had been afraid.
Krycek froze, his lips on her forehead and his hands on her face. And in that instant, she knew. He had heard her thoughts, knew what she�d been thinking. It had stopped him cold because it had been the truth.
It had been her that had died a few years ago. She had been too drunk to understand what he had been trying to tell her earlier in the night. She was the only woman he�d ever loved.
She slowly raised her face to meet his eyes; he looked like a deer frozen in headlights.
He managed to smile. �Don�t look so surprised, Agent Scully. I�m sure you already knew that I�ve been in love with you for a long time.�
Her mouth was slightly open. She didn�t know how to respond; she didn�t know what to say. Her eyes revealed her astonishment. To hear the words out loud�
�Since when?� She stupidly sputtered.
Krycek ran his fingertips down her cheeks and let them slide of her face. �Since you told me to have a seat.�
Something had happened when she told him to have a seat.
Something important.
Tears gathered on the end of her lashes. She hadn�t known. She had suspected, she had thought, she had almost hoped. But hoping led to other, complicated issues. So she ignored it the same way she had ignored her own feelings. She pushed them away, behind the barrier, then recoiled in surprise when they surfaced from time to time. She had built one hell of a wall around herself in the past decade. Not letting anyone in. Not her family, or her friends. Not even Mulder.
It had surprised her when Krycek somehow managed to find a knothole in her fence to peek through. When her subconscious knocked on her mind to let her know what was happening, she�d immediately reinforced her wall with bricks. She had been protecting herself and protecting Mulder. She had a sense of loyalty to Mulder that she�d never had with anyone else, and she had confused the loyalty and deep friendship for something different.
She had known. She had been aware that Alex was in love with her the same way she�d been aware that she�d fallen in love with him a long time ago. She finally admitted it to herself and everything she�d been trying to do over the past few years, ignoring her feelings, ignoring his feelings, ignoring the truth, it all stopped. It all became clear.
The wall finally fell down.
She could barely get the words out; she was trembling so badly it affected her speech. �I�m sure you already know I feel the same.�
�I didn�t know.� He whispered. �I suspected. But I had no right to feel the way I felt or to wish you would feel the same.�
�You had every right.� She touched her own shaking hands to his face. �It�s not something we control.�
�I tried to control it.� He said, leaning his head into her hand. �I didn�t want to get in the way. I wanted you to be happy.�
She shook her head and leaned towards him. �You make me happy.�
He smiled. He looked into her eyes. He said the words, just to make sure. �I love you.�
She shook her head and leaned her forehead against his. �I love you.�
Their lips hovered an inch away from each other as he placed his hands on her cheeks.
Scully closed her eyes as he brought her face close and pressed his lips against hers. Her mind was suddenly washed in sensation. She could feel what he was feeling and it was remarkable. Their lips parted and met again.
She could feel his love for her, his desire for her. She could feel everything that he�d ever felt for her. In response, she was certain that her own feelings were cascading into his head. She could feel them back. He put his hands on her waist to pull her closer and in response, she slid her hands into his hair.
Their lips met again. He plunged his hands into her hair and tilted her head to the side. She opened her mouth and their tongues met.
They were both trembling. She didn�t know if it was from desire or emotion; all she knew was that she had never felt anything like it before.
�Jeez, people.� A voice interrupted, someone walking by. �Get a room.�
Their lips parted and they looked in each other eyes.
They both laughed.
***
The ringing jolted them both out of sleep. They were tangled together. Scully reached for the phone on the nightstand and fell right over the edge of the bed and onto the floor. Krycek�s head popped over the side as she sat up with the phone in her hand.
�Where�s the phone?� She stood up, a sheet wrapped around her. �Where�s the phone?�
He reached out and put a hand over hers, the one clutching the Nokia. �It�s in your hand.�
She shook her head distractedly and flipped it open. �Yes?�
His eyes were alert as he stared at her.
She met his gaze, disbelief stamped on her face. �Mom?� Tears popped up in her eyes as she listened. After a few moments of chatter, she hung up and looked at him, smiling. �Four hours.�
His own grin poured over his face.
�Marymoor Park. On the pier at Lake Sammamish. In the marsh section of the Interpretive Trail.� She said, sitting on the edge of the bed. �Do you know where that is?�
He nodded, taking her hand and pulling her towards him. �I do.�
Scully leaned towards him. She smiled before kissing him deeply. In response, he pulled her closer. She laughed and pushed him away before standing up, grinning happily.
�I think it�s over.�
�It is for us.� He smiled sadly. He didn�t need to elaborate.
She tilted her head to the side, thinking. �Everything will work out. Everything always does.�
He threw a pillow at her. �Isn�t that my line?�
�You know, maybe I am psychic.� She smiled brilliantly. As she strode towards the bathroom, she let the sheet fall away from her. �Because I�m getting the feeling that you want to wash my hair.�
He hesitated, watching her walk into the next room, then suddenly went after her.
�Oh baby, you know what I like.�
***
�What are we going to do after this?� Scully asked as they reached the edge of the pier and sat down on a bench.
�I don�t know.� He smiled down at her as she rested easily against his side. �What will come, will come, and we�ll just have to meet it when it does.�
�Damn Taoism�� Scully looked up into Krycek�s suddenly apprehensive face. �You okay?�
He nodded in response. �I�m just, I don�t know, nervous or something. It�s been a long time. What if he doesn�t remember me?�
�Alex.� She admonished, resting a hand on his leg. �Of course he remembers you.�
Krycek regarded her for a minute before shaking his head. �Look at your hair.�
�What?�
�It�s so long.� He pushed it behind her shoulder.
She smiled at him and he returned the grin. Silence stretched out. A boat drifted close, blasting �Teenage Dirtbag� by Wheatus. They mentally shared an image of standing on the deck of the beach house in the middle of the night while that song drifted up to them from a radio down on the beach. She�d been upset, as usual, and confused by her feelings.
They suddenly looked at each other. They both felt him. Cade saw her first.
�Mommy!�
Krycek stood up as Scully took her son into her arms. Gibson was just behind Cade and Skinner and Maggie jogged up behind them.
�Alex!� Maggie exclaimed, giving him a huge hug.
Cade saw his father and screeched. �Daddy!�
Scully let go of him and Krycek scooped him up. She put her hands over her mouth. She suddenly couldn�t breathe. She had never seen the two of them together and had no idea that it would affect her this way.
Maggie grabbed Scully in an embrace, but she could barely pay any attention to it. �You okay, Dana?�
Skinner put his arms around her as well. �I don�t believe I�ve ever seen you so speechless.�
�Sir?� Scully asked, trembling. �What are you doing here? What about Gibson�s family?�
�First of all, Dana, I have nowhere else to be. Secondly, Gibson has never had a family.�
She looked over at Gibson for a moment. �He does now.�
Gibson smiled as she gave him a hug. He looked up at her.
