Disclaimer: The characters from the show aren’t mine, they belong to others. No copyright infringement intended. Again, if someone’s used the name(s) or storyline(s) elsewhere, the same applies. Any characters you don’t recognise are mine. Feedback would be nice, positive feedback would be nicer. Enjoy!

Category: X-Files Alex h/c domestic discipline fic

Rating: NC-17 for topic

Characters: M/Sk/K

Series: Yes Part One – companion/sequel to Trouble on two levels (also known as Bad on two levels, depending on the site I posted it to – oops!)

Spoilers: None intended

Summary: Alex’s confession isn’t as shocking to Walter as Alex had hoped. In fact, his fear may be all in his mind.

Archive: Just tell me where it’s going

Additional ‘stuff’: Domestic discipline. References to past physical abuse. If that squicks you, don’t read please. The internet link I made up. Medical accuracy may be lacking. Thanks Amazon X.

Title: Remote Viewing

Walter sighed angrily as he read the screen. Alex’s internet surfing was, as usual, confined mainly to a few sites which Walter didn’t have to visit to guess the content. The addresses were a giveaway. He ran his finger down the list, stopping at one at random – undetectablepoisons.net. There was a generous sprinkling of what Walter guessed were ‘adult’ sites, and he didn’t bother checking if his hunch was correct.

The software which recorded the sites visited in the previous seven days had been installed after Walter had used the internet one morning, stopping for lunch, and come back to the screen to find the ‘history’ tab showed no sites had been visited that day. When he had asked Alex about it, the younger man had denied he had done it deliberately, claiming it was a habit, borne out of a need for safety and secrecy. Walter checked the following few days and wondered what Alex might have to hide. An experimental programme, a gift from Langly, now recorded every site any of them visited, and the information was accessible only with three separate passwords.

Both Fox and Alex understood they were free to use the internet whenever they needed it, but Walter tried on several occasions to deter them from aimlessly interrogating search engines looking for potentially interesting sites. And from visiting blatantly pornographic sites just because they were bored with whatever they were supposed to be researching.

He patiently explained that looking at the screen for hours at a time was not healthy, and probably explained Alex’s frequently stiff neck and Fox’s complaints that his back ached. He knew from the connection log that both Alex and Fox didn’t disconnect for his required breaks – ten minutes every hour - unless they had been very recently reminded of the need to do so. Early on, he had given up trying to encourage them to stop more regularly, and they agreed on a compromise, but he knew they almost always ignored the agreement they had grudgingly come to some months earlier.

Recalling the conversation he had overheard when Alex and Fox spent the previous night in the bunk bed, Walter wondered how long it would be before Alex broached the subject. He understood Alex’s background made confessing to anything, particularly with the understanding that he would be punished for his eventual honesty, difficult for his youngest lover, but he also hoped Alex would approach him rather than the other way round. He would not punish Alex unless he agreed he deserved it, and, in the light of the previous nights’ spanking with Fox and Alex both perched on their bunkbeds, any punishment would be relatively light.

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

Disturbed from his thoughts by the sound of the door opening, Walter tried to look surprised at Alex’s interruption. ‘Alex?’

‘Um…d’you…have a minute.’

‘Of course Alex. What is it?’

Alex swallowed hard, staring at the wooden floor. His voice was barely a whisper. ‘I’m sorry.’

Walter began to panic. Alex never, ever apologised in advance without explaining unless what he had done was really awful. Fighting hard to keep his voice even, Walter asked: ‘What are you sorry for Alex?’

Alex’s eyes were bright with tears and his voice shook. His chest heaving, he forced out: ‘I did stuff on the internet I shouldn’t have.’

Walter nodded, his stress levels dropping immediately. ‘I know Alex.’

Alex nodded, his hands going to the top button of his jeans. Walter stood up. ‘Alex, come here.’

Alex’s face was suddenly devoid of any expression, matching his voice. He didn’t move. ‘It’s okay. I know I was bad.’

Walter frowned, closing the short distance between them. Sharply, he instructed: ‘Alex, stay with me. Concentrate.’

His face almost ghostly pale, Alex looked up, focussing with difficulty on Walter’s face. Breathlessly, he rasped: ‘I’m sorry.’

Walter sighed. ‘Alex, I’m not going to punish you until you’re back with me. Sit down.’ Walter steered Alex, still obviously confused, into the leather chair behind his desk. He unscrewed the top of the water bottle which sat on the desk and handed it to Alex. ‘Drink Alex, that’s it.’ Alex took a huge mouthful of the icy cold water, shivering as the fluid entered his body. Almost as much as he drank spilled down his front and dripped onto the floor.

Trying to balance not wanting to shout with not knowing if Fox would hear him if he didn’t, Walter called out: ‘Fox, get in here.’

The door opened a second time and Fox took in the scene – Alex pale and shaking, Walter kneeling at his side, hands holding Alex’s trembling shoulders – and opened the wall safe. He took out a bottle of pills, tipped one into his palm and put the bottle back, closing the safe when he was done.

‘Alex, I want you to take this. You’ll feel better.’ Walter said, hoping his tone was reassuring but firm.

Alex seemed to rouse a little at the sight of the pill in Walter’s hand, and he shook his head slowly. ‘No…please…’

‘Yes Alex. It’s going to help you. Come on.’ Walter coaxed, lifting his hand to Alex’s mouth.

Reluctantly, but lacking the strength to resist in any meaningful way, Alex swallowed the pill with a mouthful of water from the bottle Walter held to his lips. He didn’t register that Fox had left the room. Gradually, the painful muscle cramps eased and his breathing slowed as the Valium took effect. ‘Walter…’

Walter stroked Alex’s cheek gently. ‘I’m here Alex. It’s okay. You’re going to be fine. Shh. There…’ Scooping Alex up, Walter carried him carefully into the living room, laying him on the couch which Fox had already covered with a soft blanket. He arranged the two pillows under his head so Alex was laying comfortably, finally covering him with a second blanket. ‘Rest now Alex. We’re right here.’

In a well-practised routine, Fox had made the couch into a temporary bed and laid out the chess set. They would play for the hour or so Alex would doze, both of them close enough that if he woke suddenly he would see and hear them, and they could bring him whatever he asked for.

//’Alex, what are you doing?’

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

Alex woke, his recollection of the past minutes or hours almost non-existent. He shifted slightly and realised both Fox and Walter were sitting only feet away, their attention drawn from their chess game as they heard him moving. Immediately, Walter got up and Fox went into the kitchen.

‘Hey.’ Walter said gently, stroking Alex’s warm cheek.

‘It happened again, didn’t it.’ Alex said, his question almost a statement.

‘Yes Alex. It did. But you’re okay now.’

Alex punched the couch in frustrated anger. ‘It’s been a year. Longer. Why?’

Walter sighed. ‘I don’t know Alex. Maybe the circumstances of our conversation brought back a memory…’

He stopped talking as Alex’s face, flushed from the warmth of the heavy blanket, paled suddenly and his eyes, bright with angry tears, dulled in the same second. ‘Alex, what is it?’

His voice almost a whisper, Alex said: ‘I remember. I tried to hack into Spender’s laptop. There were too many passwords and he came back…’

Alex stopped, his tense facial muscles and gasping breaths telling Walter that the tale Alex was recounting would not have a pleasant ending.

‘He gave me to Cardinale for the night.’ Alex said, shuddering at the awful memory of that night. ‘In the morning, Spender came for me. I hurt so much…’

Walter knelt down and took Alex in his arms, enfolding him protectively tightly. His hand stroked from the top of Alex’s head and continued down his back. ‘Shh. That’s in the past. You’re safe now.’ He turned as he realised Fox was standing behind him, holding a bottle of water. ‘Thank you Fox. Alex, try and drink some water. You must be thirsty.’

Alex nodded and drank a little water, the color returning to his face as his eyes brightened again.

Walter smiled, part-relief, part self-reassurance. Alex’s episodes were rare, but the previous time he had spent the best part of a day in an almost catatonic state, and, concerned that Alex wasn’t recovering, Walter had called their family doctor. The pills he prescribed remained locked in the wall safe since the last time they were needed. Which had been, as Alex had said, over a year. ‘Okay, I think you should get some fresh air. We’ll sit on the patio for a while.’ He reached out his hand and Alex gripped it gratefully as he lifted himself upright, his legs still shaky.

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

Although Walter usually treated them firmly but fairly, when the need arose, he was quite capable of fussing around his lovers like they were made of delicate porcelain. So when Alex frowned sulkily at the idea of sitting *next* to Walter, he was allowed, on the firmly stated understanding, which he and Fox knew to ignore, that sitting *on* Walter was only being allowed as he was still obviously upset, to settle onto Walter’s lap.

Alex climbed onto Walter’s broad thighs, settling with his head on Walter’s chest and his arms around it.

Fox snuggled up to Walter and was rewarded with an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close enough to Alex that he could feel the heat still radiating off the slender form. He frowned and pulled from Walter’s grip. Walter paid a little more attention to him than Alex, who was dozing, and he looked round as Fox returned with a folded washcloth and a thermometer.

‘Alex, I think you’re sick. Here.’ Fox pressed the washcloth against Alex’s hot forehead and pushed the thermometer into his ear canal, holding it firmly as Alex squirmed at the unwelcome sensation until it was removed. ‘Yup. You have a 101 fever. You need to be in bed.’

Reluctantly Alex reached round Walter’s neck as he was carried back into the house and upstairs. He was semi-conscious as his clothes were stripped from him and he shivered as the cool bedclothes were gently pulled over his sweat-damp skin. Fox and Walter stayed with Alex until he drifted into a restless sleep.

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

‘Walter, promise you won’t overreact.’

Walter frowned. ‘I can’t promise until I know what it is Fox.’

‘Promise Walter.’ Fox insisted.

Walter sighed. ‘I promise.’

‘I don’t think Alex’s fever is real.’

Walter snorted. ‘101 and a forehead you could fry eggs on? I think it’s real enough.’

Fox nodded. Not wanting to be misunderstood, he said quickly. ‘Yeah. I think the *symptoms* are real, just not the actual illness.’

‘You think it’s psychosomatic? It looked pretty real to me.’

‘Yeah. And I’m sure inside Alex, it feels real. But I was remembering the last time Alex had a fever like that.’ Fox waited for Walter’s memory to kick in.

‘I was angry with Alex for bringing in yet another flea-ridden bundle of injured wildlife.’ Walter said slowly, remembering the incident.

‘Yeah. He went odd, took a pill, then he got a fever. The next day he was fine.’

Walter shrugged. ‘How do you know he isn’t really sick this time?’

Fox didn’t know how to answer, but he was as sure as he could be that he was right. ‘Trust me.’

***********

‘Good morning.’ Walter pushed the hair out of Alex’s eyes as Alex woke slowly, his movements cautious while he worked out how he felt.

‘Hey.’ Alex said croakily.

Walter handed him a small glass of orange juice and waited while Alex sipped it slowly. ‘Better?’

Alex nodded. ‘Yeah thanks.’

‘Wanna come downstairs and watch the game? We taped it for you.’

Alex smiled. ‘Thanks.’

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

Almost casually, Alex said: ‘I used to fake being sick. After a while I could do it whenever I wanted.’

Walter wasn’t sure how to react to Alex’s revelation. ‘But why did you have to do it yesterday Alex? You know we would never hurt you to punish you, right?’

Alex nodded. ‘I can’t help it. D’you want me to go?’

‘Go where Alex?’ Fox said, feeling guilty for having raised the doubts in Walter’s mind in the first place.

‘Away.’

‘No!’ Walter and Alex said, almost in unison.

Alex relaxed a fraction. ‘Okay.’

Home

Send me feedback on this fic

Return to the X-Files Fic Index

Return to the West Wing Fic Index