Disclaimer: The characters of Skinner, Krycek, and the X-Files belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and the Fox Network. No copyright Infringement is intended no money is being made.

Notes: I have decided to stop striving for perfection (which I never even get close too, anyway) and just finish the damn story.  I haven't posted this chapter on any list - just here.  Much love to the people who continue to write and ask for the next chapter. 

I pay homage to one of Peach's complaints regarding Mulder.

Also - one of my beta's felt that Scully wouldn't be so oblivious during one scene in this chapter. I contend that Scully has no gaydar. If she did, she would have figured out Mulder years ago.  Keep in mind that unlike those of us who read and write slash, not all women see two men next to each other and assume they are fucking like bunnies J  String Figures for Two is a book I came across once, but can no longer find.

Finally - A big thank you to the wonderful men and women on the Skinner/Krycek list who always answer my obscure requests for information, and who have created an atmosphere of support, inspiration, and fun.

Chapter 8

"Hey! How ya doing down there?"  

Alex looked up to see two heads peering over the escarpment. Little A danced around his feet, barking up at Dana and Walter.  

"I'm good. Let's see if this thing works." Alex replied.  

"Okay, here comes the battery." Walter called. A rope was thrown over the cliff face and Alex caught it. He braced himself carefully, wrapping the rope around waist like a noose, holding it at two points with his single hand. He decided against wearing his prosthetic today; his body had not become accustomed to its weight.  

He silently thanked Walter for fixing the prosthesis, and for other things.  He smiled, thinking about the other man and their evolving relationship.  Walter had finally finished the battery housing for the hydrogenerator the day before.  Last night the three of them developed a strategy for how it would all come together.  It truly was a group project, and although Alex went to bed alone, he basked in the feeling of being part of Walter's team.   Both Dana and Walter had valued his input.  Today, he was making it his personal mission to ensure that everything went as planned; he would justify their faith him. 

It was Walter's idea to use a pulley system to lower the individual components of the generator over the cliff.  The waterfall they would use to power the generator was close to twenty feet high. The only way to the base of the falls, save for a direct tumble over the cliff edge, was a twisted switchback trail close to a eighth of a mile long. It was too narrow to lead a horse pulling a travois loaded with a large battery, generator, and housing unit. So the three of them crafted a simple block and tackle system, based on Walter's design, to lower the parts down the cliff.  

Scully minded the horse, holding its harness and following Skinner's instructions to pull ahead, back up or stop. Walter guided the heavy items over rim and down the cliff face, the weight of their mass quartered by the pulley they had rigged.  

Alex stood at the base of the falls. His job was to help direct the items safely to the ground using a guide rope attached to each part.  

 A shower of rocks fell, warning Alex that Walter was lowering the battery. When the battery appeared, Alex pulled, gently bumping it along the shear granite face as it was carefully lowered to the ground.  

Walter peered over the edge to cheer the safe arrival of the battery and Alex breathed a sigh of relief.  It lay, with the rope still around it, at the rocky edge of the pool. It was too heavy for Alex to move away from the pool's edge, so he worked around it as he helped guide the hydrogenerator to the ground. This time, Alex was able to guide it further from the edge of the pond. Alex grinned up at Walter and flashed him a thumb's up, thrilled that their set-up was working so beautifully.  

Once all the pieces were safely on terra firma, Dana and Walter would take the trail down to join Alex, where they would begin to assemble to parts of the hydrogenerator.  

"Last one." Walter called down to him.  

Alex nodded up to him and grabbed the rope Walter threw down. Once again he braced himself, working carefully around the battery at his feet. Using his body and his arm, he carefully guided the battery housing down the cliff face.  

The housing was just a few feet from the ground when it happened.  

Little A had been unusually quiet for several minutes. He was, in fact, lying in wait for something he could sense in the underbrush. Suddenly, a ground squirrel ran out from the foliage and raced past the little dog, which proceeded to bark madly. He was so thrilled at his hunting abilities that he had to share his joy with Alex. He ran to the man, jumping wildly around his feet and barking excitedly to get his attention.  

The movement and the noise startled Alex out of his concentration. He stumbled, stepping up on the battery before jumping back. He jumped back again to avoid stepping on Little A, who was whirling around his feet. He landed on the battery again and let go of the guide rope as he tried to find his balance. In the process, one foot became tangled in the battery's ropes.  

Walter, who heard Little A's barking and felt the sudden jerk of the battery housing as Alex released its guide rope, moved to the edge of the cliff and peered over.  

In his life, Walter had suffered his share of heart-stopping moments: Awakening in a dark enclosed space to realize he was alive and breathing and in a body bag meant for a corpse; the sight of Mulder's dead body on the floor of his apartment; learning that Dana had inoperable cancer.  

None of those experiences prepared him for what he saw as he gazed down on Alex. There was nothing he could do but watch in horror as the heavy battery tilted alarmingly, then slide into the pond. It sank rapidly, and with a yank, Alex was pulled into the water with it, his foot tangled in the battery rope.  

Walter's cry alerted Dana.  She turned in time to see Walter crashing through the underbrush to the trail. Dropping the reigns, she ran to cliff just as the battery housing fell the last few feet to the ground. She looked down, unable to grasp why she couldn't see Alex. Where had he gone? Little A stood at the edge of the pond, looking down in the water, whimpering. Then she noticed a movement in the water beyond the reach of the waterfall's turbulence and realized that Alex had gone in. "Oh God, oh God, of God," she cried.  She moved quickly, her girth barely slowing her progress as she followed Walter.

She refused to think about what was happening with Alex. There was nothing she could do until she got there. She focused on getting to the base of the falls as quickly as possible.  Her breath came in panicky little gasps and she didn't realize that tears were streaming down her face or that she prayed over and over for the safety of Alex Krycek as she ran.  

She arrived in time to see Walter shuck his jacket and pull a knife from his boot before diving into the icy water. Confused, she peered into the water and could see Alex's lone hand, reaching upward, just beneath the water surface. Looking deeper, she saw his face, his eyes panicked as they focused on her, his mouth moving.  She fell to her knees, and stretched out her hand to him, calling "Hold on, hold on, Alex."  As she watched, his frantic movements stilled, his jaw fell slack and his eyes stared upward, but they were unfocused.  She cried out, panicked and disbelieving.  Alex was dying before her eyes.   

Then, suddenly, he was floating up and Dana reached for his hand, crying as she felt how icy it was. She pulled at him, dragging him to the edge of the pool. Walter surfaced, gasping for air. He threw his knife on the ground, then got behind Alex's limp form and lifted as Dana pulled. Together they wrangled him to dry land.  

Panic was sublimated as Dana moved into doctor mode, assessing Alex's status and checking his airway. She found a pulse, but it was weak and thready. She began rescue breathing, turning her head after each respiration to see if his chest moved.  

Once, twice, three times she breathed for Alex, when suddenly, he began to cough. Walter helped her turn him while expelled water from his airway and breathed oxygen into his starved blood stream. Alex pushed at them with his hand, signaling he needed room. They pulled back and watched him anxiously as a small amount of color returned to his face. He was still bluish and his teeth were chattering as his gaze focused on the anxious faces above him and he rasped out, "Fuck I'm cold."  

Dana sat back on her heals, trembling. Walter sagged with relief and Little A climbed on his chest and licked his face.  

***************

The trip back to the cabin was a nightmare they never wanted to repeat.  Walter, who thought to help Alex walk to the horse, ended up carrying him most of the way.  The sudden wrenching of the rope around his ankle had sprained it, leaving is swollen, tender and unable to bear weight.

Dana went ahead to unhook the travois and bring the horse and meet Walter and Alex part way down the switchback.  Walter hoisted Alex onto the horse's back, careful not to jar his ankle and cause further discomfort.

Walter led the horse while Dana rushed ahead.  At the cabin, she stoked the fire till it blazed with heat.  Next she heated water for tea, knowing both Alex and Walter would need to be warmed from the inside too.  She changed into dry clothing, then went out onto the porch to await their arrival.

 

**************************

They got Alex into the tub, slowly adding more warm water as his cold limbs grew used to the warmth. He shook violently and cried out in pain as the warm water warmed icy skin. Skinner knelt on the floor next to the tub, feeling helpless. He knew how awful that soul-numbing cold felt, how it sucked one's energy and life force. How easy it was to succumb to drifting away. He talked to Alex, forcing him to answer and stay awake.

Dana brought tea and fed Alex a painkiller when he complained about his ankle.  Walter marveled at her aplomb.  Alex's nudity didn't seem to faze her while she nagged Walter into changing into something dry - there was nothing he could do until it was time to get Alex out of the tub.

Walter returned, dressed in sweats and warm socks. He helped Alex stand and they dried him, then wrapped him in a blanket and moved him the living room and sat him on the day bed.  Walter was urging him to lie back when Dana stopped him. 

"You need to lie down too.  Come on.  First you, then Alex. The two of you can warm each other up."

Walter stared at her alarmed, but Dana was in command mode and had no time for his sheepishness.  He shrugged helplessly at Alex, then lay down on his side, his back to the rear of the day bed.  He opened his arms and Dana helped the befuddled Alex lay down, fusing over his ankle.  She positioned it carefully, propping a pillow under it, wincing at the rope burns and bruising. She covered them with a down comforter, tucking it carefully around them.

"I'm going to heat some soup.  Do you think you two can manage to get along for a few minutes?"

Walter swallowed and nodded, his eyes wide with alarm as he stared up at Dana.  She nodded at him and left. 

When she was gone, Alex turned to Walter. "Did she just bully us into bed together?"  He voiced was slurred.

Walter looked at the face inches from his own.  His hair had dried in little spikes, and his green eyes seemed huge. His pupils were dilated.

He didn't answer, but reached out a hand and stroked it down Alex's cheek.  "Are you alright? You scared the hell out of us." 

Alex grinned.  "Are you kidding? I think I'm stoned. I'm not used to this hard stuff.  I don't even take aspirin."  He words were slurred, and he laughed slowly. "Was Scully worried about us fighting?" 

"I don't know, Alex…" He broke off mid-sentence.  Alex's hand found his cock. Walter grabbed his arm and hissed. "What the hell are you doing?  Behave yourself."

"But Walter, it's not good for Scully to worry. You know that.  She should know that we don't beat each other up anymore."   He twisted his wrist and slipped out of Walter's grip, finding his cock again. "We just beat each other off."

"Damn it, Alex." He grabbed Alex's hand and pulled it from under the covers and laid it on his chest, holding it there firmly.   "Shhhh…here she comes."

Alex turned his head.  "Hey Sculls.  What ya got cooking?"

Dana smiled down at him knowingly. "Pain killer kick in?"

It was Walter who answered. "I'll say." 

"What's wrong, Walter." You look uncomfortable." She looked at Walter intently, the looked pointedly at Alex, then at the two of them and raised a brow at him.  "Are you having a problem with this?" 

Walter clearly understood what she was referring to and cringed at the disapproval evident in her voice.

"No, of course not! You know that. I'm past all that.  It's just that, he just…" He struggled for the right words. "He's not behaving himself." 

Dana pulled a face at him, laughing.  "What's the matter?  Big strong AD like you can handle one incapacitated former agent?"

"You have no idea." 

She rolled her eyes, grinned, then turned to Alex.

"Alex, how are you feeling?"  She laid her hand across his forehand and he arched into it, smiling adorably, but without answering. "Listen, while we're waiting for the soup to heat, I brought you a surprise."  She lifted a small dish for him to see.  "Yogurt! I finally got the recipe to work."

Alex looked at her aghast, his face twisted. Then he began making juvenile gagging sound until he saw the look on Dana's face.  He looked slightly abashed, then lifted up on his elbow, as though to whisper to her conspiratorially.  She obligingly leaned down, so their faces were inches apart.  Walter watched on, wondering what Krycek was up to now. "Scully, if I'm going to swallow a loogie, it will be one of my own making."  Then he fell back, as though the effort had exhausted him, looked up at her with an angelic smile and remarked. "But thanks anyways."

Affronted, Dana looked from Alex to Walter. 

For his part, Walter was struggling.  His jaw was clinched, his lips pressed firmly together as he stared off into the distance.  He dug his nails into his palms, and tried to think of something else.  But a snort escaped before he could fully stifle it.  He sucked in his lower lip, biting on it.  Finally, he stole a peak as Dana, and her face was a study.

"Well, don't kill yourself for my benefit. Go ahead and get it out before you choke yourself."

With that bit of permission, he turned and buried his face in Alex's neck, and let lose his mirth. 

Alex, who adored the feeling of Walter's hot breath chuffing against his neck, nudged him with his chin. "Go ahead, Skinner. Tell her."

He lifted his head to look at Alex questioningly. "Tell her what, Alex?"

"Real men don't eat yogurt."

At that, Walter let forth a whoop of laughter. 

Dana didn't know how to react. She was delighted with Walter's laughter. In all the years she'd known him she never seen him cut loose like this.  She was grateful that he and Alex finally seemed to be getting along.  She wanted to be offended by their disrespectful behavior, but couldn't hold onto her wrath in the face of such unexpected but longed for conviviality.  

Alex felt a need to reassure her. "Don't worry Dana.  He gets like this sometimes."

"Really?"  Her look was ironic.

"Oh yeah.  He acts all tough, but inside, he's just a big pussy cat. Oh, and Scully?"

"Yes?"

"I love custard."

"You'll eat custard but not yogurt?"

"You got that right, Scully-girl."

"But custard is the basically the same thing with more fat and sugar."

"Exactly.  Two of the four basic food groups."

She closed her eyes and counted to ten, then left the room.

*********************************

After lunch, while Scully was washing up in the kitchen, Alex snuggled up against Walter and said, "This is the way it always should be."

"What?"

"You and me. Not having to hide from Scully."

"What?" 

‘We should tell her."

"Tell her what?"

"That we're fucking, of course.  Sleeping together.  Dancing the horizontal tango. Skinning.  Whatever will get the point across without offending her delicate sensibilities."

"You're serious."  Alex nodded.  "But why?  Why tell her?"

"Cause I don't like lying. And I don't like sneaking around."

"But Alex, you did that for years. It's what you do."

With that, Alex looked directly at him, more alert than he'd been in hours. "Not anymore.  I'm tired. Tired of it all."

And he turned his head and closed his eyes.

That stopped Walter short.  It never occurred to him that Alex hated being a spy.  He knew now that Alex had been coerced into that life, but assumed it took to it like a duck to water.  The idea that he loathed a skill he was so good at, practicing deception, showed him another side to Alex.  He needed time to sort this out. 

He finally escaped after lunch by explaining to Dana that he needed to make a splint for Alex's ankle.  She fussed over him, but finally decided he was fully recovered from his polar plunge and let him go.

He was thankful for the time alone. He needed to process the day's events and the day's revelations. He was stunned at the level of panic he felt as seeing Alex pulled under the surface of the icy pond.  Two years ago – hell, two months ago, he would have said good riddance and been as happy as not that the triple agent had met his end.

He knew his attitude towards Alex had changed.  He would never sleep with someone he didn't care something about. But the depth of that caring shocked him.  And left him feeling confused and wondering what the other man felt for him in return.  Holding him and warming him was wonderful, but what he wanted to do was crush the other man to him and never let him go.

**********************

For Alex's badly sprained ankle, Scully prescribed bed rest. To prevent pneumonia she gave him lots of fluids and compelled him perform deep breathing and coughing several times a day. She was haunted by almost losing Walter to pneumonia, shuddered when she remembered his blue lips, how he struggled for air, how he seeming to be drowning in his own fluids. Worse, was the vision of Alex's hand reaching for her, flailing, then falling still.  

He spent the first night on the day bed, Skinner slept on the couch to be nearby in case he needed anything.  He was tempted to crawl under the blankets with Alex, but feared bumping his ankle and making it worse, so he settled for being nearby.

After that first night, Alex refused any more painkillers.  He didn't like to lose control.

For Alex the enforced inactivity was frustrating.  Scully was adamant about his care plan, but otherwise catered to him.  She brought Alex the book on Russian icons he'd been reading, and asked him to show her his favorites. He pointed out one of the Madonna with the Christ child.

"Its looks just like one my Grandmother had." He said. He paused, then glanced up at her bashfully. "You know those stones I've been collecting?"

"Yes?" Scully leaned forward, curious in spite of herself.

"I'm going to copy this image, in mosaic." His voice was barely a whisper.  "Every Russian home needs an icon."

Walter came over and sat on the edge of the bed.  He leaned over Alex, and took the book from him to study it more closely. "I can make you a frame for that," he offered.

Alex looked up at him in surprise. "Really? You'd do that?"

"Sure. It wouldn't be that hard. We can make it a shadow box like this one."

And that was how Alex's project became a group affair. 

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about backings and adhesive and finishes and wood.  

That evening Dana brought him his jar of stones and the muffin tins, and he began to sort his rocks by color. Skinner found a thin piece of plywood Alex could use to copy the image onto. Alex spent the next day sitting up in the daybed, propped against pillows, sorting stones, and studying the images. He began to make notes on where to use various shapes and sizes and colors. 

Scully and Skinner were surprised to learn that Alex had the eye of an artist; he had a highly evolved ability to quickly distinguish shades and size.  

When he grew tired of stone sorting, Scully found other things to beguile him. Including, finally, a book on string games. Skinner had never experienced such things growing up, but Dana and her sister had spent hours playing cat's cradle. And Alex knew dozens of exotic games Scully had never seen before. The book opened her to a skill level that she and Melissa never knew existed.  

Alex, of course, could not play alone.  So Walter sat next time him, and the two of them acted as one; Skinner used his left hand, Alex his right. Scully sat across from them as they laughed, becoming more tangled in the string. Starting again and again when Skinner's perfectionism forced him to get it right.  Their natural competitiveness not allowing them quit until they had mastered ‘fence around well' and ‘seven stars'.  

Scully said she needed a break, and grinning left for the kitchen. She came back with two small dishes. Alex wrinkled his brow.  "Not more yogurt?"

"Nope.  Crème brule."

Alex's eyes grew large.  "Please tell me you're not teasing me.  How on earth did you make it?"

"We have all the ingredients. Cream, sugar, eggs.  Then Walter brought in a small hand torch to burn the brule."

Alex reached for it eagerly, broke through the sugary crust and lifted the spoon to his mouth. His eyes closed and hummed with delight.  The other two watched with interest as Alex turned the act of eating into something more. His sighs, the way his tipped his head to let the creamy mixture slide slowly down his throat.  The way he made love to the spoon, licking the last bit from the entire surface.  He looked down into the bowl as though he was going to give it the same treatment.  Scully had had enough.

"Don't lick that bowl.  I'll get you another one." She took the spoon and bowl from him before he could blink.

He turned to look at Walter, who was sitting next to him, his spoon frozen in mid air.  He had become so caught up in watching Alex that he forgot to eat. 

Alex took in his dilated pupils and realized the man was turned on. He took advantage of the fact and darted forward, stealing the spoonful of Walter's custard for himself.

"You little brat!"

"You snooze, you lose."

Dana had returned with another dish of crème brule for Alex, and a serving of the much maligned yogurt for herself.

Alex dug in, his pace slower now that his initial craving had been satisfied. "Scully?"

"Yes, Alex?"

"When I grow up, will you marry me?" 

Dana forced a laugh and felt herself flush. She looked quickly towards Walter to determine his reaction, but he was watching Alex.  So she answered in kind, flip and lighthearted. "Not as long as you keep calling me Scully I won't."

************************

Alex began the process of copying the Madonna image to the backing Walter cut for him. He then chose colors and wrote them in the outline. He developed a list of colors that he was short on.  Skinner and Scully volunteered to go search for more. And came back with more unsuitable stones than not, but the sorting gave Alex something to keep busy with as his ankle recovered.  

One afternoon, after bringing Alex something to drink, Dana yawned hugely. Alex said. "You're exhausted.  Come nap with me."

"I don't think so, Alex." 

"Why, it wouldn't be any different than Walt and I that first afternoon.  And he knows you need your rest."

"I'll rest on the couch."

"I miss holding you."

She paused, her expression softening.  "I miss it too."

"If we told Walter, we could do it more often."

"Alex…"

"Come on, lay down here next to me."  Alex, canny agent that he was, knew just what to say to get Scully to commit to the lesser of two evils. 

"Come on, let me spoon you."

"Spoon me? I don't think so, I saw what you did to that spoon the other night."

Alex chuckled. 

Walter found them like that a few hours later, both sound asleep.  Alex woke first, blinking up at Walter.  Time froze while he waited for the other man's reaction.  But he simply smiled, stroked a hand down Scully's cheek and commented that she needed her rest. "You too, Alex."

Alex almost felt disappointed that Walter didn't challenge them; that he wasn't shocked or outraged or furious. The burden of carrying these secrets was beginning to weigh on him.  He wanted it out in the open. 

***********************

Under Scully's direction, Skinner crafted a cane, that along with his splint would allow Krycek to move about the cabin with slow, halting steps.

As Alex's ankle healed, Scully gave him leave to venture further a field. Finally, he was back doing chores, caring for his animals.

One evening, Skinner walked with him to the barn. They worked for a long time in companionable silence, till Skinner come out of his workshop and stared at Alex intently. Feeling his gaze, Alex looked up. Skinner looked him up and down, finally searching his face for some clue as to his thoughts. What he saw must have satisfied him. He held out his hand to the other man, and Alex limped slowly towards him. Together they walked into the back room, to the bed of hay that Skinner had built. Alex lay back carefully, getting his ankle positioned comfortably, before holding his hand out to Walter who gathered him in his arms, and kissed him senseless. "I've missed this," he growled.

"Me too"  

"I don't want you to re-injure your ankle. But I've got an idea." 

"What?" Alex breathed.

"You lay back and let me do the work." He carefully stripped Krycek, kissing and licking and stroking skin as it was revealed. He shucked his own clothes, then lay next to Alex, stroking his chest, playing with his nipples. He took the younger man's cock in his hand, shaping his with his fist, stroking him. Finally, he dipped his head, and took Alex's cock in his mouth, tasting the precome, licking him, tracing the large vein from base to tip, circling the head, delighting in Alex's writhing, his whimpers. "Oh god...let me come, let me come."

"Not like this." Skinner said. Alex looked up at him through passion-clouded eyes, confused. Skinner grabbed lube from under the pillow, opened the tube, and spread some on his fingers. Holding Alex's gaze, he reached behind himself and stroked his own opening, spreading the lubricant around his hole before pushing one finger inside himself. He watched as Alex's eyes widened as he realized what Skinner was doing, saw the flush wash over his face, watched him swallow and heard his breath come in short pants. He pushed another finger in himself and moaned. He put more lube on his fingers and pushed it up into his ass. Then he coated Alex's cock. He kneeled up over Alex, and straddled his hips. "Hold your cock for me." Krycek swallowed and nodded, fisting himself while Walter carefully lowered himself. He paused when they bodies touched.  Alex bit his lip, his brow wrinkled as he concentrated, and Walter knew he was trying not to thrust, letting Walter set the pace, the depth of penetration. Once the crown breached his opening, he groaned, holding completely still, breathing deeply as his willed his muscles to relax. He felt his sphincter warm and open around Alex cock, then, with a deep breath, and slid down until he could feels Alex's pubic hair tickle the cheeks of his ass.

"Jesus." 

"Yeah Alex?" He smirked. 

"It's so good, so damn good. I want to move in you. Let me know when I can move."  

Skinner leaned down and kissed the other man thoroughly. "Now Alex, move now. Fuck me." 

He groaned, rolling his hips; feeling Skinner ride him in a counter rhythm that had his balls drawing up and his spine tingling too soon. He wanted it to last, wanted to memorize the sight of Walter astride him, his flushed cheeks and swollen lips; his heavy lidded stare. "Walter, Walter, ride me. I love the way you look, so fucking sexy. Your ass is so tight around my cock, so hot."

Walter grinned; who knew a little tail could turn Alex into a song bird.  He panted, canting his hips so Krycek's cock head rubbed his prostate. He groaned, finding the rhythm and the angle that took him higher and higher until he reached for his cock, expertly jacking himself to orgasm, his ass muscles tightening on Alex's cock, sending him too over the edge. Skinner groaned as he felt Alex's hot come splash inside him, realized he'd forgotten a condom, refused to worry about it, instead, he exulted in the feeling flesh against flesh.  

He came down to earth slowly and cautiously pulled himself off Alex's cock, wincing a little. He lay down next to Alex, careful of his ankle.  

He looked at Alex and smiled.  The other man looked thoroughly debauched. Swollen lips and disheveled, trying to catch his breath, as he lay exhausted and satiated.   

Alex snuggled sleepily into Walter's side. Pressing a kiss to his neck before dozing off. Walter pulled a blanket over them.  

************************

Since the accident at the pool, Alex had been sleeping on the daybed, next to the warmth of the fire. But Dana and Walter had other ideas.  As they finished the meal, Scully opened the discussion.  "Alex.  Until we get the electricity hooked up, we need to close off some of the rooms, especially at night.  To conserve our wood supply."

He considered what she was saying. "I can move back into my room tonight. It's smaller.  Less to heat."

"No, we'll close up your room too.  You'll move in with us."  She said it firmly, leaving little room for argument.

Alex looked at her a long moment, then offered; "I guess we can move the daybed into the big bedroom."

"No, we won't be moving the daybed."

Alex was confused.  "Okay, I can fix a bed on the floor".

"Alex."  It the sound of Walter's baritone he turned and found himself drowning in velvet brown eyes.  "You'll be sharing the bed with us."

*********** 
There were no arguments Alex could think of to derail this plan.  Nothing would delight him more than falling asleep next to his lovers. But trying to pretend that they were nothing more than cabin mates was making him wonder how long he could hold these secrets. He dreaded nightfall. 

"Why do I have to sleep in the middle?" 

"Cause Dana and I already have our sides staked out."  

Worse and worse. Krycek wondered if the coming night could be worse that his months in the Tunisia prison, caught between his two lovers, unable to freely touch either.  

Sleep was a long time coming.  

He awoke before dawn, warm and comfortable. On one side, a small body curled up next to him; a small hand lay on his chest. On the other side, a large hand lay possessively on his belly, just above his twitching cock. He turned his head sleepily, Skinner was face down, arm flung out towards him. With his gaze, he traced the arm up towards the shoulder, to find Skinner awake, his eyes open and watching him. Alex blinked at him, then smiled. Walter smiled lazily back at him, then slid his hand lower, pushing under the waistband of Alex's sweats, finding Alex's somnolent cock, took it in his hand felt it grow hard. Alex caught his breath, staring at his lover. A small sigh escaped Dana and they both froze. Walter's hand stilled, he pulled away, put his finger to his lip to signal quiet, then carefully moved out of bed, motioned for Alex to follow him. Alex slowly and carefully pulled away from Scully, making sure she had settled back into sleep before moving stealthily from the room.

Walter was stirring the embers, adding logs to the fire. Without speaking, he pulled Alex close, nipping and kissing his rough jaw and piquant nose.  The he slid to his knees and loved him with his mouth.  Alex rested a moment, the kissed Walter deeply, savoring his own strong flavor, seducing and beguiling.  With his single hand, he slowed jacked the older man to a long shuddering orgasm, swallowing his cries with a kiss.  

***************** 

Alex Krycek had grown up in relative affluence.  The son of scientists, the grandson of a man with connections to the Polit Bureau, he lived a classic Soviet childhood.  A life based on reason, without the narcosis of religion. 

But like many Russian households, Alex's included a babushka.  Alex couldn't even remember her real name, only that she came to live with the Krycek's when Alex's father was a boy.  Baba was one of the old-fashioned Russians, from peasant stock.  She was superstitious.  She believed in signs and wonders, the magic of ritual, and the omnificence of nature. She never let Alex or Demetri whistle in the house, because such a transgression would leave the family in poverty.  When Demetri was born, she kept him hidden for the prescribed 40 days before taking him out into the world.  And if some ignorant stranger remarked on the child's beauty, she would spit over her shoulder, three times, to ward off evil.

Alex, worldly and confident, did not believe in such things. A smart person made their own luck.  As long as things were going his way, he believed in the power of Alex Krycek. 

But when he became uncertain, when events seemed out of his control, he found himself reverting to the old ways. Before the invasion, this would have included reading his horoscope or paying a gypsy cast the runes.

Now, he relied on the teachings of his Baba, watching for omens as he went about his day.

Two mornings in a row, a large black raven sat on low branch of a hemlock tree.  It stared at him with malevolent eyes as he made his way to the barn, it's raucous call and jaded shrieks following him. When it was there the third morning, he was sure it was a sign. 

He knew that sooner or later, the house of cards he lived in would fall to pieces.  It could not go on, sleeping with two lovers under one roof, each unaware of the other.  He grew nervous and short tempered.  He knew sooner or later he would be found out and then he would be banished from paradise - or at least the closest thing to paradise he had ever known.

Like most illicit lovers who can't find it within themselves to end and affair, but whose guilt makes it impossible for them to continue, he began to sabotage himself.  Pushing the time he spent with Walter in the barn, making love with a desperation that both startled and intoxicated Skinner, he found ways to keep them in their secret bed, hoping Scully would come looking for them, though she seldom ventured into the barn. 

And in the afternoon, he kept away from Scully until he knew Walter would be heading back to the house.  Then he pull her close, nibbling on the spot on her neck that made her crazy and unable to say no, he'd coax her into making love.

 It was a crazy situation, like swimming in the Caribbean.  He couldn't drown himself if he tried.  The buoyant water was suicide proof.  So he watched from more signs.  Maybe he'd misread what he seen. Maybe what he thought of as signs were just coincidences.  Maybe it was time to let fate take care of itself.  A hundred thousand threads bound them together.  Surely nothing existed on heaven or earth that had the power to cleave them outright.  Their past was their fetter.  And as long as one thread remained, there was hope.

So he relaxed and refused to worry about tomorrow.  He cared for his stock and worked on his icon and made love with Walter on their secret bed and with Dana in the house.  At night, he slept between them on the great bed and let his dreams wander at will.   

End Chapter 8