Title: A Rat's life

Author: Kindli

Fandoms: X-Files/Highlander (Do I write anything else??)

Pairing: Mulder/Cory Raines, Mulder/Krycek UST

Rating: NC-17-- Slash

Spoilers: To be on the safe side, I'd say little ones for just about all Krycek eps.

Disclaimers: X-Files belongs to Chris Carter, Fox and 1013 Productions-- Highlander is the property of Panzer/Davis Productions. Oh, and the idea of starting with Alex in hell and being turned into a rat was conceived from a story called Ratboy, written by Fleur. It can be found on RatB. The rest of the story is mine though.

Summary: This is a definite AU. Alex is changed into a rat, and discovers things are not as they appear.

Feedback: kindli27@hotmail.com

Archive: Just let me know where. I'd like to visit.

Notes: This is way AU, and does not follow canon, obviously. Please let me know if you liked it or not.



A Rat's Life
by Kindli

Alex Krycek was in hell-- or a well-replicated version of it.

He sat struggling, bound to a chair. His head snapped up as a door opened, and he glared at the shadowy figure entering.

"Alex Krycek. I'll be damned if I can understand why, but you've been given a reprieve." The bald man's slanted eyes crinkled at the edges as he realized his own joke and laughed. "Oh, what am I saying? I am damned aren't I? Of course, there's a twist to your release, but I'm sure you'll
meet it with your usual aplomb. Heh-heh."

Nervously, Alex twitched in his bonds. Trying to sound threatening, he growled. "What's going on?"

The demon's eyes glowed red and practically burned a hole into Alex's soul. His brow wrinkled and his feral smile had Alex swallowing hard.

"You have been annoying the guardians of a certain Fox Mulder for some time now, but since you are important to his future, they can't demand your death. Instead, they've devised a punishment for you. You will become his pet." The man's laughter reverberated against the walls of the tiny room.

Alex's eyes swung desperately around the cell, searching for an escape, but there was no door, no escape. The walls were blood red and a death black carpet lay beneath his feet. He realized he was naked only when the heated air mysteriously chilled his body to the bone.

"What do you mean, 'pet'?" he croaked, struggling harder to free himself from the ropes that bound him to the hard wood chair.

"You've been called a rat for the past 5 years. Let's see how you fare as a real one." At Alex's vehement protests, he raised his hand warningly and added, "Be grateful Mulder has been conditioned to accept you into his home in such a form. You will be freed when the guardians have been appeased. I advise you accept every humiliation you suffer without biting anyone, if you ever want to become human again." With a cackle he disappeared in a bright flash of light.

Krycek blinked and quickly realized, upon opening his eyes, that he was no longer bound to a chair.

As he looked around, he was unnerved at how large everything appeared to be. Something white lingered at the corner of his eye and when he glanced down to investigate, he saw a pair of fuzzy white paws. His -own- fuzzy white paws, he realized, as he flexed the tiny claws experimentally.

//That must be some drug they put me on.//

Suddenly the floor beneath him began to shake and he scurried out of the way as two huge feet approached the door. He glanced up nervously-- hating that he always had to look up at people. Why could he never be in control? It was so unfair, he fumed silently, that he always had to work under someone.

He huddled against the wall, hoping he wouldn't be noticed, but had no such luck. He sensed before he saw the huge form kneeling down. It was Mulder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What have we here?" Mulder crouched to get a better look at the small creature.

He was no great fan of animals, but something drew his attention to this rodent.

"There are cats on this floor, little one. How did you get up here?" He spoke softly as he reached out a hand cautiously, wondering if the animal was tame. There was a 50/50 chance that the little rat was either someone's pet, or some snake's missing meal.

----Alex flinched inwardly, but didn't run when Mulder reached for him. A hand was placed just in front of him, flat and still, and he found himself cautiously stepping into the palm.----

//Definitely a pet.// Mulder caressed the soft white fur gently, moving the creature to his shoulder.

The rat seemed content to perch there as he moved to unlock his door. Once inside, he walked to the kitchen. Unscrewing the lid from a pickle jar, he used it as a water dish for his temporary new house guest, and fed it a few sunflower seeds.

He gave the mammal free reign of the apartment, subconsciously hoping it might decide to disappear. Thereby absolving him of responsibility, without making him feel guilty.

But the rat sat near him on the back side of the couch while he watched tv, sleeping beside him as well.

When Mulder realized the animal seemed to have attached itself to him, he decided to take it with him to work.

"Another Mulder quirk," he muttered to himself as he stepped into the elevator.

He walked into his office to see Scully already waiting for him. When she saw the rat, she gave Mulder one of 'those' looks.

"What are you doing with a rat, Mulder? Isn't one in your life enough?"

----Alex realized she was talking about his human half and he squeaked indignantly.----

Mulder chuckled, annoying Alex further. "This one is better trained, Scully. I found him last night outside my apartment. He's very tame." He caressed the small animal as he spoke.

Tentatively, she reached out a hand to the rodent, and watched as it reacted in a curious manner. At first she thought its tiny white teeth would latch onto her fingers. But then it went docile, lowering its head to let her pet it.

"He has green eyes." She noticed suddenly.

"Does he?" Mulder was color-blind.

Scully nodded. "So, are you planning to donate him to the lab? I hope?" She kept a speculative eye on the rat. Something wasn't right, but she couldn't figure out what it could be. It was if the rat could understand her, she thought with some confusion as the suspicious little thing moved closer to Mulder's neck, staring at her nervously. She didn't recall rats being so expressive.

"Be nice." Mulder scolded, teasing. "He can be an X-Files mascot. How many rats have green eyes?"

Scully could see that Mulder had already become attached to the 'thing'. //I suppose it's better then a parrot. Besides, it'll provide much needed companionship.//

"Then he needs a name."

Mulder hadn't thought of that. "For what? He'll never know the difference."

"Mulder, all creatures need names. It's psychological. You being his main source of companionship; he'll need you to relate with him, to identify with him. A name. You could name him Alex, in honor of his namesake." She kept her eye on the animal as she spoke.

The rat's eyes narrowed at her.

"If Alex ever found out, he'd kill me." Mulder shook his head. "I'm not that suicidal."

"If he kills you, I'll kill him."

Mulder snorted. "Thanks, it would do a lot of good once I was dead."

Scully forced herself not to respond. Instead, she suggested, "Lexi?"

When Mulder shrugged, the rat was almost thrown to the floor.

"Alright. Lexi it is. But if Krycek makes the connection, he's your pet."

Scully smiled, unnerving the rat. "Fine by me."



Part 2: A Rat's Life

Two months pass

Sitting on Mulder's desk, Lexi watched and listened to everything that went on in the basement office. While working, Mulder would reach over to pet him every so often, feeding him sunflower seeds as he munched on them himself.

--------All of this affection was a welcome break from the beatings he usually received when in Mulder's presense. Alex felt as if he could really get used to it.

He wondered about Scully, though. In his book, Ms. 'Just the Facts' would have been the last person to suspect there might be anything unusual about him. But her curious glances made it obvious that she was suspicious.--------

Lexi sat on the desk while Mulder worked on his files. When Mulder and Scully went off on a case, they brought Lexi along. Life went on this way for a couple of months.

One afternoon, Mulder snuck up behind Scully as she stood close to his desk, her back to the door. "What are you doing, Scully?"

Swinging around, Scully glared at him, her blue eyes flashing in annoyance. "Nothing."

Mulder stepped past her and smiled when he saw Lexi contentedly munching on a slice of carrot. He turned to Scully with a mock-pout. "You think I don't feed him properly?"

Not looking at him, Scully walked to the file cabinet, opened one of the drawers and appeared to be digging for a file. "You don't feed yourself properly, Mulder."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... anyway, Cory got arrested last night. He wants me to come bail him out, so I took a day of vacation for tomorrow; would you like to come with me?"

Scully thought about it for a moment before nodding.



Chapter Two

Same day, almost 5:00

"I'll come by for you in a few hours. I'm leaving later this evening." He promised before they left.

----Lexi wondered who Cory was. Scully seemed to know him, and Mulder didn't seem to be bothered by the idea of posting bail for him.----

That evening, they were driving toward Seacouver with Scully questioning the reasons for their having to go rescue the annoying immortal. Lexi hoped for more clarification on this word, but Scully just went on to ask why it had to be Mulder.

"Why doesn't he call Mac to bail him out?"

"He's got some files for me. Besides, you know how Mac feels about him." Mulder turned off onto an exit that advertised gas.

"Some files? He hasn't been pretending to be Krycek again, has he?" Scully's expression was suspicious as she glanced at Mulder.

They pulled into the gas station. "He didn't tell me."

"Is the cabin open?"

Mulder stepped out of the car, sticking the keys into his back pocket. "I didn't think to ask."

Rolling her eyes Scully moved to get out of the car herself. She turned back just in time to see Lexi squeezing through the hole he had chewed into the cardboard box that was to have been his home for the road trip. There were little air holes poked all over in the box, but they didn't seem to make the rat any more content. He had been complaining quite vocally before he had started chewing his way out. She was amused by the rat's tenacity and chuckled as she reached down to pick him up.

She lifted the rat and set him on her shoulder. "Come on, Lexi. You can help me make a phone call."

The animal was not only tame but obviously intelligent. After some initial suspicion she finally decided that he had just been very well trained by his previous master. She was becoming as paranoid as Mulder, seeing conspiracies around every corner. Lexi clung to her shoulder as she walked closer to the road, punching a number into her cell phone.

Amused by her whole-hearted acceptance of his rodent pet, Mulder watched her walk nearer to the road as she spoke into her phone.

She stood watching the road as she waited for a response. She breathed a sigh of relief when the call was finally answered with a clipped grunt. "Methos?"

An english accented voice carried through the phone. "Speaking."

"It's Kadia. Are you still in Seacouver?"

"Yeah. I'm at Mac's."

"Cory's been arrested. We're going to need a place to stay for the night. Can you open up the cabin?" She crossed her fingers as she waited for him to stop swearing and answer her.

Muttering could be heard in the background as he presumably informed Mac of the identity of the caller. "I suppose. Is Mulder with you?"

"Would *I* be coming to bail Cory out of jail? We'll be there in a few hours. Could you wait there for us? I need to talk with you."

Methos didn't sound too pleased with the idea. "I suppose."

"Thanks, darling. We'll see you then. Oh, and you'll get a kick out of Mulder's new pet, I promise." She hung up and patted the rat's head again before heading back to the car.

"Methos will open the cabin for us." She had barely shut the door when Mulder started the car.

Navigating the car out of the lot and back onto the road, Mulder gave her a quick glance. "Good. I wasn't looking forward to a hotel."

----Precariously, Alex moved from Scully's shoulder to the back of the car seat, balancing on the slippery vinyl as he carefully walked the short distance, before finally crawling to safety on Mulder's shoulder and curled into the indent between shoulder and neck to try falling asleep. He wondered about what he had heard on the phone today. Why did Scully call herself Kadia, and who the hell was Cory? ----

Lexi was hiding inside Mulder's pocket when they entered the police station, but he wasn't allowed to peek out. Mulder worried that the sight of a rat would attract the attention of the police and would be remembered. He didn't need the Consortium to look into his 'off duty' activities any closer than they already did.

After everything had been taken care of, they walked with Cory to the car and drove to the cabin.

----Lexi peeked out the pocket, but it was too dark to see anything.

Once inside the cabin, however, he could see the man named Cory and couldn't believe his eyes. Cory could be his twin... at least if he were in human form.----

Upon seeing the furry, white little head peeking out of Mulder's pocket, Cory began to snicker.

Methos looked to see what had aroused the other man's mirth and choked back a laugh. "This is your new pet? Are you kidding?"

Mulder brought Lexi out to set him on his shoulder before removing his jacket.

"His name is Lexi."

"Lexi?!" Cory laughed. "Geez, Fox. We all know how you feel about Alex, but don't you think this might be carrying it too far?"

Mulder defended himself half-heartedly. "Scully named it. I found him outside my door a few months ago. He sort of attached himself to me."

Methos turned to tease Scully. "You insult a defenceless rat with a name like that?"

"His eyes are green. And like Mulder said, he attached himself to him. Besides, he's cute, just like Alex." She winked at Methos when Mulder coughed.

"Hey, if I were that size I'd attach myself to him too. Of course, it would be rather difficult to have sex in that shape, but I supposed sex isn't everything." Cory grinned at Mulder innocently.

"Shut-up, Cory." Mulder shot him a tolerant smile.

Raising a brow, Cory's expression challenged his friend to react.

With a meaningful glance at Scully, Methos nodded at the door leading outside. They started to talk quietly as they walked away.

Setting Lexi onto the couch, Mulder advanced until he had the unafraid immortal pressed into the wall. Cory waited patiently for Mulder's next move.

Mulder placed his hands on the wall, trapping Cory where he was before he leaned in to kiss him.

As they kissed, Cory put his arms around Mulder's waist and pulled him closer. "Just don't go calling out for Alex this time."

Mulder smiled as Cory maneuvered them so that they were hip to hip before he moved in for another kiss.

---- Lexi couldn't tear his gaze away from the site of Mulder and *his* look-alike preparing to have sex. He supposed he should have realized Mulder swung both ways, but it had never occured to him to wonder. He had always been under the impression that Mulder hated him with a passion, making any sort of relationship with him impossible.

He wanted to hate Cory, but he couldn't. The man reminded him too much of himself. Though he was jealous of the affection between the two he couldn't resent them: not when Mulder looked so relaxed.-----

An hour later, Mulder was pulling his shirt back on with professional efficiency. "Where's the info Eastleigh left us?"

Cory sighed. //Back to business.// "I locked it inside the safe; I'll go fetch it."


Chapter Three

A week later

Scully and Mulder were walking along the beach in Revere, Ma. They had been looking into local rumors that accused a Wiccan coven of interfering with the ocean's tide.

------ As usual, Lexi sat on Mulder's shoulder. In most circumstances he would have been bored out of his mind, but lately it appeared that there was a lot he could learn from these two X-Files agents. He couldn't believe some of the things they took for granted. All this time he had thought that he had had some strange experiences. -------

While they were walking along the sandy shoreline, Scully suddenly stopped and grabbed Mulder's arm. "Hold up a minute." She glanced around cautiously.

"Hey, Red!" A shout came from out of the darkness, the voice itself drowned from the wind and the roar of the ocean as the waves pounded the shore mercilessly.

They turned to see a tall dark-haired man approaching them. He gave Mulder a dismissive look. "This is not your concern."

With a shrug that nearly dislodged Lexi from his position, Mulder turned to his partner. "I'll wait for you at Kelly's."

Scully nodded her agreement.

------ Lexi moved around restlessly as Mulder walked away, and wondered why they were acting so casual about this obvious threat to her safety.

He heard Scully ask the man why he was concerned with her, but was unable to hear the man's response over the constant rumbling of the wind as they walked further away. He chattered nervously into Mulder's ear, brushing his nose against the warm neck. He refused to be comforted when Mulder petted him soothingly as he crossed the street, approaching a small building whose side read *Kelly's*.-----

Mulder bought a fried dough roll with powdered sugar and cinnamon. "Don't worry about her Lexi. She can take care of herself." He fed a piece of the sweet bread to the agitated rodent.

When Lexi refused to settle down, Mulder pet him and gave in. "Alright, alright. Come on, let's go back and watch." He crossed the street to retrace his steps along the moonlit beach.

As Mulder walked back, they saw her strolling towards them. "Hey, Scully, where's the asshole?"

She shrugged as Mulder put his arm around her waist. "He'll be all right when he regains consciousness." The moon shone upon them brightly as they companionably walked back to the car. Lexi's curious chattering was ignored as they talked about the man following at a discreet distance.

Eventually, Lexi became silent and listened avidly as they began talking about 'Watchers' and 'immortals'.

The case of Wiccan's controlling the tides was thrown out the window when it was discovered a hurricane had begun and died out about 30 miles off shore and had caused the strange tide changes.


Chapter Four

Another two weeks pass

Mulder stepped into his apartment with an envelope clutched tightly in his hand. Opening it, he skimmed it over quickly, and then stalked over to the phone to punch in a number on the phone.

He paced the living room, staring past the rat sitting on the back of the leather couch. "Krycek's Watcher hasn't seen him for almost 2 months."

----Lexi's ears perked up. What Watcher?-------

"Considering how many people want him dead, of course I'm worried. No... Charles wouldn't just lose him. He's been watching Alex for over 6 years, and he knows every hide-out Krycek has." He listened to Scully for a minute and interrupted her again. "If he doesn't regain contact within a week, I'm going to start searching myself." Sighing deeply, he hung up the phone and flung himself on to the couch.

Lexi moved closer and crawled onto Mulder's shoulder, silently giving comfort to the man for whom he was learning to care.

----Lexi remembered hearing them talk about the Watchers after that night with the man on the beach. Watchers recorded the lives of immortals. But he wasn't immortal and that was something Scully would surely know. So why would they have a Watcher on him? And why should it cause Mulder so much concern? Was it because Mulder didn't know where he was, or because he no longer knew what he was up to? Or was it true when Cory and the others teased Mulder about his emotions regarding his human counter-part? ------

Mulder fell asleep on the couch that evening and Lexi moved to sleep on the older man's chest. It was confusing to be so dependent on this man for affection and attention and still not know how he really felt about him.

He wasn't even sure he liked Mulder. Well, he knew he did like him when he was with just Scully on an independent case, but that was because Mulder seemed to act different. He was more confident and independent. But as soon as Mulder put on that Armani suit, he turned into that annoyingly earnest and naive young man, determined to find and expose the 'Truth'. But Mulder was both of these men, and he was learning to need them both.

Alex awoke to again find himself in the blood red room with a death black floor. This time the odd looking man appeared before him in a flash of smoke.

"Congratulations. I never thought you'd survive, but you did. The Guardians have been appeased for now, so try not to anger them a second time."

Alex snorted and fearlessly stared straight into the demon's glowing red eyes. "The only reason I'm being returned to normal is because Mulder expressed concern for me. I can get away with anything, because he wants me."

"Don't get too cocky, ratboy. They have the time it takes before he's again alerted to your disappearance. And I don't have room for you down here, so quit pissing them off." With a snap of the man's fingers, Alex was unceremoniously dumped in an alleyway, sans clothing.



CHAPTER 3

While in rat form, Alex had realized Skinner wasn't always working in the best interests of the X-Files. Though it was obvious he did what he could, the smoker held too much control. Since Alex considered it imperative that Skinner be on his side when necessary, he used the AD as a test subject for the nanobiotics experiment. He figured that it should help Mulder's boss decide who to support. Besides, it was pay-back for the abuse he had taken while on the balcony three years ago.

Without rancor he knew that Mulder wouldn't thank him, but he refused to defend his actions to anyone.



~~~~A few weeks after Skinner's 'near death' experience~~~

Alex awoke to again find himself bound to the same chair in the same room with the same weird looking man standing in front of him one morning and he decided the Guardians obviously hated him. The demon looked annoyed as he waited for Alex to realize where he was.

"I told you to behave, Alex-- or should I call you Lexi? The Guardians have decided to torment you to a greater degree this time. It'll be harder for you to attach yourself to him; but if you decide not to, you'll find yourself in the pound where you have only one week to find an owner before you're put to sleep. So I suggest you do what you have to in order to convince Mulder he needs you, because I don't want you down here." He waved his arm around the dark cell vaguely.

"The pound?"

"Get used to playing fetch."

As the man laughed, Alex cringed, shutting his eyes as he whispered a soft plea to a god he didn't believe in, and hoped this would all be a dream.

Alex opened his eyes again and blinked at the sudden change of surroundings. Before he could thank some mysterious god, he realized he was covered with fur again, this time brownish black, and had four paws instead of his single arm. He recognized the alley he was standing in as the one outside Mulder's apartment complex. The morning sun beat heavily against the ground outside the alley, and Mulder would be going on his daily run soon. Alex wondered how he could appease the *asshole Guardians* this time. He resented the fact that they could determine his future, just because they were annoyed. It was cold comfort knowing that Mulder wouldn't approve if he realized what was happening to him. The fact that he would never have known how Mulder would feel about it at all if not for his time spent as a rat was besides the point.

It appeared that half of the neighborhood had decided to come to the park today. Alex ignored the crowd and waited until Mulder relaxed on a bench taking a moment to enjoy the morning sun before he approached him.

Seeing a beautiful German Shepherd without a collar or leash walking toward him, Mulder sat up a little taller, watching it cautiously. The animal stood in front of him wagging his tail and proceeded to rest it's head on his lap, looking up at him with big soulful eyes.

Tentatively, Mulder reached out a hand to pet it. Apparently relishing the attention, the dog nudged his nose into his hand and licked his palm.

Mulder wondered when the dog's owner would appear. He expected someone to be calling for it at any moment. The dog encouraged his attentions and watched him with intelligence. Something about the dog reminded him of Lexi. He wondered if all animals had this quality of awareness and he'd just never noticed it, or if he were just imagining things.

"Who do you belong to?"

The dog tilted his head to the side and moved to sit on his haunches, resting his front paws on Mulder's lap to give him an expectantly hopeful look.

Mulder knew he couldn't take care of a dog, even if by some twist of fate this dog needed a home. He traveled too often, and while a rat was relatively easy to bring along, a german shepherd was another matter entirely.

As he thought about Lexi's disappearance, it occured to him that the rat may have been caught by a cat on one of its independent forays. He shook his head a little, pushing such thoughts into the back of his mind.

Chuckling, Mulder shook his head. "Sorry big guy, my apartment doesn't allow dogs your size. You'll just have to find your absent master." Standing up, he absently gave the animal a pat on the head before jogging back to his apartment.

Fearful of being taken to the pound, Alex went to hide in the alley again. He hated Mulder's Guardians, whoever the hell they were.

With a squeal of tires, Scully's car pulled up outside Mulders apartment and as she climbed out, he trotted out to greet her with a woof that he hoped sounded non-threatening as he manuevered his unfamiliar dog body against her legs, preventing her from walking to the door of the apartment complex.

Scully kept a wary eye on the animal. But since he looked friendly enough, and knowing that she would heal if he did bit her, she cautiously reached out her hand.

Obligingly, he sniffed her fingers and licked them. He whined and nudged his head against her legs when she tried to move past him.

"Hey!" Realizing he didn't want to harm her, she laughed and gave him an affectionate hug. The German Shephard cuddled into her embrace, as if he were soaking in the affection and she wondered if he had been abused in the past.

"All right, Baby. I'm going inside to meet a friend. You'll like him. If you wait right here, without any fuss... I'll buy you a hot dog from that vendor across the street." She didn't really expect the dog to actually understand, but it seemed to respond well to her voice.

To her surprise the dog moved obediently to sit where she'd indicated, and watched her patiently as if waiting. She smiled and gave him a final pat before turning to enter Mulder's apartment.

Scully walked to Mulder's room and waited while he got ready. They were going on a case, supposedly an X-File, though she had her doubts. As her thoughts wandered, she wondered about the dog she had left on the street, something about the animal's dark green eyes tugged at her memory.

When Mulder was finally ready, they walked down the stairs and stepped outside. The dog was still waiting where she had left him, and about to get in trouble. A cop was standing nearby, keeping a cautious eye on the dog as he spoke into his radio.

Scully turned to the dog and saw the look of frightened desperation in the animal's eyes and suddenly realized why the animal seemed so familiar.

"Good boy," she cooed, kneeling to pet him. The dog wagged his tail slowly, glancing at the policeman nervously. He licked her face, and let her hug him.

"Come on, Baby. I promised you a hot dog."

Obediently, --he hoped-- he followed at her heels.

The cop stopped them. "Excuse me, ma'am, is that your dog?"

Scully stopped to look at him. "Yes, he is. What's the trouble?"

"Animals are supposed to be on a leash, and he isn't even wearing a collar." The young man pointed out, nodding at the dog peering at him from behind her legs.

Scully's eyes opened wide in surprise and she turned to the dog and realized the cop was indeed correct. The dog had no collar. "What did you do with your collar, Baby?" She scratched his fur behind his ear. "I'm sorry, officer. I'll replace it immediately."

The officer wanted her ID to write out a warning and was startled to learn she was an FBI agent. "You have the dog long, ma'am?"

"I've had Baby for about a year," she replied as truthfully as possible, if indeed this animal was who she suspected.

Incredulously, the officer repeated the name. "Baby?!" He stared at the big animal, sitting at her feet.

Watching silently, Mulder wondered why Scully was lying.

The dog cocked his head as if hearing his name from the stranger's mouth and looked at Scully inquisitively.

Alex was startled by Scully's easy acceptance of his situation. She seemed to realize he understood her. But did she have to call him *Baby*?

When Mulder snapped his fingers, Alex went to sit at his feet while they waited for the officer to leave. Alex was too intimidated by the idea of the pound to resent anything right now.

On their way to the hot dog vendor Mulder observed, "At least he's well-trained."

Scully snorted, an unladylike sound. "He will be anyway. Don't you realize?" She wondered how her 'I want to believe' partner could be so dense.

Mulder shook his head as he gave the dog a bite of his hot dog.

Watching the exchange, Scully wondered if she could be mistaken. The animal showed no hesitation when begging for and accepting food from Mulder's hand. But it was the dog's eyes that decided her.

"His eyes are green."

Mulder was a little slow on the uptake this time. "Common for German Shepherds."

"Lexi the Rat had green eyes."

"Unusual, but not unheard of."

"Alex your traitorous ex-partner has green eyes." She watched the dog as she spoke.

Alex stared at her wondering if she could possibly be alluding to...

"They all attached themselves to you."

"You think this animal is Alex?" Mulder asked her incredulously.

When Scully nodded, Alex followed the motion with his own head.

Mulder watched the exchange. He knelt to look in the dog's eyes. "You're Alex Krycek, in the body of a dog?" He stared at him skeptically.

Alex nodded again.

Still at eye level with the dog, Mulder glanced up to look at her. "How do we make him human again?" He let the dog finish his hot dog bun.

"I'll talk to an old acquaintance. I'd bet almost anything that he had something to do with this." She watched as the dog licked Mulder's face.

If this was Alex, she'd bet anything he adored Mulder. It certainly wasn't any animal instinct that would cause a strange dog to be so trusting of a man like Mulder. Mulder wasn't exactly an animal person.

It made her angry that anyone would abuse the young man like this. First a rat and now a dog. She could understand changing him for a day or so, as a joke- or a lesson. But they'd had Lexi for almost 2 months. Alex was just a baby, he didn't deserve to be treated like so cruelly. With his childhood as it had been, she hated to think what this would do to his psyche.

Mulder gave the dog a final pat before standing up again.

"So, do we postpone the case for a day so you can fix him?"

Scully nodded. "Let's go to my place. There isn't any surveillance there at the moment."

They walked to the car. Alex jumped into the backseat as soon as the door was opened.

Once inside her apartment Scully began to prepare for her journey. She used chalk to draw a circle onto the floor of her dining room, and lit some candles and some incense for atmosphere.

"Well if this *is* Alex, he's going to know more about your abilities then he does about the Consortium dealings." Mulder plopped himself onto her couch.

"I could make him forget."

The dog whined and shook its head.

"If I make you forget you'll never have to remember your experience as a rat, or a dog."

Thoughtfully, the dog tilted its head.

"Just think about it, Baby." She affectionately petted his head.

Alex narrowed his eyes at her.

She chuckled. "You're all babies to me." She gave him a quick kiss on the snout.

He looked confused again, until he realized she was speaking of her age. Then he actually shrugged.

Until now Mulder had some doubts, but the shrug convinced him.

He snapped his fingers again. "Come here, BABY. We can't be in her circle."

The dog obeyed immediately. Sitting on the floor at Mulder's feet as Mulder watched Scully from his position on the couch.

Scully stood in the center and closed her eyes. One minute she was there, the next she was gone.

So what's it like, being a dog?" Mulder asked his companion, not even reacting to his partner's strange disappearance. "If this is true, I can make you into an X-File."

Shifting nervously, Alex gave him a panicked look.

"I'm going to have a lot of fun with this. --Unless you decide to forget of course. That would make things nice and easy. You could forget all about immortals, Kadia and her abilities, my feelings for you-- we could concentrate on the alien invasion." Mulder kept his tone reasonable, hoping to make the suggestion sound like the most sensible idea for all involved.



Chapter Three

Meanwhile, Scully transported herself to 'hell' -- as it was often called these days.

"Kadia!" The odd-looking man approached her nervously. "What brings you here? Just two eons ago you swore you would never return." The demon frowned as he recalled the incident that had so disgusted her. It wasn't something he liked to think on, even now.


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Kadia awoke to the sound of women screaming and immediately she realized that her tribe was being attacked.

Littering the ground were the beheaded bodies of her people. Men, women and children that would never see another sunrise... generations of families, hopes and dreams now extinguished with the lives of the young ones, never to be reborn.

Antamke stood at the edge of the field, watching as the last of Kadia's adopted tribe was killed off. His followers thought to honor him with the deaths of their adversaries. He glanced at her and shrugged apologetically. Kadia stared at him in disbelief as tears fell from her eyes. With a loud wail, she cursed him and swore never to again acknowledge his existance.

-------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-------

"Two thousand years ago you weren't turning children into rats and dogs, Antamke. What did he do to anger you so much?" She stared hard into his eyes, completely unafraid of the younger creature.

"You're angry about Alex? Don't yell at me; Mulder's Guardians are behind this, they're punishing him for his treatment of Mulder." He cringed as she continued to glower at him.

"And Alex's Guardians aren't putting up a fight?" Kadia didn't believe they wouldn't have at least protested.

"He doesn't have a guardian, Kadia, he's just a clone."

"He's a living creature, with emotions and feelings. And as for Mulder's guardians; I'm his mother, those 'children' have no authority over mine. Change Alex back-- and from now on I'll be his guardian too," she hissed, angrily.

"Ok, ok. Whatever you say." He raised his arms in supplication. "But, we have to call Mulder's other Guardians to tell them what's going on so they don't harm Alex in his human form."

Scully scowled. "Yes, and they need chastisement."

"I can understand your protectiveness of Mulder, but why Alex?"

"Alex carries Mulder's blood inside him." She answered every question with that one statement. He summoned Mulder's guardians.


Chapter Two

Mulder paced around the room while the Alex dog sat watching him, as they waited for Scully's return.

Alex had seen Scully do some unbelievable things, this disappearing into thin air was just one of many and he took it with as much calm as Mulder. But at the moment his main concern was his memory. Did he want to forget?

Did he want to listen to Mulder's vaguely concealed teasing, or would he prefer to simply think it was just another Mulder quirk? He'd forget that Mulder cared about him, that he was a clone, he'd forget everything-- including his reason for subjecting Skinner with the nano-technology. No,
he'd put too many plans into motion because of his new knowledge. If he suddenly forgot, well, he might as well destroy himself. He'd just have to put up with Mulder's annoying reminders.

When Mulder finally sat down to read a book, Alex jumped up onto the couch, hoping he didn't get pushed back onto the floor. He didn't think he could deal with the humiliation of being reminded of his new position.

But it didn't occur to Mulder to care. Bored, Alex lay his head on Mulder's lap and closed his eyes. Mulder continued reading, petting his companion every so often.

Mulder had difficulty accepting that this animal could possibly be 'his' Alex. He was too tame, too domesticated. He would never have believed Alex knew how to be so gentle, so accepting. This couldn't possibly be Krycek.

But if this truly was Alex, then someone would be doing a lot of explaining once Kadia found them. Nobody deserved this-- and if it were some experiment gone wrong, well, he doubted Alex would willingly have submitted for another test. Not after his experience as a rat.

He wouldn't remind Alex of this, not while it was so fresh in his mind. He'd wait until they were older-- if they lived that long. When it was just another weird experience. Maybe Alex would let Scully take away his memory, but he doubted it was an option the younger man would even consider. To Alex, knowledge was better then money, the more he knew, the safer he felt. Mulder wished he could be there for him to help him through the psychological traumas that this foolishness would cause, but he doubted Alex would allow him such a liberty.

He might be good enough for safety, but it was unlikely he was good enough for comfort.

As he finished his book he began to doze off. The dog lay asleep, head resting on his lap. Mulder moved to lay down and the dog moved to let him without getting up. Then he slept at Mulder's feet, resting his head on Mulder's warm hip, waiting for Kadia's return.

Mulder awoke to discover Krycek still asleep at his feet in his human form.

Scully stood there looking down at them with a goofy smile on her face.

"Baby." He petted the sable head. "Scully's back." Quickly, he pulled his hand away when Krycek's eyes opened.

Krycek blinked and sat up encased uncomfortably at the foot of the couch. "My name is NOT Baby, it's Lexi... er.. Alex," he groused as he pulled his legs from beneath Mulders to drape them over the side of the couch. Then he leaned back and rested his head on Mulder's tummy. He raised an eyebrow in Scully's direction, as she took in his naked form lying on her couch.

Mulder had been prepared to get up, but decided to settle back wondering what Alex had planned.

Alex looked satisfied and content. He stared at Scully, waiting for her to comment.

Scully's eyes were dancing with good humor. "There will be no more shape-shifting, Krycek. Your tormenters have been severely punished for their mischief." She raised a brow playfully. "That being said; would you two prefer if I left? I could stay at Mulder's." She tried hard to keep a straight face.

"Really?" Alex asked hopefully.

Now, Scully did laugh. "Really. I'll be back around 3:00 though. We can decide what to do then." With that, she was gone.

Krycek tilted his head, gazing at the empty space curiously. He wondered if that was a learnable trick.

Seeming to read his mind, Mulder chuckled. "She says it took her over a thousand years to perfect that trick and that was when the Sidhe first walked on the Earth."

"Too weird." Alex slithered up Mulder's body until he could kiss him.

Mulder smiled against his mouth and returned the kiss. "What brought this on?" he asked as Alex pulled away to help him undress.

"I've thought about this since I saw you together with Cory," Alex replied cheerfully, letting Mulder pull him back for another kiss.



end