WICKED GAME
By Mare
Chapter 2
Disclaimers in Chapter 1; rated NC-17
Scullys arm froze in mid-throw. "Deal?" she asked.
"Yeah, deal." Krycek leaned back against the pillow. "You do remember the deal, dont you?"
The evenings dinner flashed into her memory. Hed held the prospect of some sort of deal over her head the whole night, to the point where she was starting to doubt there ever was any deal. Was there really? She carefully placed her chosen projectile back on the dresser and took a deep breath. "What deal?"
He looked her over speculatively. "Are you sure youre ready for this? I dont think you are."
She slammed her fist on the chair arm. "Dammit, Krycek, cut the crap and tell me! What deal?"
"Okay, okay, keep your shirt on." He swept his gaze over her body with a wicked grin. "Or off, if you prefer..."
Scully picked up her weapon again. "Im warning you, Krycek --"
"First names, remember, Dana?"
Fuming, she just glared at him.
He laughed. "Okay, if you insist. Now, where to begin...?"
"Thats it; Ive had it. Im calling Mulder." She skirted the edge of the room, staying as far away from the bed as possible, and snatched up the phones handset. She soon realized what the smirk on Kryceks face was for, as she listened to the deafening silence on the phone. It was still disconnected. Damn you! she thought, slamming down the phone and retreating to her chair.
He waited until she was settled again before fixing those deep green eyes on hers. "Ready to hear it now?" he asked.
"Ive been ready! Would you just tell me?"
"Okay, the deal." Krycek shifted position a bit and leaned back against the pillow. "First, I know things. Things you and Mulder have been trying to figure out for years."
"Do you?" Scully sneered.
"Youll have to trust me on that, Dana," he said with a small smile.
She gave a resigned sigh. "Okay, what do you know?"
The smile grew wider. "Everything. Everything you and Mulder ever dreamed of knowing, and more. And..." He paused for dramatic effect. "Its all yours for the asking."
She just stared at him for a full minute, deciding whether or not she dared ask the question she knew he wanted her to ask. What do I have to do for that information? she asked herself. And why wouldnt he tell me about the deal before? What does he have in that twisted mind of his? Finally, almost dreading the answer, she asked, "So what do you want from me?"
Krycek grinned at her now, and she suddenly understood what mice must feel like when they see the predatory cat coiling to pounce. "I want you to have sex with me," he said.
Again she felt a twinge between her legs, more insistent this time, but she managed to bury the feeling. "Now I know youre insane!" she cried. "Why the hell would I make a deal like that? Its not enough that you rape me --"
"I didnt rape you."
"You think I wanted that?" She stared at him in shocked amazement.
"I think you needed it. Very badly."
With a cry of fury, she sent her makeup organizer flying toward his head. He watched it hit the wall, sending cosmetics showering all over the bed, then picked up the lipstick that landed on the pillow next to him. "Sorry, not my color," he deadpanned.
"Pig!" she snarled.
"So youre saying you didnt need it?" Krycek mused. "Then you mustve wanted it very badly."
Scully breathed deeply, trying both to get her fury under control and to keep her body from reacting to the flashes of very recent memory that kept assaulting her brain. "I never consented," she said through clenched teeth.
He shrugged. "Rationalize it any way you want if it makes you feel better. But I think any doctor would have a damn hard time finding physical evidence of anything other than consensual sex. And from where I sit, initiating the first kiss, not saying anything that even remotely resembled no, responding so readily, and all those orgasms -- and they were really good ones, werent they? -- add up to you being a very willing participant."
When he lays it out like that... NO! STOP thinking like that! "Too much wine," she offered. "Diminished capacity. I did not want that."
Krycek mulled this over for a moment. "Possible," he admitted. "But dont they say that alcohol depresses sexual response...?"
The warmth in her lower body suggested that there was nothing at all depressed about her sexual response. But... what was that he said about how easy it was to make someone come? Didnt mean a thing. Not a single thing. She sighed heavily. "Nothing I say is going to make a bit of difference to you, is it?"
He favored her with that killer grin and gave a small "oh-well" shrug. "Not one iota."
A sense of doom settled over her at this. Nothing she said mattered. Nothing she did mattered. Even if she called the cops or her partner, Krycek wouldnt be prosecuted for what hed done. Hed find some way to twist around what happened to ensure that. Besides, like he said, there probably wouldnt be any physical evidence. Sure, she was a little sore, but she suspected that he hadnt left any bruises. Nothing to pin this -- or any other crime, really -- on him. She was trapped.
It isnt the lack of physical evidence thats keeping you from calling somebody or blowing his head off, is it? that little rebellious part of her mind asked.
Immediately squashing that thought, Scully looked up at the man in her bed... and noticed something odd. She thought back. Had he used his left hand since hed been in her apartment? Not much during dinner, but that didnt mean anything; maybe only that he was right-handed. Later? She remembered both his hands on her body while they were dancing, but one much more than the other. Which one, the right? She wasnt sure. And she was pretty sure hed done all those (wonderful, right? just incredible) things to her with only the one hand...
Willing the unwelcome arousal away, she watched her similarly unwelcome guest for another moment through narrowed eyes. Yes, there was definitely something strange about that left arm... "Whats wrong with your arm?" she heard herself ask, even as she asked herself why she cared.
His grin vanished at her words and darkness clouded his green eyes. "Nothing!" he snapped.
Oh, yes, shed touched a nerve. Curious now, she leaned forward a little, trying to figure out just what about his left arm seemed... off. "Nothing?" she asked. "Bothers you an awful lot for nothing."
He stared back at her for a few moments, his eyes dark and unreadable, before apparently reaching a decision. "Okay, fine," he snarled. "You want to see it? Fine." He pressed at a spot near his shoulder, and the next thing Scully knew, his left arm, detached from the shoulder, was lying on the bed next to him. "Thats whats wrong with it, okay?"
She gasped as a tale Mulder had told her came rushing back to her; a tale of tests and a gulag in the former Soviet Union. Her partners words were burned into her memory: no arm, no test. "Russia?" she breathed.
Krycek stared defensively at her for another long moment. "Yeah, Russia," he said, bitterness clearly evident in his voice. "A little souvenir from your partner."
"It wasnt Mulders fault."
"Whatever. Doesnt matter anyway," he mumbled, with a look that told her it still mattered very much.
Curiosity and her Hippocratic oath temporarily overriding her anger, Scully found herself approaching the bed. "Can I look at it?" she asked, tentatively reaching toward his shoulder.
His eyes met hers again, then he turned his head away, giving her license to look at whatever she wanted.
Giving a low whistle, she bent to examine the arm and the exposed stump. The arm lying on the bed was a prosthetic like shed never seen before. Except for the fact that it wasnt attached to a body, it looked completely, totally lifelike, right down to the hair on the very natural-looking skin. The limb even felt warm; not quite body-temperature, but she suspected it would be when properly attached. She now remembered that hand stroking her breast, circling her nipple, teasing it...
Scully shook the memory out of her head and concentrated on the prosthetic again. Obviously it gave him the ability to move the fingers independently of each other; if it hadnt, she wouldve noticed much sooner that the hand wasnt real. Still... shed felt it on her body. How could she not tell that it wasnt real? No prosthetic made anywhere on earth -- at least to her knowledge -- offered its owner that type of freedom. Who had built this thing? And how?
She carefully picked the arm up, finding that it weighed just about the same as a natural limb would. Krycek obviously felt the weight difference now that it was detached -- he was leaning heavily on his right arm to support himself and stay upright. Scully turned her attention back to the arm. It even felt natural, right down to the texture of the skin. The only things unnatural about it were the short metal rods sticking out from the center of it, which had to be what connected it to the shoulder.
Putting the arm down, she bent to examine his shoulder. The amputation had been a messy one, but it was obvious that he had had further surgery other than what was needed to attach the prosthetic. And surgery had definitely been necessary to attach the thing. There was now a round metal plate embedded in what remained of his shoulder, with wells to accommodate the rods in the arm. She started to run her finger gently around the edge of the plate, but stopped when Krycek gasped harshly and flinched away from her touch. Hed let her look, but didnt want her to touch. "Where in the world did this thing come from?" she asked, backing off a bit.
He cast a sidelong glance at her, but wouldnt face her. "Russian technology in some areas isnt quite as backward as the rest of the world thinks," he said at length.
An appropriate non-answer. "So how does it work?"
Now he turned toward her and studied her face, assessing her interest. For a moment she thought he wasnt going to tell her anything at all, but then he hefted the prosthetic in his right hand and slowly started to speak. "Theres sensors in the plate that tap into electrical impulses in the muscles and nerve endings thatre left. These rods here plug in like this..." He fitted the arm to his shoulder and pushed a little, and Scully saw him wince and bite his lip as she heard the rods click into place. "...and the computer chips in em pick up the information from the sensors and use it to work the artificial nerves and muscles down here." He lifted a flap of synthetic skin from where it lay folded against the prosthetic, and smoothed it around the connection site. "Watertight seal, and there you go." He flexed the artificial hand. "Nobodyd ever know."
"Amazing." Without thinking, Scully ran her finger gently down his forearm, and immediately noticed two things. First, the limb was warm now, brought up to body temperature now that it was attached. Second...
Almost as soon as she touched him, Krycek jerked his arm away from her. The implication wasnt lost on Scully. "You felt that?" she asked in disbelief.
Again he studied her before answering. "I can feel almost everything with this thing," he finally offered. "Dexterity with the hands pretty good too. Not perfect, but damn close."
Scullys mind whirled. How could something like this exist? The technology just wasnt possible... "How --" she began.
"I told you," he interrupted. "Advanced technology." The look in his eyes almost dared her to ask another question, but she decided that it was probably wiser not to.
She decided to go a different route instead. "Does it hurt much?" There was obviously some pain; his reaction both when she touched the stump and when he reattached the prosthetic made that pretty clear.
Now his eyes turned hard. "Not much," he said, bitterness clearly evident in his voice. "Its only excruciating."
The look in his eyes and the tone of his voice brought reason back to her mind. He was bitter? After what hed done? "Good! You deserve it!" she spat, then retreated to her chair.
He sighed heavily. "Can we get back to the deal now, please?"
"Why? The answers no."
"You didnt even hear the terms yet."
"Ive heard enough. No."
Krycek took a deep breath. "Dana, how many men have shared this bed with you over the last five years?"
She felt her earlier fury start to build again. "Thats none of your business!"
"Just as I thought. Three... or less."
Pig, she thought.
"On the other hand... you were much too responsive. Two... or less. Probably less."
Scully could only stare at him, quietly seething.
"Are you sure you want to throw my offer away? I mean, nobody else seems to be offering --"
"Give me one good reason not to blow your head off right now," she interrupted, desperate to get off that subject.
Now he grinned at her. "Ill give you two. One, your guns out in the other room, and I bet I could beat you out there. I think you know it too. Two, if I die, Mulders answers die with me. Is avenging your honor worth losing that?"
She looked down at her hands, now folded in her lap. Was it really fair to Mulder to just reject this deal without even hearing the specifics? It wouldnt be... if Kryceks information panned out.
"Hed never forgive you," Krycek went on.
Damn him for holding that over her head! He was right, though. If Mulder knew she threw away the opportunity to find answers without even listening to the whole thing, hed be very upset. And they knew that Krycek had answers. But... would he let her do what Krycek wanted her to do? No. Absolutely not. No matter how good it felt...
No! Stop! Doesnt matter how good it felt; it was rape, it was wrong, I dont want to do it again, I really really really dont... Despite the thoughts, she had to squeeze her legs together against the twinge she felt deep inside. "Talk," she whispered.
Though she was still looking down at her hands, she could hear the smile in his voice. "Okay, heres the deal. Every time we have sex, you get some piece of information. It might be from that digital tape Mulders still looking for, or from my own experience, or whatever. Wherever its from, whatever it is, itll be a small part of the larger puzzle --"
"And just how many pieces are there to this puzzle?" Scully asked, almost against her better judgment.
"As many as I... or you... want there to be. Could be thousands. Now, you could feed the information to Mulder as you get each piece, or you can wait and collect a couple before giving them to him. Doesnt matter. If I know Mulder, hell act on what he hears whether it makes sense or not, so use your best judgment. I should probably tell you up front that exceptional performance on your end will yield more and/or better information for Ol Spooky. He --"
"Wait a second," Scully interrupted. "Not only are you making me sleep with you, youre grading my performance too?" How sick is this going to get?
Krycek flashed that killer grin at her. "Im not making you do anything, Dana," he said smoothly. "Its your choice. Completely up to you. You might want to know that tonights performance wouldve gotten you bonus points. Quite a few, actually."
For what? I didnt do anything. I wonder if putting up more of a fight wouldve earned bonus points too? "So Im supposed to just sit here and wait until you decide you need sex, and then I get information?" she asked. "Why not just rape me again? You didnt need consent before; why do you need it now?"
He gave an exaggerated sigh. "Dana, Dana, Dana. You didnt say no. I didnt rape you. And frankly, Id rather not --"
"You didnt have a problem with it before!"
"I didnt rape you," he continued as if he hadnt heard her, "and I wont in the future. If youd just listen to the rest of the terms, youll see that."
"You mean theres more?" Now what?
"Not more, more like... a clarification," he said. "You have it all backwards. This isnt based on when I want sex. I told you, its all your choice; completely up to you."
"So what does that mean?" Despite her resistance to the whole idea, a small part of her couldnt wait to see what else he came up with.
"That means that I wont say another word about it. You see, I need to know that you really want the information. You will tell me when you want sex. You have to initiate. Each time you do, youll get information. I wont touch you unless you tell me to. You can make this deal take as much or as little time as you want. You control how much information you get, when, and how often. You can even control how each encounter goes if you want -- creativity is always a plus. If you dont want, Im more than happy to do it... and I think you might like having the benefit of my experience..."
Scully could only stare at him in amazement as he spoke; thoughts swirling through her mind at about 500 mph. "You sick, sadistic bastard!" she cried. "How can you even think... I could never... you expect me to... I cant, I wont! No! Just... just... no!"
Krycek waited until her confused ramblings stopped. "Are you sure, Dana?" he asked. "Sure you dont want to know everything? Sure you want to withhold your partners sister from him?" His voice became low and seductive now, like it had been while they were dancing, and his intense gaze locked on hers. "Sure you dont want to have sex like that anymore? Sure you dont need it? Cmon, admit it. Better than eating bees, wasnt it? How good did that feel, anyway? Mustve felt awfully good for you to come three times like that--"
"Stop!" Scully closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself and slow her breathing, while trying to beat back the memories and her bodys reaction to his words. Damn him for knowing what buttons to push! she thought. Samantha, Samantha... he knows where Samantha is. Doesnt he? Does he? Will anything he says even be true? Hes given us nothing but lies till now, why should this be different? What if it is different? How will we know? Can I ever... Oh, God, can I really do that? I cant, I know I cant...
"I dont know if I --" she began softly.
"You can do it," Krycek told her. "Its not really that hard, is it? You did fine before..."
She could only sit there trembling.
"After all, everybody has somebody who drives them so wild theyd do just about anything," he continued.
Breathing faster, she lifted her eyes to his. "The fact that you could do that to me makes my skin crawl."
He laughed softly. "What did I tell you about how easy it is to make someone come?"
"You really are insane."
"Thank you. Now will you please answer the question?"
"What question?"
"Deal. Yes or no?"
She bit her lip and lowered her eyes. "I... I need more information."
He sat up straighter, interested now. "What do you need to know?"
"If I say..." She found it incredibly hard to get the words out. She found it even harder to believe that she was actually considering this. "If I say yes, will you at least use condoms?"
"No."
She looked up, incredulous. In this day and age, how could anybody refuse to? "Not even for your own protection?"
He fixed an amused gaze on her. "Dana. Do I really have to?"
She lowered her eyes, feeling her cheeks redden.
"Didnt think so," he said with a chuckle. "My deal, my rules. Dont like em, never did, so no, Im not going to use them. Next?"
"We cant even talk about --"
"Non-negotiable. Next?"
My choice, huh? Completely up to me, huh? None of this is my choice. My only choice is... "What happens if I say no?" she heard herself ask.
His only response was a shrug.
"Will you kill me?"
"No."
"Kill Mulder?"
"No."
Scully inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. If he wasnt going to kill her or her partner, how bad could it be? But... could she take the chance that he really had no plans to kill them?
Kryceks voice, his tone speculative, cut through her thoughts. "Did you ever wonder where the expression fate worse than death came from?"
She gaped at him in horror. "You wouldnt!"
He shrugged. "Never said I would, did I? But... I also never said I wouldnt..."
"Dammit, stop being so cryptic!" she shouted. "Just answer the question! What happens if I say no?"
Krycek met her gaze for a long moment, and this time she didnt back down. "Dont think about what might or might not happen if you say no," he finally said. "Let the deal stand on its own merits. Which would you rather have? All the answers you could ever possibly want and lots more of those 3-orgasm sexual encounters? Or... more endless years of the same lonely life and unanswered questions youve had for the last five years?"
Scully continued to glare at him; her mind desperately wanting to say no, her body suggesting a different answer. If she said no, there would be consequences. She was sure of that. Alex Krycek was not the type of person who could set up an elaborate deal like this and then just blow out of town if it was refused. No, he had something up his sleeve. What was it? Whatever it was, she was sure it would be bad for her, Mulder, or both. My choice? she asked herself. I have no choice here. He didnt leave me one. "You really wont touch me unless I say you can?"
"Thats right."
"What assurance do I have of that?"
He favored her with a warm smile. "Just my word. Youre going to have to trust me, arent you?"
Again she just glared at him.
Krycek sighed heavily. "Look at it this way, Dana. I have alternatives; you dont. I can go just about anywhere for sex. You cant go anywhere else for this information. Who has to trust who here?"
"If you can go just about anywhere for sex, why here? Why me?"
He shrugged and grinned at her. "I like you. So... do we have a deal?"
You hate me. You hate Mulder, and youre getting back at him through me. By blackmailing, humiliating, and degrading me. You hate me. "How do I know that this information of yours is any good?"
"Guess youre going to have to trust me on that too. Do we have a deal?"
Scully desperately wanted to say no, but again her brain was assaulted by memories of what had happened. Memories of how it felt to have someone pay attention to her, to do things to her that she hadnt experienced in so long... Her body reacted strongly to the memories and she felt a sudden rush of warmth in her lower body. No, no, stop, I dont need it, I dont want it --
"Remember what happened before, Dana." The low, seductive voice caressed her ears even from across the room, and she remembered. "Remember how good it felt. If I only wanted to satisfy myself, it wouldve gone a lot differently, but that wasnt how it happened. I focused on your pleasure. It can be that way from now on, Dana. Every time. You want that, dont you? You want what Im offering... you need it..."
A soft moan escaped her lips as the memories swept through her brain and the ache between her legs intensified. "Yes..." she whispered.
"You want it? We have a deal?"
"Yes..." she sighed, caught up in her memories and the feelings in her own body. "Oh, yes..."
"Good. We have a deal. Dont suppose youd like to shake on it?"
Kryceks words and the change in his tone made her eyes snap open and all other thought fled from her mind. Oh, God, I said yes, didnt I? I didnt want to, didnt mean to... This is not happening, this is not happening...
"Youre not reconsidering, are you?"
She looked up at him, and the sudden, vivid memory of his thickness sliding deeply into her sent a jolt through her body. She opened her mouth to speak a few times, but couldnt find anything to say. Doesnt matter anyway, does it? she asked herself. He tricked me into saying yes; hell take that as my final answer no matter what I say now. Maybe I just shouldnt fight it. Mulder does need what he knows... "No, Im not reconsidering," she said quietly, not believing that was her own voice saying the words. "We have a deal."
"Good. Turn out the light when youre done, will you?" Krycek slid down under the covers and turned over.
Scully could only stare at him. "Youre staying here?" she asked in disbelief.
He opened his eyes. "Of course Im staying here. If I were somewhere else, this deal would never get off the ground. Who knows? Maybe proximity might help you warm up to the idea."
Her mind whirled. Shed just agreed to be his sex slave, and now he expected her to let him stay in her apartment? Again she had no choice; she just knew he wasnt going to leave, no matter what. Still... Cant he at least allow me some privacy right now to adjust to the idea of the deal? He doesnt expect to be with me every minute, does he? Some lines have to be drawn. Right now... "Get out of my bed."
Krycek turned over to face her. "What, after all we shared?"
"Get out! Im not sleeping on the sofa in my own home and Im not sleeping with you!"
"Didnt you already?"
"GET OUT!"
"No."
That one word was all it took. She knew he wouldnt move, just as she knew he wouldnt leave her apartment. Her anger melted away and all she was left with was deep fatigue. Shed had a long day, she was tired, and she didnt feel up to fighting anymore.
"Tell you what," Krycek said. "Ill take the wet spot."
Scully stared at him for a long moment, then gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Just fine. But if you so much as breathe on me tonight, you will die. Clear?"
"As crystal," he said, watching her slide under the covers, as far away from him as possible.
She snapped off the light and settled down to sleep. A moment later she heard his soft voice in the dark. "You dont snore, do you?"
Die, bastard. Just die and leave me alone. "No, and if you do, Ill shoot you."
A soft laugh. "This could turn out to be even more fun than I thought."
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The first thing that registered in Alex Kryceks consciousness the next morning was the earthquake. Series of earthquakes, really, each lasting only a second or two. He sat up like a shot, instantly on alert, quickly analyzing the unfamiliar surroundings... until he remembered where he was. His gaze settled on one very pissed off redhead, standing at the foot of the bed and kicking the mattress. "Morning," he purred.
"Get up," Scully snarled at him.
Krycek stretched slowly, working some of the post-sleep lethargy out of his muscles. He couldnt remember the last time hed felt this good. Last night had gone exactly the way hed envisioned it: perfectly executed plan, great sex... and acceptance of his deal. What more could a guy want? He was even a little surprised at how easy it had been. Hardly a challenge for his considerable seduction skills. Although the night had been meticulously planned, hed been prepared for much more of a fight. The little redhead mustve been really starved for it to have reacted the way she did, which took a little of the fun out of it, but shed more than made up for it later. Encounters with the inexperienced didnt often make for mind-blowing sex, but the trade-off was that they tended to provide a considerable ego boost. He wondered idly how long it would take until the words "best sex I ever had" crossed her lips.
Yeah, for a change, life was good. And playing with Dana Scullys head for however long this deal took could only make it better. He stretched again before flopping back against the pillows. "Been a long time since I crashed in a place this nice," he sighed. "Im sleeping in."
"I said, get up!" she demanded.
He settled in more comfortably and laughed softly. "Make me."
Scully turned away with a frustrated sound and started searching the room for her shoes as Krycek slipped further under the covers and nestled down into the pillows. Another interesting fact to file away about Dana Scully: she had a thing for pillows. There had to be six or eight of the things bunched at the top of the king-size bed. He chuckled to himself as a number of uses for all those pillows floated through his head.
He wasnt even aware that hed fallen asleep again until he felt another mattress-quake. "What now?" he moaned, slowly rolling over onto his back.
"Get up."
"I already told you Im sleeping in," he sighed, closing his eyes again and wishing shed just go away. Sleep was something he hadnt had a whole lot of in recent weeks, and the last thing he needed was for her to keep waking him up. "Arent you late or something? Go to work. Time to go out and save the world from people like me." Shooing her off to work seemed safe, since he was reasonably sure she wouldnt tell Mulder what had happened. She had obviously enjoyed the sex. On some level shed realize that, and that shed consented, and it would keep her from telling her partner.
"First I need to save myself from people like you," she said, approaching the bed. "Give me your arm."
Anything to make her shut up and leave him in peace. He obediently offered his left one, but she slapped it away. "The real one," she said impatiently.
Krycek sighed heavily and sat up halfway, watching her set out equipment necessary for drawing blood. "You actually listened to me last night, huh? Im impressed."
"Believe me, I wouldve done this with or without your permission. Make a fist, please?" She probed his inner elbow in search of a vein, then swabbed the area and sank the needle into the vein shed found. He was unable to stifle a small hiss of pain, and didnt miss her small, gratified smile. Might as well let her have her petty little thrills for now. Shed learn soon enough. "This deal goes nowhere unless these tests come back clean," she said. "All of them. Thats also non-negotiable."
"Fair enough." He watched with growing discomfort as she filled first one tube, then another, then switched to a third empty one. "Jesus, how much do you need? What are you, a vampire?"
She offered a tight smile. "Im doing a lot of tests. I need a lot of blood. Do you have a problem with that?"
Yeah, I do. Youll claim to find evidence of some disease you made up to try to get out of the deal... He glared at her but said nothing.
Scully stopped once the third tube was filled, and Krycek quickly burrowed back under the covers as she packed up her equipment. Her voice interruped him again before he could get really comfortable. "Youre not done yet, buster."
"Jesus, now what?" He turned over again and opened his eyes to find the little redhead holding a covered specimen cup out to him. He groaned audibly. "Oh, for --"
"No tests, no deal," she said firmly. "Do it."
"I agreed to blood tests, not that."
"Sorry, but blood tests just dont tell the whole story." Her face was the picture of innocence, but he just knew she was grinning like the Cheshire cat inside. "If you want your precious deal, do it."
Suka, he thought, glaring at her.
"Thats what you get for not wearing a condom," she continued, a wicked gleam coming into her eyes.
"Fine," he snarled, snatching the cup out of her hand. "Just fine. If I do this, will you leave me alone?" He slid out of bed and sauntered toward the bathroom, fully aware that he was still naked and that his nakedness had an effect on the redhead. It wasnt until after he closed the bathroom door that he heard her voice again.
"Leave you alone? In my own home? If you want to sleep, you go somewhere else."
"Bitch," he muttered to himself. If this was how she was going to be, it was almost enough to make him re-think the deal. Almost, but not quite. He had control over practically every aspect of the deal, which had to bother her. If making him pee into a cup made her feel (albeit falsely) like she had some sort of control, then so be it. Letting her feel like she was putting one over on him would make her easier to control in the long run.
He left the covered cup on the bathroom counter and was just sliding back under the covers when Scully came back into the bedroom with a Ziploc bag. "Any other bodily fluids you want samples of?" he asked. "Better tell me now."
She sealed the cup in the bag and stowed it away with the vials of blood. "No, I think this will do."
"You sure? Theres one you can help with. Cmon, itll be fun..."
He saw the slight shudder that ran through her and laughed. "No, thank you," she said quietly. "This is fine."
"Good." Krycek burrowed deeper under the covers. "Youd better get going. Spookyll be mad if youre late." Though his eyes were closed, he could feel her staring at him, willing him to get up. Smiling to himself, he settled in more comfortably. Just let her try to get him to move.
"Fine, sleep now," she told him. "But youd better get out before tonight. I want you gone by the time I get back."
He laughed softly. "What are you going to do, shoot me?"
He felt the weight of her stare for a moment longer before she left with a frustrated sigh.
*************************
Scully stood outside the basement office, contemplating the door, for a full five minutes. Special Agent Fox Mulder, the lone nameplate read. Wheres mine? she found herself thinking, not for the first time. Wheres the nameplate that tells the world that Special Agent Dana Scully exists? He couldve at least gotten me a nameplate. Arent we equals? We must be; I finally have a desk. Of course, I had to ask for it. And he still thinks that was just about a desk...
She wasnt ready to face anyone yet, least of all her partner. Shed slept only fitfully, awakened every so often by bizarre dreams. The one she remembered most clearly saw her having wild, passionate sex with Alex Krycek on her sisters grave as an angry mob closed in around them. She soon realized that the mob was made up of her family and friends; Mulder, demanding to know where his sister was, leading her sobbing mother. She screamed in ecstasy just as Krycek pushed over the headstone so all could see both Samantha Mulders and Melissa Scullys names on it, while her father stood off to the side, shaking his head sadly.
Scully didnt need any Freudian analyst to tell her what that dream meant. It was the look on her fathers face that summed the whole thing up for her. Hed be so disappointed if he knew what shed done last night. Everyone she knew would. How could she ever face her family again? Or her partner? Well, she had to face him, but it wouldnt be easy.
She had awakened with a splitting headache, courtesy of all the wine shed had the night before, and a strong resolve to tell Mulder what had happened. Her resolve was starting to weaken, though, now that she realized that hed have questions. Hed ask her about her hangover. Hed want to know why she hadnt called him last night. And hed want to know why she let her rapist sleep in her bed.
Her eyes returning to the single nameplate on the door, she placed a trembling hand on the door knob. "Mulder may have his weak points," she murmured under her breath, "but hes all Ive got." She took a deep breath and entered the office.
Special Agent Fox Mulder was leaning back in his desk chair, feet up on the desk, engrossed in the file on his lap. He didnt even look up as she closed the door; instead addressing her as he flipped through the pages of the file. "Hey, Scully, wanna see something really interesting?"
Scully slipped quietly behind her own desk and turned on her computer, her mind barely registering her partners words. He seemed to be expecting a reply, but she had no real idea what hed said. "New case, Mulder?" That seemed safe.
"No, Ive been going through some of the old files and I found out..." His voice trailed off when he realized that she hadnt assumed her usual position next to his desk. Scully watched him glance at the clock, hoping that he wouldnt comment on the fact that it was 9:20, more than a half hour later than she usually came in and just plain late, a rarity for her.
He didnt comment, much to her relief, but his eyes moved from the clock to her face, studying her. Finally he said, "You look tired, Scully. Feeling okay?"
That was the only concession he made to her recently diagnosed cancer -- the occasional question about how she was feeling. Beyond that, he never mentioned it, and didnt give her opportunity to talk about it if she might want to. At first that had been okay with her -- she was in denial herself for a short while. But now, as the reality that she really did have The Big C (and terminal, at that) started to seep in, she felt a growing need to talk about it. With Mulder? Not a chance.
Mulders voice cut through her thoughts. "Scully?"
She shook her head slightly and focused on her partner. "Im fine, Mulder. I just... didnt get much sleep last night." Arent you going to tell him why? she immediately asked herself.
Mulders lips curved into a smirk. "New boyfriend, Scully?"
She looked up sharply. "What?"
"Simple deduction," he went on. "You didnt sleep much last night, but you say youre fine. Ergo, something else kept you awake. Or someone. Must be a new boyfriend."
She could only stare at him in shock.
"Mustve been really good, too. You havent heard a word Ive said since you walked in here. So... anybody I know?"
It didnt occur to her until much later that Mulder, uncomfortable as he was with her illness, was probably only trying to lighten things up. But in her current frame of mind, the question registered as rude and terribly intrusive. "For your information, Mulder," she huffed indignantly, "my private life is exactly that. Private. What I do during my off hours and who I do it with is none of your business!"
"Sorry, Scully," he said, a little taken aback. "I was just concerned. I mean, the last time you had a date, it was with some psycho with a talking tattoo --"
"Are you insinuating that Im incapable of dating normal men?"
"No, but --"
"Im not allowed to have a life like other people?"
"I didnt say --"
"And if you must know, I didnt have a date last night, nor do I have a new boyfriend, if that makes you feel better. But even if I did, and even if my new boyfriend did keep me up all night, its still none of your business! Is that clear?"
Mulder tapped a pen against the file in his lap and just looked at her. Finally he said, "Guess it wasnt that good after all, huh?"
If she didnt get away from him, she just knew she was going to hit him. Remembering the samples in her bag, she rose from her desk. "If youre finished analyzing my sex life now, I have some work to do. Real work."
She had just touched the doorknob when he asked, "Where will you be, in case I need to find you?"
Anywhere but here. "Having a quickie with my new boyfriend in the janitors closet. Knock before you barge in, okay?" she tossed over her shoulder as she left.
*************************
It wasnt until she was halfway to the lab that Scully realized that shed probably taken everything Mulder had said completely the wrong way. She knew he wouldnt talk about the cancer, so hed probably thought of his question as a lighter way to make sure she was feeling all right. Still, even if he hadnt meant it that way, the question struck a nerve. She could still hear the sarcasm in his voice during that phone call while she was in Philadelphia: "What, do you have a date?" Just because he hadnt had a date in the five years shed known him didnt mean that she had to follow his example, did it?
Wait a minute, she told herself. How can what happened with Krycek last night compare to a date? That was no date, it was rape. And now I cant even tell Mulder about it. Hed just make some silly remark...
Somewhere deep down, though, she knew Mulder wouldnt make light of the situation if she told him about it. On the other hand... what would Krycek do if she told her partner? Hed be arrested, so it wouldnt matter, would it? But that meant no information. No answers. No Samantha. No sex...
She squelched that thought immediately. What Krycek might do did indeed matter. Hed be out of jail before she had the chance to throw his stuff out of her apartment, because physical evidence would back up his story. Without that on her side, it was her word against his, and although she knew her colleagues would believe her, she couldnt count on a jury doing the same. Krycek was smooth, charming, and an extremely convincing liar. Hed have a jury eating out of his hand. And once he was acquitted, hed come after her for sure.
Why risk that? Better to keep last nights activities to herself and go through with the deal. Better to get what she could from him while he was offering. Better to stay on Kryceks good side and insure that the sex came on her terms, not his...
She shook those thoughts out of her head and pushed open the door to the lab, startling the labs lone occupant. Agent Pendrell looked up at her with big, round eyes for a moment before a huge grin spread across his face, making him look all of about twelve years old. "Agent Scully! What brings you down here?"
Scully smiled to herself, glad that he was the one on duty today. She couldnt help but think of Pendrell as everybodys goofy kid brother, and it was impossible not to like him. Besides that, he did top-notch work, more often than not going above and beyond what was asked. He was the perfect person to help her out with the list of blood tests she wanted to perform. "Morning, Agent Pendrell," she returned. "Are you busy?"
He immediately slammed shut the two file folders he had open in front of him and pushed the microscope away. "Not at all. What can I do for you?"
"If youre busy I can come back --"
"No!" Pendrell jumped up, as if to block her exit, then smiled sheepishly when she stopped and looked at him in surprise. "Really, Im not busy," he assured her. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Why couldnt the rest of the men in her life be so agreeable? "Well... yes," she said slowly, only then realizing that she hadnt formulated any sort of cover story. "Theres some blood tests I need to perform, and I was wondering if you could help me."
"Sure! Just tell me what you want me to do."
After dealing with pigheaded creatures like Krycek and Mulder, Pendrell was definitely a breath of fresh air. Scully handed him a vial of blood and a list of the tests she felt it safe to have him take care of. "When do you think these can be ready?"
Pendrell looked over his list thoughtfully. "Is tomorrow afternoon okay?"
"Perfect." The results of the tests she would do herself -- the ones she couldnt possibly explain to Pendrell -- would be ready by then, too. "Could you deliver the results directly to me?" she asked. "It would be better if you didnt leave them on my desk or give them to Agent Mulder..." Her voice trailed off. Nitwit. Now hes going to ask why...
Pendrell was already getting his equipment ready. "So this isnt for a case?" he asked casually.
Think, Dana, think... "Well... It relates to an old case... sort of..." she said slowly. "But its really more of a... personal favor." She paused for a moment, then, in a small voice, "Do you mind?"
"Of course not. Ill get the report right into your hands before you leave here tomorrow, okay?"
She heaved an inward sigh of relief. "Thank you, Agent Pendrell. I really appreciate this."
"My pleasure, Agent Scully." He practically beamed at her.
They both settled quietly down to work, and when she heard the lab door open, Scully looked at her watch and was surprised to find that more than two hours had passed. She didnt even have to turn around to know who the visitor was.
"There you are," Mulder said from the doorway.
She sighed heavily. "Yes, Mulder, here I am."
"Yknow, I even knocked at the door of the janitors closet before I went in, but you werent there."
No kidding. "Ive been here. Working, like I told you."
"Want to grab some lunch?"
Scully sighed again. "No, Mulder, Im busy."
He came up behind her and peered over her shoulder. "Checking up on the new boyfriend?"
She whirled around to face him. "Excuse me?" She barely noticed that Pendrells head came up at the question, too.
"Smart move, Scully," Mulder went on, looking over the papers she had spread out next to the microscope. "Why trust what he says when you can find out for yourself, right?" He leaned in conspiratorially. "Of course, you being a doctor and all... you were careful, werent you?"
"Mulder, thats enough!"
To his credit, he actually did shut up.
"There isnt any new boyfriend and Im not checking up on anyone," she fumed. "Im working -- real work -- which is more than I can say for you this morning. Now, if you dont mind --"
"Is this related to a case?" Irritating Juvenile Mulder was replaced by Professional Mulder in an instant.
"Of course."
"Which one? And how come I dont know about this?"
Uh-oh. Now how was she supposed to bluff her way out of this? She wasnt lying, but she couldnt tell him what case it really related to... "Philadelphia," she said quickly. "I, um..." Her voice trailed off as she studied Mulders reaction. He was slightly taken aback, but he let her continue. Good choice, then. "I wanted to do further study on the blood samples. I think there might be something the original blood work missed."
"Oh." Mulder took a step back and looked her over, making her decidedly uncomfortable. "Why didnt you just say so?"
"I..." Scully turned slightly and caught Pendrell looking at her, whereupon he immediately dropped his eyes back to his microscope. Pendrell would never question what shed told him, would he? He had to know she was lying either to him or to Mulder. She could only pray that he wouldnt blow her cover. "Its nothing that needs to go into the files," she finally said. "Its just... something I needed to know. Its... well, its sort of personal..."
Her voice trailed off as Mulder leaned forward and studied the top sheet of paper. He tapped one line on it. "I thought you said you and Jerse didnt --"
She zipped the sheet out from under his hand. "We didnt. Now if youre finished..."
"If you didnt," Mulder interrupted, "why are you testing --"
"To the uninitiated," Scully cut in, "the terminology used in blood testing makes a lot of tests look similar." She looked her partner straight in the eye. "The tests arent always what they look like."
Mulder stepped back and again studied her. "My mistake," he said at length. "Im sorry."
He knows. Just tell him. Go ahead, hell believe you... "Mulder, I..."
He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
She tried to meet his eyes, but found that she couldnt. "Have a good lunch," she finally said.
"Guess Ill see you later, then." He paused with a hand on the doorknob. "Youre not skipping meals, are you, Scully? You know youre not supposed to..."
Now she looked up, surprised at this blatant expression of concern for her health. "No, Im not."
"Good." Mulder opened the door. "Have a good lunch with the boyfriend, then."
"Dammit, Mulder..." Scully whirled toward the door, but her partner was already gone, and Pendrell was looking at her questioningly. "Hes just... joking..." she explained weakly.
"Of course, Agent Scully," he said immediately, but he too took a long look at her before returning to his work.
Scully spread her papers out again and bent back to her microscope with but one thought in mind. Alex Krycek is a dead man.
End Chapter 2
Russian translation (maybe not necessary now, but later on context wont help as much):
Suka - bitch
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