'It appears so.' She said. 'Any news?'
'It looks like I may have a lead. I'm supposed to call my contact back in an hour.' Krycek looked around her apartment. 'Seems different in here today.'
'How so?' Scully opened her pantry and frowned at the contents.
'Lighter, more revealing.' He looked over at her, nearly smiling at her somber look. 'What are you doing?'
'Wishing I had something to eat.' Scully shut the pantry and leaned her forehead against it. 'I'm starving.'
'Nothing in there looked good?' He asked.
'I've given up meat.' Scully said, opening her eyes and rolling them towards him.
Krycek nodded at her. 'Hormones and antibiotics.' He picked up a picture she had on her mantle and stared at it.
She and Mulder had been at the FBI Christmas party a couple of years ago. They were trying to look serious, but they both had grins tugging at their lips. She remembered the horrible joke they had shared about the Section Chief, whom had his picture taken just before them. That's what was causing the struggle not to laugh.
'If you want to get dressed,� Krycek said, placing the picture where he picked it up from, 'I'll buy us some lunch. I know a great vegetarian cafe around the corner.'
'Vegetarian cafe?' She asked, staring at him.
'I'm vegan.' He replied, then smiled at her startled look. 'Don't look so surprised, Agent Scully. Hell, I'm all for animal rights. It's the people I can't stand.'
***
The walk to the cafe was silent.
Scully spent all of it wondering what the hell she was doing. She had never liked Krycek, never trusted Krycek, had always put a lot of blame on Krycek. She had grown to hate and despise the man. Now here she is, going to lunch with him? What if this was all a part of some scheme to get to her?
'I'm not going to hurt you.' Krycek's voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
'What?' She squinted up at him in the sun.
He stopped and turned towards her. 'This isn't part of any plan. You can trust me.'
Scully stared back at him, trying to recall the last thirty seconds of their walk. Had she been thinking out loud? 'What makes you think I don't trust you already?'
'Because you never have.' He walked over to the cafe and held the door open for her.
She hesitantly walked inside. 'Thank you.'
'You're welcome.' He held his hand out, gesturing for her to pick a table. They sat at a table in the back in front of a corner waterfall. The inside was made up like a rain forest. Krycek ordered for both of them because Scully had insisted that she knew nothing about vegetarian food and wouldn't know where to begin. They tried to indulge in mindless chatter until the waitress brought over drinks and an appetizer.
'Now.' Scully said, smearing some pita bread with a tofu-olive dip. 'You skillfully avoided my question. What makes you think I've never trusted you.'
Krycek laughed. 'Because I wouldn't trust me either.'
Scully shot him a look. 'Very good at avoiding questions, I see.'
'It's strange.' Krycek said, his eyes drifting off. 'I've lived my whole life believing something so strongly. These beliefs shaped the person I became and molded me into someone I always thought I was. Then the other day, I find out I have siblings, I have parents. I mean, I knew the science behind where I came from. But discovering the identities of the people that are made of the same flesh and blood that I am.' He shook his head. 'I can�t believe I'm telling you this.'
'Me neither.' Scully said, head resting on her hand.
'I've never talked about myself.' Krycek shrugged. 'I never knew why I should. It never seemed important. Everything was about,� Krycek held up his hand and made quotations in the air. �The Cause�.'
'What a horrible way to grow up.' Scully said. 'I can�t imagine missing out on my childhood.'
'Yeah.' Krycek said softly. 'But in a way I don't blame them. I believe that they did what they thought they had to do.'
'Experimenting on people, abducting them from their families, causing illnesses.' Scully shook her head. 'Creating children whose only reason for being alive is what, to save the world?'
'Sounds noble.' Krycek joked.
'It's inexcusable.' Scully said. 'Not to mention a lot of pressure on the kids. If I was told I had to save the world, I'd go hide in a corner.'
He looked up at her to see if she was serious. She wasn't. He began to laugh as the waitress arrived with his portabello mushroom burger and her veggie wrap.
Scully's eyes widened as she looked at his plate. 'That smells so good.'
He smiled. 'I knew you were going to do that.' He divided the burger and set one half on her plate.
'Oh, I couldn't possibly.' She held up a hand.
'Don't worry,' Krycek said, grabbing one of her wraps. 'I'm taking half of yours too.'
Scully was suddenly reminded of Mulder. He had done just that in a Mexican restaurant they frequented. Threw a slab of carne asada on her plate then stole half of her chicken mole enchilada.
'Mulder is very valuable to both sides.' Krycek said, staring at her somberly. 'No one will hurt him. He'll be okay.'
She raised her eyes to his. 'You always seem to know what I'm thinking.'
He shrugged before speaking in a no-nonsense voice. 'I'm not stupid, Agent Scully.'
She smiled a little. 'That's one opinion.'
Krycek just shook his head and took a bite of his burger. 'You should eat that before it gets cold and tastes like rubber.'
Scully raved about the food and Krycek talked about his time in Newport Beach. He was in the middle of talking about a harrowing ride around the Balboa Fun Zone in a two-seater bike when he noticed Scully wasn't hearing anything he was saying. She was staring back at him, an odd expression on her face.
He stopped talking and waited for her to speak.
'I can't believe you're Mulder's brother.' She said softly.
'It came as quite a shock to me too.' Krycek smiled sadly. 'I didn't think it was going to change the way I felt about him, but it did.'
�Hmmm.� She put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. 'How so?'
'I'm not sure, really.' He leaned back in his chair and wiped his mouth with a napkin. 'I can't explain it. I've never had a sense of family. I've always been alone. I was never given love; I was given lectures, lessons, and education. I didn't sit around the tree at Christmas and open presents. I never knew I was lonely until later.' Krycek smiled. 'Sorry. I'm straying.'
'No, no.� Scully said. 'Go on.'
'When I first found out that Mulder was my brother, I didn't think of it that way. I thought of is as,' Krycek adopted a monotone, nasally voice, 'someone who was created from the same gene pool as I was. It took some time for the reality of it to sink in. That he was my brother, that he was family.' He looked up at her, smiling. 'I've never had a family before. It's scary but nice at the same time.'
'I can't imagine.' Scully said. 'I can't imagine how it feels to suddenly have a brother.' She sat for a moment then spoke again softly. 'I cannot imagine how Mulder is going to feel when he learns all this.'
'I'm sure he'll still not like me very much.' Krycek said.
Scully smiled at him, really hating the fact that she didn't hate him just then. 'I cannot imagine never knowing any of my family, as vile as some of them are.' Her thoughts drifted to her family members who were in her life, and those who had moved on.
'Scully.' Krycek leaned in close to the table.
She sensed his serious mood and leaned close too. 'What?' She whispered.
Krycek's eyes locked on hers. 'I didn't kill your sister.'
Scully stared back at him, her eyes brimming with tears before she pushed them away.
'I was there, but I didn't kill her.'
Scully couldn't look at him. She looked across the restaurant, down at her plate, over at the waitress, anywhere. She couldn't look at him.
'I was sent there to make sure you were assassinated. But I didn't know.' He said. 'I didn't know.'
Scully felt herself start to tremble. She felt trapped; she didn't know what to do.
'If you only knew what I've been told, what I've been taught.' Krycek's voice seemed a bit shaky.
She gathered strength and looked up at him. His eyes were boring into hers. They were full of sadness, regrets, and compassion.
'I know now that I've been on the wrong side.'
Scully tried once more to hate him. But if what he said was true, she couldn't. A tear fell from her lashes and she quickly lowered her face.
Krycek reached over and covered her hand with his own. 'I'm sorry.'
She immediately drew her hand away and stood up, heading for the restroom. She went into a stall and closed the door behind her to lean against it. Her hand covered her mouth and she closed her eyes.
Mulder, she thought to herself, this is too much. She sank down in the corner of the stall and buried her face in her arms. Mulder, I can�t do this without you. Her body began shaking as the sobs wracked her body.
***
Scully took some time to compose herself, splashing cold water on her face and looking at herself in the mirror. She felt weak for getting so upset, but the thought of Melissa's death was something she hadn't conquered just yet. Hearing Krycek speak of it, 'I was there, but I didn't kill her', flooded her mind with images. It had been too much on top of what was already a 'too much' week.
Someone came into the bathroom, invading Scully's private space. Scully returned the friendly smile and headed out. Krycek was waiting for her right outside the restroom. He opened his mouth, to apologize she assumed, but she held up a hand, cutting him off.
'Don't.' She said flatly, walking past him. 'I don't know how much regret I can take from you.'
Krycek followed her outside, a smirk planted on his face. 'Oh there you are, Scully. I haven't seen you since last night.'
She stopped and turned to face him, standing on the sidewalk. 'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'
'Nothing, I'm sorry.' He shook his head. 'My fine-tuned, hard, sarcastic edge is going to be difficult to tame. I developed it quite young and have been using it to survive ever since.'
'Must run in the family.' She mumbled. 'Mulder can't stay serious for more than three minutes at a time before he goes into overload and has to do something stupid.'
A beeping at his side interrupted Krycek�s laugh.
Scully eyed him suspiciously. 'You're beeping.'
'Relax.' He pulled his phone out and showed it to her. 'I had the alarm set to remind me.'
'Remind you what?'
'Pregnancy cause memory loss?' Krycek asked, tapping her lightly on the head with the phone. 'I need to call my contact back.'
And to Scully's surprise, he dialed the number, apparently staying right in front of her.
He began to spew short, Russian sentences. Halfway through the conversation his eyes locked with hers. She raised her eyebrows in question and he gave her a small, lopsided grin.
'Well?' Scully asked as soon as Krycek took the phone away from his ear.
'Spender's been spotted.' He said as they resumed their walk towards her apartment.
'Cancer Man?' She asked. 'Where?'
'Seattle. Security cameras recorded him and a woman in SeaTac Airport.'
They both dialed numbers on their phones and began walker faster.
Scully called Skinner and the Lone Gunmen, arranging for them to meet. Krycek made several calls, each one seeming to be in a different language.
People got out of their way and stared as they walked past. Scully and Krycek both had a demanding presence. Especially when angry or emotionally charged somehow. No matter the size of the crowd, they were easily spotted.
Across the street, a camera lens slid out of a window.
***
Krycek knocked on the door to the Lone Gunmen's building and looked down at Scully. 'This is one place I never thought I'd visit.'
'I thought the same thing.' She replied in a low voice. 'They kinda grow on you after awhile.'
'Who goes there?'
'It's me Langly.' Scully said. 'Open the door.'
'What's the password?'
Scully sighed. 'The password is 'Langly�s going to get a swift, kick in the ass if he doesn't open the goddamn door'.'
Krycek smiled down at Scully as they heard several locks being disengaged. 'Such influence you have.'
�Whatever.� She made a face at him as the door was opened and Krycek followed her inside.
'Whoa!' Krycek exclaimed, taking in all the equipment. 'What's all this shit?'
Frohike popped up from behind a table. 'What's it to you, punk ass?'
'Easy big guy.' Krycek put his hand up in surrender. 'I come in peace.'
'We've managed to clear the image up quite a bit.' Byers said, adjusting knobs. 'The image of him is almost perfect.'
Scully walked over to stand between Krycek and Byers, her arms crossed. 'No sign of Skinner?'
'He called just before you showed up.' Frohike said, smiling. 'He was lost.'
'You gotta love those FBI people.' Krycek said. 'So perceptive.'
'So observant.' Langly agreed.
'Always paying attention.' Frohike chimed in.
'That's enough.' Scully said threateningly. The three quieted down like little kids.
The image on the screen suddenly snapped into view. Byers reached down and hit a couple switches. 'Okay, here we go.'
Scully and Krycek leaned closer to the monitor. It was obviously an airport. People were scurrying by, pulling luggage, airline personnel were sliding by slowly in two's and three's. The image suddenly zoomed in as Byers pointed at the screen while controlling the picture. 'There he is.'
It was Cancer Man. He put his hand on the back of the woman next to him, causing her to turn towards the camera.
'Oh my God.' Scully whispered, looking up at Krycek. 'Is that Samantha?'
Frohike frowned. 'You know her?'
Krycek nodded, straightening up. 'It's my sister.'
***
'What are you going to do?' Skinner asked, turning away from the screen. He had shown up just after them, irritated and embarrassed at his lack of navigational expertise.
'I'm going to go out there.' Krycek said. 'I'm sure he knows where Mulder is and I have to get to my sister. I doubt she has any idea that Mulder�s been abducted. I�m sure my father is hiding everything from her.'
Skinner crossed his arms and leaned against the table. 'Do you need me to do anything?'
'Get me a car through the Bureau. No one would expect me to be in cahoots with the FBI. I want to remain anonymous.' Krycek smiled. 'If I'm going to disappear, I'm going to do a good job.'
'What about us?' Langly asked.
Skinner and Scully exchanged a glance. 'What have you been doing?' He asked.
The three Lone Gunmen glanced among themselves before all three launched into various explanations.
'We've been monitoring all phone calls from the FBI...'
'Pirating all the security tapes...'
'Hacking into the databases...'
Skinner held up a hand, nodding. 'Just keep doing what you've been doing.' He looked over at Krycek. 'I can get you a car now, if you want to come with me.'
Krycek smiled down at Scully. 'I guess I'll be going then. I'll call you when I learn something more.'
'Wait a minute.' Scully said, putting a hand on his arm. 'I'm going with you.'
Skinner and the Lone Gunman immediately objected in various ways.
'I think I can take care of myself.' Scully said, raising her voice. 'I don't have to remind any of you-'
Krycek was shaking his head as she launched into her tirade. 'You're not coming with me.'
She eyed him, anger sparking in her eyes. 'Why the hell not?'
'Your baby is very important. They will stop at nothing to get their hands on it. It's better if you stay here, protected.'
Scully hesitated, thinking on what he'd said. While it made some sense, it didn't entirely dissuade her from needing to help. 'Then you can protect me, Mr. Big, Bad, Hit Man, Tough-Guy. I'm going.'
Krycek stepped closer and looked down at her, speaking softly. 'I really don't think it's a good idea, Dana.'
Scully blinked at the use of her first name. Except for her Mom and brothers, a couple of close friends, no one had used her name in so long. 'I'm going, and that's all there is to it.'
Krycek stared down at her for a moment, then shrugged. He turned to face the other four. 'You all heard me say it, this isn't a good idea.'
***
Mulder poured her another glass of wine. They had been plowing through his music collection, not to mention his supply of alcohol, for hours. It had been a few days since they'd seen each other. She had gone to Maine on a short vacation and come back to realize that she had missed Mulder almost as much as he'd missed her. While she had taken over his place on an X-File she'd stumbled across, he hadn't done anything other than litter the ceiling with pencils.
Scully picked up another album. 'Super Tramp?' She exclaimed.
'Well, now, Scully, don't be so hard on yourself.' Mulder began before he was clipped in the head by a flying pillow. 'Oh, come on! That was funny!'
'Could we have kipper's for breakfast...� Scully broke out.
'Mummy dear, mummy dear.' Mulder joined her and they both continued on. 'They gotta have 'em in Texas, 'cause everyone's a millionaire�'
'Dana.'
The voice interrupted her dream and Scully opened her eyes, the cramp in her neck making her cringe. 'Where are we?' She asked groggily.'
'We're almost there.' Krycek said. 'I didn't want you to miss the view, it's really cool.'
'You know Seattle?' She asked, putting her seat in the upright position.
'Yeah. When I would leave Russia to hide for awhile, this is where I'd always go.'
'What did you do in Russia?' Scully rolled down her window to get some fresh air.
'Another conversation for another time.' Krycek said, nodding his head at the view ahead of him. 'Check it out.'
Scully looked ahead of her. 'What is that? Not the ocean.'
'Lake Washington.' Krycek answered. 'I came across 520 instead of I-90 because it's so much nicer. This is the longest floating bridge in the world.'
Scully smiled. The view was really impressive. The water spread out to either side of the bridge and the city loomed in the distance. She smiled at him. 'I never saw much of Seattle. We were only in the city for two days.'
'I booked our rooms at the Westin.' Krycek said. 'You'll get plenty of Seattle.'
***
Scully stared at her suitcase sitting on the bed and sighed. She didn't feel like unpacking. Her back hurt from the long drive across the country. They had driven straight through and took turns sleeping, although Krycek never seemed to sleep, and it still took forever.
They had talked a lot. Krycek had been very open about his past and didn't seem to mind that she was guarded with her own answers. She was surprised at some of things they had in common. Music, for instance. They both had a very broad range of musical interests. The Doors, Pink Floyd, Depeche Mode, Red Hot Chile Peppers. Krycek seemed very surprised at that one. But she liked all music. Opera, classical, jazz. Even some country she had admitted reluctantly.
What's wrong with country, he'd asked, surprising her this time.
Scully smiled to herself. She had to admit that she liked Krycek. He was highly intelligent and had a great sense of humor. He was blatantly open, almost honest to a fault. He had grown up horribly; he never had a family, no one to show him right or wrong.
She found herself hoping that Mulder gave him a chance.
After all, Mulder needed family almost as badly as Krycek did.
Although it's still really hard for me to let my guard down, she thought.
Scully went into Krycek's room through the door that joined their rooms. His own bags were still sitting on his bed and he was standing at the window, staring out at Seattle.
'You look as drained as I feel.' She said, walking over to stand next to him.
'And maybe worse then that.' Krycek replied, not looking at her.
'Feeling sorry for yourself again?' She nudged his side.
He smiled to himself, seeming a million miles away. 'You always seem to know what I'm thinking.'
'I'm not stupid, Agent Krycek.' She said in a no-nonsense voice.
He opened his mouth, then began to laugh. 'I'm not even going to say it.'
She turned away from the window and leaned against it so she could look at him. 'What are we going to do first?'
'I should check in and feed them a story so they don't get all crazy on me. I'm sure they have some news about Mulder or Spender.' Krycek looked at his watch. 'It's too early to call back there now.'
'I feel like we should be doing something.' Scully said softly. 'But I'm not sure what.'
'We can't do anything yet.' He replied, putting his hand in a pocket. 'We need something to go off first. They're obviously not at SeaTac anymore. Why don't you go get some rest, I'll wake you when we get some news.'
'What're you going to do?' She asked.
Krycek smiled at her. 'Wallow in my mire.'
They were both silent for a minute then Scully looked at him. 'Screw that. I'm starving. Let's get something to eat.'
Krycek grabbed his jacket off the bed. 'Where do you want to go?'
'This is your gig.' Scully passed through the door as he held it open for her. 'Surprise me.'
***
Mulder struggled to open his eyes.
'Fox.'
The voice seemed a million miles away. He blinked over and over.
'Fox. You need to keep breathing.'
Mulder was finally able to focus on an object in the room. It was a woman. He could see the back of her blonde head. He struggled to speak, but couldn't get any words out.
'Take a deep breath.' Her voice was familiar. 'You need to keep breathing.'
Mulder pulled a breath into his lungs. His whole body felt bruised and he began to cough, which caused greater pain. He stopped and only took shallow breaths when he had to.
'Just keep breathing, Fox.' She approached his bed, a long needle in her hand. 'You've had a long ordeal, but it will be better soon.'
Mulder's eyes widened as her face came into view and she administered the shot. He opened his mouth to speak again, but the world faded in a blurry, black haze.
***
'You did not.' Scully laughed.
Krycek nodded, laughing with her. 'I did. I was acting so cool, running down to the canal, and slipped right into the water. It was so filthy. It was so disgusting. Needless to say, I didn't impress the young Italian girl. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life.'
'If I ever go to Venice, I will try to remember the stairs are covered in algae.'
'I'm surprised you've never been overseas.' He said, digging into the vegetarian jambalaya.
'Surprised?'
'Since your Dad was in the Navy.' He said. 'I'm surprised you weren't relocated all over the place.'
'We were. But it was all over the country.' She chewed a little, looking around. 'But never to the Pacific Northwest. It's very beautiful here. Where'd you say we were?'
'Pioneer Square.' Krycek said. 'This place is insane on Friday and Saturday nights. Too bad you're pregnant otherwise we could really do it up.'
'What's different?'
'There's nine or ten clubs. You pay one price, get your hand stamped and go club hopping.' Krycek's eyes lit up. 'It's insane, but a lot of fun. Things get kinda crazy around one or two in the morning.'
Scully was frozen, staring out the window. 'Alex.' She whispered.
