In The Woods

"But, Scully. It's bigfoot."

"No."

"But, Scully..."

"No, Mulder. I'm going to this conference. I am not going on another one of your excursions into the deep woods to chase down a myth."

"But it could be fun." Desperation was making him say silly things. "A nice trip to the woods." Mulder winced at the glare Scully shot him and hurriedly corrected his words. "It's a small woods, hardly any woods at all. A park really."

"No."

"Scu-- lleee." He was starting to whine. He hated that. "You can't really mean to let me go off into the woods by myself." He could see the thought actually worried her. He blinked soulfully and tried to look pitiful. It was hard when you were a foot taller than your intended target, but he had practice. He slumped a little more.

But Scully seemed to have found some defense she'd never had before because she suddenly straightened her spine and stepped back to stare up at him firmly. "No, Mulder. I have to go to this conference. I'm one of the key speakers. You know I've been preparing my presentation for weeks." She looked irritated and Mulder realized the soulful eyes thing wasn't going to work this time. He quickly moved onto his next favorite weapon, guilt.

"All right, Scully," he sighed. "You do what you have to do. I'll just head out to Chardon, PA and track bigfoot down myself."

Scully had to smile at that. "You do that, Mulder." She turned for the door. "Bring me back an 'I Saw Bigfoot' T-shirt and have a nice trip."

Mulder stared after her as she headed out the door. She was really going to do it. She was really going to let him investigate what was possibly the most concrete lead on bigfoot to come across his desk in years all by himself. Just to go to some doctor seminar. He shook his head. He would never understand her.

Scully was glowing. She tried to straighten out the smile her lips kept creasing into-- it was much too wide, more like a grin, and not at all the professional expression she was accustomed to wearing-- but she couldn't help it. As soon as she smoothed her face out into that professional blankness, the happiness would spike up and she'd be grinning again.

They liked her. They really liked her. She immediately smothered the girlish thought, but the delight kept bubbling back.

Her presentation on the various oddities in the autopsies she'd performed during her stint on the X Files had been very well-received. Her colleagues seemed much more open to extreme possibilities than they had even a few years ago. There had been a lively debate about the significance of certain pieces of evidence in a few of the more dramatic cases, Tooms for one. She had immensely enjoyed the opportunity to discuss such things in depth with fellow professionals. Not having to stop every other word and explain every other word was an added treat.

Her presentation had been near the end of the day and now people were mingling and discussing *her* theories. Another surge of delight went through her and she struggled to hold it back or at least contain it. Humble, she had to be humble. Even if she felt like leaping about and crowing with glee.

"Dr. Scully." The smooth male voice came from behind her and she turned. A tall man with black hair and black eyes held out his hand.

Tall, dark and handsome. She felt giddy and ruthlessly reined in the thought.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on such a stunning and thought-provoking presentation. You've certainly given us a lot to think about."

She smiled warmly and took his hand. It was a smooth hand, but the flesh was firm, the grip strong. "Thank you, Dr...?"

"McNeil, Adam McNeil."

They smiled at each other. As she stared up into his eyes, Scully felt the warmth bubbling in her chest shift to a different kind of warmth. She abruptly realized they were still holding hands. She stepped back, pulling her hand away and smiling self-consciously.

"Will you be at the formal tonight?" He smiled at her.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. I love to dance."

"Well, then, I will see you there. And I insist that you save a dance for me."

"Most certainly, Dr. McNeil. I'm looking forward to it."

"Please call me Adam."

Scully smiled another delighted smile that she couldn't contain. "All right, Adam. And call me Dana."

They shared another smile that made her blood pressure rise another notch then they both were turning away.

As she entered the empty elevator she allowed herself a dreamy little sigh. The day had been perfect, but the night promised to be even better.

Dana Scully stood in front of the mirror and stared in amazement at the stunning woman staring back at her. Blue satin draped around her in soft folds and caressed her skin as she moved. She stepped back, eyes sweeping up and down, searching for imperfections. The electric-blue satin hugged her body lovingly and made her eyes glow blue and her hair a richer, more brilliant red. Not that she needed anything to make her eyes glow. The happiness from her triumph that afternoon was still singing through her blood like champagne.

The sleeveless bodice seemed to be held up by magic alone as it dipped low over her breasts and, she turned in a swirl of satin, plunged nearly to the small of her back. Her back was bare nearly down to her tattoo. She shifted this way and that, but no trace of the tattoo ever showed and she was reassured.

She turned again, gathering the voluminous folds of the skirt around her as she moved. She felt deliciously feminine at the gesture. It had to be a sin to have a dress feel this good against her skin.

And what a dress it was. She was glad her mother talked her into it.

She grinned at herself in the mirror. Enough. She was ready. Time to drink and dance and have fun for a change. And not think about Mulder or the X Files for at least the next four hours.

No. She reconsidered. The next eight hours. At least.

She smiled again and, with a solemn curtsy to the strange woman staring back at her from the mirror, she turned, picked up the matching electric-blue clutch purse and sedately made her way to the party.

Alex Krycek was not having a fun time. He was bored out of his mind to put it bluntly. He hated formal wear. The black tux he had been forced to don only added torture to an already painfully dull night. A bunch of doctors chattering on about this autopsy and that autopsy was not helping him stay awake. He tugged at the collar for what must have been the hundredth time and sighed for what must have been the thousandth.

He was on standard surveillance. He was here to catch any whisper of the 'Project' and stifle it in the most expedient manner. Forensic pathologists from all over the country would be here tonight and the consortium needed to keep an ear on things. He didn't understand why he was called in at the last minute. The man originally assigned the detail was reassigned to some other urgent matter so he got stuck with the duty. Personally, he thought they could have found someone else. It was probably some sort of subtle torture for something he wasn't even aware he'd done.

He sighed again and tugged on his collar one more time. He didn't even know why he had bothered to pack a gun. It was just a bunch of harmless old doctors. If they gave him trouble he wouldn't even need a gun. He shifted to check the lay of his jacket over the holster. It cost a lot to get a tux hand-tailored to conceal a weapon. It was a special skill and costly and, no matter how skilled the tailor, it still never completely concealed the fact that you were walking around like a cowboy out of the old west, ready to draw your six-shooter at a moment's notice.

Hopefully none of these doctors would notice the bulge. He eased deeper into the shadows as he resettled his jacket and looked around. It was a huge ballroom, large enough to hold at least a couple hundred doctors and their dates. A live string quartet was supplying the music and at the moment was playing a lively waltz. Small, intimate tables were scattered around the edge of the dance floor, crowded with small, intense knots of doctors talking about doctor things. There were various antechambers along two walls for people that needed to get away from the din to a quieter setting. The grand main entrance was in the north wall of the huge, mostly-square room, then along the walls to either side were the entrances to the smaller rooms, and, in the south wall, two smaller archways that exited to the extensive gardens outside.

The gardens were well-lit for those adventurous types who were of a mind to take a stroll, but the gardens were only well-lit close to the ballroom. Farther out they were romantically dark and mysterious. Alex bet once the evening wore on and the champagne had flowed into a river there would be quite a few couples out there exploring the twisty side paths. Not to mention other things. He grinned.

But he quickly lost his grin as he remembered he was here to work. He needed to circulate. He needed to surveil. He sighed. God, this was boring. With a determined snap he stood up straight, preparing to plunge into the crowd, when he caught sight of a woman whirling around the dance floor in the arms of a tall, dark-haired man. His heart stopped. That looked like... But it couldn't be. She was supposed to be off in Pennsylvania with Mulder, chasing down a fake bigfoot.

He tried to take a breath but his lungs were frozen. Panic clawed at his throat and he looked around frantically. They were dancing this way and were already much too close. He'd never make it to an exit. His thoughts were scrambling. What to do, what to do. He felt the urge to laugh hysterically and stifled it ruthlessly.

She was going to kill him. If she saw him, she was going to kill him. He looked around one more time but realized there was no escape.

But with the realization came calm. If he wasn't going to escape he might as well meet his fate. He boldly moved onto the dance floor, weaving between other couples to stand behind Dana and her dance partner. Alex reached over Dana to tap him on the shoulder.

"May I cut in?" he asked politely, waiting for the explosion. They stopped dancing and stepped back from each other. The man frowned, but Dana was smiling as she turned to look up at him.

Her mouth fell open and she froze.

I know how you feel, he thought, and stifled a grin at the inappropriate sympathy. His glance swept down her body and for the first time he took in the stunning satin dress she was wearing. She was beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, but more than all that she was unarmed. There was nowhere to hide a gun under *that* dress. Alex took a small, relieved breath. He might get out of this with his skin after all.

Dana could only stand gaping. Alex Krycek. It couldn't be. It wasn't. Her subconscious was punishing her for having such a fabulous day; She was seeing things. She tried to breathe or at least close her mouth but she couldn't move.

While Dana gaped so unattractively, Alex decided to take matters into his own hands. He gestured to her dance partner. "Dana and I are old friends." The man seemed satisfied with the explanation and stepped back. Alex smoothly moved forward and pulled her into his arms. "It's been a long time, Dana. How have you been?"

She stared up at him helplessly as her plans for an enjoyable evening crumbled around her. Alex began to smoothly lead her around the dance floor. They moved together perfectly in sync.

It took a moment, but Dana was finally able to snap her mouth shut.

"Krycek!" she hissed but that was as far as she got.

"Please, Dana," he interrupted suavely, "call me Alex."

"I'll call you worse than that! What are you doing here?" She was outraged but still somehow managed to smoothly follow him around the dance floor.

"Ah, Dana. Don't you remember how much I like a party?" He arched an eyebrow. "When my invitation arrived, I simply couldn't refuse." Ain't *that* the truth, he thought privately as he discreetly eyed the exits. Just a few more turns across the floor and he could make a break for it.

Dana was confused and off balance. His appearance here was so totally unexpected. For a change she was surrounded by doctors and not other law enforcement officers. She was on her own. If she was going to apprehend him, she'd have to do it on her own.

*If*, she thought incredulously. When, she corrected firmly. The only problem was she didn't have her gun with her. She swept a quick glance over his chest and noted he *did* have his gun. That could be a problem.

But she couldn't decide on a course of action and only continued to gracefully move across the floor with Alex's arms around her, following his lead effortlessly as her thoughts whirled madly through her head.

"Krycek," she hissed again but couldn't think of a thing to say and only glared up at him, hyper- conscious of the firm warmth of his arms around her.

At her enraged hiss, Alex brought his attention back to her. She was cute when she was angry. He stifled a grin, aware she'd kick him if she knew what he was thinking, but her face was flushed and her eyes sparkled and her lips were moist and parted with the strength of her emotion. The tension in her body nearly hummed along his arms, but she continued to flawlessly follow his lead.

He looked her over again and decided he had to stand by his first word. She *was* cute, but cute wasn't enough. He took in the vivid blue of her eyes and the brilliant fire-red of her hair, such a startling contrast against her pale, pale skin, and suddenly decided cute wasn't the word at all. She was beautiful and vibrant, but she could never be just cute. He shook himself and made himself look away from those eyes. It was time to think about heading for an exit. He glanced around.

Still confused and rapidly talking herself into enraged, she noticed his glance and followed it with her own, trying to discover what he was looking for.

Both of them stumbled, tripped and almost fell to the floor at the sight of the man nonchalantly standing just inside the main entrance. Dana wildly clutched at Alex and Alex stumbled in panic and clutched at Dana as they somehow managed to keep each other from tumbling to the floor.

Mulder had arrived.

Alex and Dana looked at each other, panicking. If Mulder caught her dancing with his mortal enemy he would shoot her. Dana's eyes returned to Mulder's tall figure, unable to come up with a course of action for this new disaster.

Alex was solely concerned with getting out of this with his skin intact. He pulled Dana off the floor and, stunned, she followed, the confusion of her thoughts making it impossible to come up with any other idea. This was supposed to be her day. How could an evening that started out so good have gone so wrong?

Keeping other dancers between them and Mulder, Alex made it off the dance floor but was now desperately looking around. He was too far from an exit. The only way out was right past Mulder. He ducked into a tiny alcove hidden behind a curtain and was about to tug Dana in after him when he heard Mulder shout. He cringed, expecting the worse.

But Mulder had only spotted Dana and called out to get her attention. She twirled guiltily and stared. Could anything else go wrong tonight?

She watched Mulder make his way across the crowded room to her side, her mind running like a little rat on an exercise wheel. Out of the corner of her eye she watched the curtain twitch and was suddenly aware that Krycek was armed and, she eyed Mulder, neither of them were.

She pasted a bright smile on her face as Mulder finally reached her side. She thought she could sense the heat of Krycek's body coming through the curtain behind her, marking his hiding spot like a red flashing arrow hanging above it, screaming 'here he is, here he is'.

"Scully." He sounded glad to see her. She wished she felt the same. "Thought I'd drop by and see what all the fuss was about." He looked her up and down and gave a low whistle. "You're beautiful, Scully."

Alex almost snorted. Even giving her a compliment Mulder still called her Scully. What a loser.

"Thanks, Mulder." Dana tried not to stammer with guilt. "How did you get here? I thought you were investigating bigfoot."

"Oh, well." Mulder looked sheepish. "Turned out it was just some mountain man come down from the hills and terrorizing the countryside." He shrugged. "No X File there." He looked around at the dancing people and gestured to the floor.

"Would you care to dance?"

Dana heard the faint rustle of cloth on cloth from behind the curtain and hastily answered. "No, Mulder, maybe later." She looked at him beseechingly. "I'm awfully thirsty. Do you think you could get me something to drink?"

Mulder eyed the refreshments, all the way across the ballroom. He eyed the crush of people he'd have to fight through to get to the refreshments. The prospect was daunting but he quickly recovered and threw her a wide grin. "All right, Scully. I'll be right back." He frowned at her. "But when I get back, you owe me a dance."

She smiled in relief. "Sure, Mulder. One dance." He turned away and she called after him, "Thanks."

He was quickly lost in the crowd. She smiled with a relief that was short-lived as an arm snaked around her waist and pulled her backwards into darkness.

The curtain closed in front of her over the open archway, but she was already moving. She shoved and twisted and Alex fell back.

It wasn't total darkness. She glared at him as her eyes adjusted.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Alex straightened up from the wall. "Good job, Dana, but we're not out of the woods yet." The alcove was so small he had to squeeze by her to peek out into the main room. The coast was clear.

He turned to look at her and abruptly realized just how close they were. His body brushed against hers every time he breathed. The little room wasn't called a lover's nook for nothing. She didn't seem to notice and only continued to glare at him.

"What do you mean, 'good job'?" The words came rapid fire with the power of her anger. "What are you babbling about?"

"Ditching Mulder." He grabbed her hand and tugged her forward as he eased the curtain open. "Good job." He took a quick look around. There was no sign of Mulder. He pulled Dana after him and rapidly headed in the opposite direction from Mulder, which just happened to be out into the gardens.

Dana was tugging ineffectually on her hand, trying to pull it from Alex's grasp, but he barely noticed her resistance. Maybe because she wasn't doing a very credible job of resisting. She was mad at him but she was also confused because she didn't want Mulder to find out she was here with Krycek, that she knew Krycek was here and didn't do anything about it except dance with him. She remembered the dance they shared and felt strangely dizzy. This wasn't happening. It was all some bad dream and she would wake up any minute.

But as they made it through the archway and out into the gardens, the chill of the night air washed over her and she realized she was wide awake and living in Technicolor. She blinked. Maybe Technicolor wasn't the right word.

Alex wore a striking black tux, his hair stylishly slicked back, the white of his shirt blinding. She blinked again as they headed deeper into the gardens and even more color was leached away by the darkness. He didn't look like a killer. He looked like Prince Charming come for Cinderella. She tried to shake the thought away but it was there and it seemed to have taken root. She looked him up and down again. She'd never seen him in a tux before. He looked good. He looked like James Bond. He looked *better* than James Bond.

Alex tugged her behind a bush. It was large enough to hide behind but short enough to look through the branches and keep an eye on the archway in case Mulder decided to come looking for her.

Satisfied they hadn't been spotted, he turned to take in her bemused expression. "What's the matter, Dana? Cat got your tongue?"

The bemused expression lifted as she glared at him. "What do you want, Krycek? Why'd you bring me out here?"

He jerked her closer to harshly whisper into her face, the archway still in his peripheral view. "I don't want you and Mulder getting together alone. You tell him I'm here, he calls in the troops and this place'll be surrounded so fast, you'd think I was here to kill the president. You're staying by my side until I get clear or things are gonna get bloody."

She glared for another moment but forced the anger back. She could try disabling him barehanded but didn't think she would get far. The dress that she had so adored earlier effectively limited her movement and he *was* armed.

Damn. Why couldn't he have picked some other party to crash?

She jerked her hand out of his grip with enough force to finally break free. "All right," she said forcefully. "Where's your car?"

He threw another quick glance at the archway but there was no one. He grabbed her elbow in a hard grip and began rapidly walking her towards the darker part of the gardens.

Dana became uneasy the deeper they walked into the gloom. His car wasn't parked back here. No cars were parked back here. She brushed her unease away.

"Why are you here, Krycek? Are you here to kill someone?"

He jerked her to a stop and pulled her into a secluded corner, intently listening for anyone following them.

"No," he answered absently. "Wasn't planning on it." No one was around. He started to tug her forward again, but this time she balked.

"Where are we *going*?" she hissed.

He finally brought his full attention to her. She glared at him angrily, but he detected the nervous unease under the anger and hid a grin. She probably thought he was dragging her off somewhere to kill her. His eyes swept down her body one more time, silver moonlight glinting off blue satin.

Or to a fate worse than death. He *did* grin at that thought, a flashing glint of white in the darkness.

The flash of teeth only enraged Dana even more. "What are you grinning at?" She was nearly snarling, desperately hanging on to her self- control.

He grinned wider. "You. You're acting like a nervous prom date following her boyfriend into the bushes. What are you so upset about, Dana? Mad because I haven't tried to kiss you, yet?"

At the last question her anger disappeared and her mind went blank. Kiss her? What...?

Yet?

Alex sighed a resigned sigh. He gripped her arms and tugged her forward. "It's a dirty job..." He let his words trail off insultingly before he abruptly pressed his lips to hers.

Dana stood in the circle of his arms and tried to think, cogitate, anything. This wasn't really happening. Alex Krycek was not kissing her. She felt a tingle sweep through her body as his lips shifted against hers. He wasn't kissing her and she wasn't liking it.

She gave a confused moan that vibrated against his lips. He pulled back only long enough to give a self-satisfied chuckle then he was kissing her again.

But the chuckle snapped her to her senses. What did he think he was doing? What did she think *she* was doing?

Alex was enjoying the feel of her slight body against his and the softness of her lips so much that for an instant he forgot he was making his escape and exactly *why* he was making his escape. He ran his hands down the bare skin of her back and tugged her closer.

So when Dana lifted a foot and kicked forward sharply, driving the toe of her high-heeled pump directly into his shin, he yelped and jumped back, staring at her in surprise.

Breathing hard, her hands clenched into fists, she glared at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

He was at a loss. He didn't know what he was doing. He was only teasing her and somehow the whole situation had spiraled out of control. He looked at her, trying to think of something to say.

"Scully!" Mulder's voice called in the distance.

They both jumped.

"Scully! You out here?"

Alex had to move fast. He swooped in, grabbed Dana and jerked her close. "Some other time, Dana." He pressed a quick kiss to her lips then he was letting her go and turning away, diving for the darkness on the other side of the bushes surrounding them.

After that first crashing instant of noise, Dana stared after him, trying to see or hear where he had gone, but he had disappeared completely and there was only silence. She stood alone in the moonlight, surrounded by fragrant bushes she couldn't name and suddenly felt more alone than she could ever remember feeling.

"Scully!" Mulder called again. The sound of his voice snapped her out of it.

"Mulder! Over here!"

He noisily made his way to her. "Scully." He walked up to her and looked around. "What's going on? Some guy named Adam said he saw you leave with a guy. Said he was an old friend of yours or something." He looked around again. "So where is he?"

Scully swallowed. "He had to leave. Business." Just tell him, she was thinking. She should just tell him. But she only continued to stare at him, willing him to believe what she said and just drop it.

Mulder looked uncertain but was willing to take her word for it. "Okay." He glanced around again and an uneasy silence fell.

But it didn't last long. Mulder smiled and held out his hand. "You owe me a dance, Scully. Are you ready to go back?"

She took his hand with relief. "Yes, Mulder. I certainly am."

Alex listened with satisfaction as they made their way back inside. She wasn't going to sound the alarm. The thought warmed him more than it should. Their voices receded into the distance, but Mulder's voice still came to him clearly.

"Did I congratulate you on a job well done, Scully? You've certainly impressed a lot of people..."

Author's note: No one can say I'm not a romantic. They danced together, took a stroll in a garden and even shared a kiss under the moonlight. What more could you want?

So it was a little twisted.

I never said I wasn't twisted.