�Fox.� Marie�s voice stopped him as they had been meandering. �I guess you�re not going to get off that easy.�
He looked down at her questioningly and she smiled up at him, almost laughing. �There they are again.�
Damn. Mulder thought to himself as his eyes settled on Krycek and Scully. Damn, damn, damn, damn.
Krycek was leaning against the railing of the deck and Scully stood in front of him, holding Cade�s hand. The two of them stood so close and gazed at each so adoringly that Mulder was momentarily slammed back into the past. Back when Scully had loved him and he�d been so jealous and insecure over his brother�s sudden appearance into their lives that he�d been too damn blind to see anything.
The feelings faded away. That was a long time ago. Things were different now.
I�m not going to turn around. I�m not going to turn around. I�m not going to turn around.
Scully said something and they both laughed. Krycek put a baseball cap on her head backwards. She grinned back. They looked casual and totally at ease, wearing sunglasses and shorts, relaxed and tan.
This is ridiculous, he thought. What am I afraid of? That�s my brother. That�s Scully.
He still couldn�t take a step towards them.
His dilemma was solved when Cade saw him and ran his way, yanking his hand out of Scully�s.
�Cade!� He heard both Krycek and Scully yell.
�Uncle Fox!� Cade said as Mulder picked him up when he got close enough.
�Hey there, little guy.� Mulder said, hugging him. �I�ve missed you.�
�I missed you.� Cade leaned back and looked at him, putting his hands on Mulder�s cheeks. �You�re late.�
Mulder laughed, tears springing to his eyes. He saw Krycek and Scully over Cade�s shoulder. They were five feet away. He suddenly had no idea what he was doing. Fox Mulder, Federal Agent and international conspiracy participant, suddenly scared to death of his little brother and best friend.
A smile crept up on Scully�s face. �He�s always late, sweetheart.� She walked over and looked up at him, at the strange expression on his face as he stood there with Cade in his arms.
�Hey Scully.�
She laughed and reached up to hug him. He hugged her back tightly with one arm, holding Cade with the other. She looked up into his face, there were tears in her eyes. She laughed again and turned back to look at Alex.
Krycek stood there, a quirky smile on his face. �Fox.�
�Alex.� Mulder said back.
They stared at each other in silence and Krycek huffed out a small laugh as Mulder moved towards him. Krycek didn�t make him do all the work; he took a step forward and hugged him. Mulder patted his brother on the back, closing his eyes, embarrassed that his throat had completely closed up and he couldn�t say anything. He was embarrassed that he was so close to crying.
After the New Otani, they had all gone back to the condo that Krycek and Scully had rented at Grey�s Beach. Mulder had felt just at home with the welcome from Maggie. Skinner had been thrilled to see the three of them and had given Marie a big bear hug. He looked at Koskie and Mulder before exchanging a hug with each of them.
�You finally figured it out? A year later? Some field agent you are.�
Shortly after, Mulder had received the second biggest shock of his life.
Mulder could sense that Krycek and Scully were hemming and hawing about something. They were having a silent banter and he shook his head while smiling. Some things never change.
We have a surprise for you, Fox.
The three of them exchanged silent glances, then they all walked out of the room. Mulder heard Skinner sigh behind him.
�I hate it when they do that.�
They walked down the hallway and into a room, it took a moment for it to register. When he saw the baby sleeping in the bassinet, the expression on his face indicated there could very well be a pokemon in there.
He looked at Scully in astonishment. �What the hell is that?�
She tried not to wake the baby up by bursting into laughter. She clapped her hands over her mouth and backed out of the room. Krycek was trying to talk through some silent laughter as well.
�That?� He asked. �What a horrible way to refer to your niece.�
�What?� Mulder asked. �My niece? How��
�When I healed her arm�� Krycek whispered.
Mulder�s lips parted slightly, as the rest became blatantly obvious. �You healed all of her.�
�It would appear that way.� Krycek said.
�She�s named after you.� Scully smiled at him.
Mulder looked at her in fear. �Please tell me you didn�t name her Foxy.�
Krycek and Scully both laughed.
�Yes, the name Fox was a problem.� Krycek said. �So we named her after your virtues. Ailis Kane�
�Ay-lish,� Scully pronounced it for him. �Means brave and true. Kane is a warrior or protector.�
Mulder didn�t know what to say. He thought of something that Spender had said years ago and guessed that it was true. Cade was the first in the next step of human evolution.
�We didn�t mean to set off the maudlin alarm.� Krycek said.
�You know,� Mulder said out of nowhere, �Alexander means �Protector of Mankind.�
�Then I guess you should have got the name.� Krycek smiled.
Mulder grinned. �You�re going to pass for an Irish family if you keep up with the Gaelic names.�
�I do have red hair.� Scully said.
They had spent the rest of the day hanging out on the patio, talking, catching up, and laughing. As Mulder had feared, Koskie and Alex connected right off the bat. The two of them were obnoxious as all hell, mostly with each other, and Mulder began to wonder how on earth he would ever survive the two of them together. They were both out on the patio, with the barbecue going. Barbecuing what, Mulder didn�t ask. He�d always had a phobia for anything that wasn�t a dead animal or deep-fried. Tofu terrified him.
When the flames from the barbecue roared up, Mulder had looked for the fire department. Koskie stood before the blaze, arms raised and chanting in a mock pagan ceremony.
�Aye!� Krycek exclaimed, leaping back. �Caliente.�
�Fire! Fire!� Koskie started in with the Beavis again.
Krycek took the mandatory role of Butthead. �Shut up, Beavis.�
The two of them carried on and Mulder shook his head and closed his eyes.
Oh yes, he thought, I�m definitely not the idiot anymore.
Cleaning up the after dinner mess, �Atomic Dog� was on the stereo and Mulder was helping in the kitchen with Maggie and Skinner. Gibson was hanging out with Cade and Ailis in the living room. Both Cade and Gibson kept a careful eye on the little girl and Mulder suddenly realized he�d got here just in time for Cade�s fifth birthday.
��Bow wow wow�Yippee Yo Yippee Yay�Bow wow Yippee Yo Yippe Yay��
The others were bringing in stuff from the patio, prancing in and out to the music. Scully and Koskie began doing the bump to the beat and Krycek slowly danced in behind them. Marie laughed.
�Marie!� Mulder exclaimed. �Save yourself! Don�t look them in the eyes. They will suck you in.�
��Why must I feel like that�Why must I chase the cat��
Krycek and Marie�s began to do the Electric Slide.
�Oh my God.� Mulder said. �She�s gone into the Vortex of Insanity, just like the rest of them.�
Koskie pointed at them and began to laugh. �That is so ten years ago. But at least it�s not the Merenge.�
Krycek looked at her. �You Merenge?�
She nodded. �Went to UPR for two years.�
�In San Juan?� Krycek walked over to the stereo and inserted a CD.
�Oh, here we go.� Scully said, walking towards Mulder. �I�m going in the kitchen where it�s safe.�
Solo Traigo Mi Ritmo began to play and Krycek held his arms out. �Show me what ya got.�
�Bring it on.� Marie smiled and walked towards him. �If you think you can.�
***
Mulder and Krycek sat out in the water off Waikiki, floating on surfboards in silence.
Mulder thought back on that week that he had been in Oahu. They had a lot of fun. Since Ailis was only a few months old, Scully stayed home a lot while the rest of them went out to play. After one day with all the men, Gibson and Cade included, Marie decided to stay with Scully and Maggie as well. The Manly Men, as they had dubbed themselves, had hiked up Diamond Head and gone to Waimea Valley and Adventure Park to go kayaking and ride some ATC�s. They were doing �manly� things.
Sometimes Maggie would take the kids so they could all spend time together, heading for sunset drinks at the House of the Key. They took Cade to the Moonlight Tour of the Honolulu Zoo and to Sea Life Park. Koskie was complaining about going to a luau but Krycek told him there was no way in hell he was going to participate in anything that including putting Babe in a grave, and digging the poor creature up hours later to eat it. Koskie had then thanked Krycek for the visual and informed him that he would probably never eat pork again.
On his last day there, Mulder made the huge mistake of letting Krycek teach him how to surf. They had been sitting out on their boards, letting wave after wave pass. Koskie had finally grown impatient and tried to ride one when. He did manage to stand up and yell �Banzai� before wiping out.
Mulder and Krycek had laughed at him.
�Have you decided what you�re going to do?� Krycek asked softly.
Mulder ran a hand through his wet hair to get it out of his face. �I�m thinking I�ll need to be able to stand on the board. Hopefully once I�m up, I�ll be able to figure out how to balance on this damn thing.�
�I wasn�t talking about surfing, Fox.�
�Oh, afterwards?� Mulder looked towards the shore. �I�m pretty hungry, I think we should grab some lunch from Cheeseburger in Paradise. I definitely need another one of those margarita�s before I leave.�
�That�s not what I�m talking about.� Krycek said sternly.
Mulder grinned sideways at him. �I know.�
Krycek smiled in spite of himself. �Screw you.�
�Where do you live, anyway?�
�I could tell you.� Krycek said, looking back towards the shore. �But then I�d have to kill you.�
�Well it makes a difference you know.� Mulder replied. �I�m not living in frigging Greenland.�
�You definitely need to hang around, Fox.� Krycek said. �We waited for you.�
Mulder nodded, thinking of when he had asked Scully that particular question. They had been sitting outside on the sand, drinking a glass of Merlot. They had banished everyone else so they could continue on with their tradition. The others were probably going to set the place on fire or something, but the two of them felt it was worth it just to have their time alone.
�Unmarried with two children?� Mulder clicked his tongue at her. �Not very Catholic of you.�
She turned to smile up into his eyes. �We were waiting for you.�
Mulder had raised his eyebrows. �I hope my brother gave you a decent proposal. I�ll beat his ass for you if he didn�t.�
Scully laughed, then proceeded to tell him about it.
She had been pregnant and complaining, talking about how their kids were going to grow up running all over the world. She said that they had done things backwards. She�d been pregnant with his kid, then they�d become friends, then they moved in together, and eventually, fallen in love. She told him that she wished things were just a little more normal.
Krycek flipped veggies on the grill. �You wanna get married?�
�To who?� Scully asked, looking up at him innocently.
�Marilyn Manson, smartass.� He said. �Who do you think?�
�I don�t know, Alex.� She shook her head. �What do I get out of it.�
�Lifetime surfing lessons.�
She thought, then wrinkled her nose. �No. That just ain�t working. Throw in dinner every night of the week and maybe we can talk.�
�I�m not cooking every night of the week.�
�But you�re so much better at it than I am.� She whined.
�Twice a week.�
�Four times.�
He looked at her. �Three times.�
�Deal.� She said, then laughed in his face. �That�s the way you�re going to propose to me?�
�If you want the whole traditional thing you�re looking in the wrong place.� He said. �I don�t get on my knees for anyone.�
�That�s not what Skinner told me.�
His mouth dropped open. He was speechless.
�WooHoo!� Scully threw her hands up in the air. �I finally win!�
�Hope it was worth it.� He replied. �Cause there ain�t no way in hell you�re getting a diamond now.�
�You ready to do this?� Krycek asked Mulder, looking him in the eyes.
Mulder turned to look at an approaching wave. He knew Krycek was using the surfing as a metaphor. What he really wanted to know is if he was ready to come join in their lives, ready to be family.
Life just never turns out the way you think it will.
�Yeah.� Mulder said. �I�m ready.�
***
The next December�
Krycek wound through the streets of Sydney, driving like a madman.
�Alex, you�re going to make me puke.� Mulder held onto the dashboard and closed his eyes as Krycek turned a corner too fast and squeezed in between two cars. �Forget the puke, you�re going to kill me.�
�Listen to some Pink Floyd and relax.� Krycek responded, running a traffic light and turning up the stereo.
��Where were you when I was burned and broken�While the days slipped by from my window watching��
It had been just over a year since Mulder, Marie and Koskie had joined them in Australia. It had all began with Mulder deciding, sitting on a surfboard in the Pacific Ocean, that he was going to go with them.
It�s over. Mulder had thought to himself once he realized he would probably not be going back to the US for a long time. It�s over, the end.
�Not the end, Fox.� Krycek said to his brother. He smiled, thinking of what Scully had said back in Seattle, just before they�d found footing in their relationship. �The beginning.�
�Is that the maudlin alarm I hear?� Mulder grinned at him and Krycek burst out laughing.
�Whatever.� The younger brother said, beginning to paddle with the wave. �You better get a move on or you�ll be shark bait out here all alone.�
That was the only wave Mulder had ever managed to ride all the way in.
��Where were you when I was hurt and I was helpless� Because the things you say and the things you do surround me��
Life had become surreal for Krycek. It felt like he was living in a dream most of the time.
They lived in a suburb of Sydney, in a community called, oddly enough, Newport. He and Scully had chosen to reside there because it was so much like the other Newport Beach. They lived in a home on Bungan Head, not too far away from where Maggie lived in Mona Vale. None of them lived far from each other, but Mulder kept threatening to banish Koskie to the other side of the city, just to keep the two of them and their shenanigans far away from each other. Krycek and Koskie spent a lot of time together, surfing at Palm Beach. Mulder tried every now and then, but Krycek knew he only did it to make him happy.
��While you were hanging yourself on someone else's words�Dying to believe in what you heard�I was staring straight into the shining sun��
It was comical, Krycek thought, how much his life had changed. No more wandering alone through some African forest. No more wondering if he was going to live through the night when he was stranded up in some freezing mountain. No more sitting through long meetings and having to listen to everyone think about ways to deceive everyone else.
��Lost in thought and lost in time�While the seeds of life and the seeds of change were planted�Outside the rain fell dark and slow�While I pondered on this dangerous but irresistible past time��
Krycek threw the car into park, and looked over at Mulder. �You okay?�
Mulder nodded and opened his car door. He hesitated and looked at his brother. The lyrics of the song had hit too close to home and had affected him.
�What�s wrong, Fox?�
��I took a heavenly ride through our silence�I knew the moment had arrived�For killing the past and coming back to life��
�I don�t think I�ve ever told you.� Mulder stared back at him for a moment. �I�m glad we�re finally brothers.�
Krycek was surprised, but managed a grin. �We�ve always been brother�s, Fox. In ways more important than blood.�
��I took a heavenly ride through our silence�I knew the waiting had begun�And headed straight . . . into the shining sun��
�Go.� Krycek gave him a shove out the door. �They�re going to kill both of us.�
***
Krycek came back from the cafeteria with coffee and looked around. �Where are the kids?�
�They went out to look for Steven.� Maggie said. �I guess he�s panicking and lost in the hospital somewhere. And I spoke with Melvin, they�re picking up John and coming here.�
�I guess the kids found Mr. Graceful.� Skinner said.
One look at Koskie and Krycek burst into laughter. �What the hell happened to you?�
�He was running towards the doors and fell in the water fountain.� Cade said,
�Am I too late?� Koskie asked, eyes wide. �I�m not too late am I? Damn tore back streets.�
�Well, I can only take two at a time.�
They all turned at the sound of Dana�s voice. She put a hand on Krycek�s arm and looked between him and Koskie. �You guys ready to meet your nephew?�
Once inside their room, Mulder held a screaming baby out towards his brother. �You�re an Uncle.�
Krycek smiled as the little boy in his arms began to calm down. �He likes me better.�
�No, he�s just amazed at how you can be related to someone as good looking as I am.� Mulder said, standing next to him.
�Thank God he�s got your looks, Marie.� Koskie said loudly.
The baby immediately began to scream again and they all laughed.
�Little guy learns quick.� Scully said. �He�s already afraid of Uncle Steven like the rest of us.�
Krycek smiled down at her. He had friends, he had family, and there was a brand new addition to the gang. Life couldn�t get much better. �How is it that I got so lucky?� He asked softly.
Scully grinned at him in return. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. �I think you were engineered that way.�
�What�s his name?� Koskie asked. �Did you ever decide?�
Mulder smiled and sat down on the bed next to Marie. He took her hand. �We named him after the person who saved my life, who made me get off my ass and get a life. The person whom without, I don�t believe I�d be here today.�
Krycek met Mulder�s eyes. He already knew. Somehow, he just knew
Mulder returned his brother�s stare. He thought about how Krycek had saved his life.
You know who you remind me of?
Our father.
He thought about how he had shunned Krycek when they�d first met. He recalled how he had reacted when he�d first found out they were brothers, when he found out that Cade wasn�t his. He remembered how much he�d hated Krycek, how he had wanted nothing more than for Krycek to die.
If someone had told Mulder back then that he�d end up in Australia, living down the street from his brother and his best friend Scully, who had two children of their own, he would have checked himself into a mental institution.
Damn, he was happy that life never quite turns out the way you think it will.
The only thing Krycek had wanted back then was to be accepted. Mulder only wished that he had accepted him a lot sooner. But he had no way of knowing what he had been missing out on. He was just thankful that he had come to his senses and fallen in love with life�With his friends and family�He finally had a family. So did his brother. And Scully, Skinner�All of them. They all did.
They were all one big, happy family.
�Jeez, bro.� Krycek�s voice interrupted him. �Who�s setting off the maudlin alarm now?�
Mulder smiled at him and his brother grinned back. A peaceful feeling passed between them.
Krycek smiled down at his nephew and spoke softly but with great gratitude.
�Hey Alex.�
The End
