Title: What goes around – Part Four ‘Alex.’ Frank Harris was surprised to see the young man on his doorstep so late at night. And concerned at the state he was in. Unwashed, pale and in obvious pain. ‘Come on in son. Does anyone else know you’re here?’ Alex shook his head. ‘Okay. I guess it can wait till morning.’ ************* ‘You hungry?’ Alex nodded, too tired to form a coherent reply. Sighing, Harris heated some soup and cut a thick slice of bread, leaving Alex momentarily while he went to turn the water heater on. He half-expected Alex to have left again by the time he returned a couple of minutes later. But there he was, trying to will the food into his mouth more quickly than he could spoon the soup and swallow the bread. ‘Easy son. You’ll give yourself indigestion. When did you last eat?’ Alex shrugged in reply and carried on eating. Harris sat opposite him and waited until Alex had done everything but lick the bowl clean. ‘Okay, it might not be too hot, but it’ll clean you up.’ Harris leaned over the bath and swirled the water around. ‘You need me to help you with anything?’ Alex shook his head. ‘This is the point at which you say ‘thanks’.’ Alex fought the tiredness which threatened to overwhelm him. ‘Thank you.’ Harris ruffled Alex’s hair. ‘Welcome kid. Don’t fall asleep in there, okay?’ After fifteen minutes, Harris guessed Alex wasn’t likely to get any cleaner. And he was concerned that Alex could easily drown if he fell asleep. ‘Alex, you done yet?’ Harris pushed the door open slightly. ‘Alex, you okay?’ As he pushed the door a little further, he could see something was wrong. The water, which should have been milky white from the soap suds, was pale pink. Harris pushed the door hard and Alex looked up as it banged against the wall. Heedless of the water which splashed onto the carpeted floor Harris pulled Alex out of the bath and laid him on the floor. He released Alex’s wrist, expecting the skin to be cut by the razor which had dropped into the bath as Alex was lifted. Then he realised there was no way Alex could have held the razor and cut his wrist. His eyes searched Alex for a wound until he worked out that there was not one single large wound but a number of smaller gashes across his stomach and thighs each of which oozed blood as Alex moved. ‘Skinner.’ ‘Wisk, it’s Frank. Alex is here. There’s a problem.’ Skinner sighed. ‘Please tell me he’s not dead.’ ‘He cut himself. A lot. He kept saying he was okay. That he couldn’t feel it. Someone else did it.’ ‘Did he say who?’ ‘Sounded like: ‘Jarvol’.’ Skinner suddenly remembered. ‘It’s the part of Alex he says kills.’ Harris understood suddenly. ‘Okay. I’m gonna let him sleep it off. I’ll bring him over in the morning.’ ‘Thanks Frank.’ Harris laughed. ‘Don’t thank me till you’ve seen him.’ Skinner groaned. ‘I must have been really bad in a previous life.’ ‘I’ll see ya in the morning Wisk.’ ‘Yeah. Night.’ Skinner replaced the receiver and looked up to where Mulder stood impassively in the kitchen doorway. ‘Alex turned up on Frank’s doorstep a couple of hours ago.’ ‘Great. Let’s hope he stays there.’ Skinner decided he’d wait until the morning before telling Fox he’d agreed to take Alex back. If they rowed now, he’d never sleep. ************** Alex woke suddenly, disoriented and sore. As he shifted, he realised there was something holding the bedclothes in place. He eased himself up onto his elbow and stared into dark eyes. Harris surfaced slowly. Screaming. Shouting. Barking. It was just a dream. He was back in Nam. Then the part of his brain that was awake realised that the barking was out of place. There hadn’t been dogs. ‘Get away from me! Help!’ Alex. Suddenly Harris realised. Alex was screaming. And LT was barking. He scrambled out of bed and ran into the spare room. With nothing to defend himself with, completely terrified, Alex had been reduced to shouting at the dog which had decided to fall asleep at the end of the usually empty bed. Unsettled by the loud stranger, the dog had started to bark, adding to the decibel level in the room. ‘LT! Here.’ Reluctantly, the dog climbed off the bed and moved to stand quietly at his master’s side. ‘Bed. Now!’ Even more slowly, the dog slunk away to its basket. Harris walked slowly towards Alex, aware that even without his prosthesis or a weapon, the young man in his current state was still very dangerous. ‘Alex, it’s okay son. It was just my dog. He wasn’t gonna hurt you. You’re safe. Hush now.’ Alex hadn’t moved and sat pressed against the headboard, chest heaving, hand balled into a fist, rocking and repeating something Harris didn’t understand. ‘Alex, it’s all right. There. Take it easy.’ Slowly, Alex’s breathing calmed and he blinked several times. Harris decided to risk closing the distance between them and put a tentative hand on Alex’s shoulder. ‘He’s just an old pet Alex. He won’t hurt you.’ *********** When he woke the following morning, Harris found Alex’s bed empty. ********** ‘It was my fault.’ Skinner paced around Harris’ living room, trying to think how he could find Alex. Absently, Harris stroked the furry head under his hand. ‘LT spooked him.’ ‘I washed his mouth out.’ Harris almost laughed. Then he saw the anguish on Skinner’s face. ‘Hey, he’s had worse, right?’ ‘He trusted me to take care of him.’ ‘Maybe you did.’ ‘What?’ ‘He never had a proper family to teach him right from wrong. You…’ Harris fumbled for the right words. ‘You taught him.’ Skinner wouldn’t be appeased. ‘He threw up. Twice.’ ‘Hey, it never did us any harm, right?’ ‘Then I left him.’ ‘In his room?’ Skinner shook his head. ‘I was invited to the White House. I couldn’t get out of it.’ He dropped to the couch, his head in his hands. Harris put a consoling hand on Skinner’s shoulder. ‘He’ll be okay. You said it yourself, he’s a survivor, right?’ Getting a grip on his emotions Skinner stood up. ‘Let me know if he calls.’ Harris smiled. ‘Sure Wisk.’ ************ ‘How the Hell did you get in here?’ Hoynes hoped his panic didn’t show. He reached under his desk for the buzzer and his fingers touched a tangle of wires where the small button should have been. ‘I thought your two bully boys had been re-assigned.’ ‘They were. Leo gave them a month’s gate duty.’ Alex smiled. ‘They won’t be joining us this evening.’ Hoynes decided it was pointless to make the younger man any more angry than he already appeared. ‘What do you want Alex?’ Alex pulled a newspaper cutting out of an inside pocket in his battered leather jacket. ‘Read it.’ Hoynes looked up after a couple of minutes and frowned. ‘Are you serious?’ ‘Yeah. Do it and I’ll leave you alone.’ ‘And if I don’t agree?’ Alex flicked the safety catch on his pistol, lifted it, and held it at arm’s length, pointing it at Hoynes’ chest. Walking to the VCR, he pulled a cassette out of his jacket and pushed it into the machine. Throwing Hoynes the remote, he jerked his head at the TV. ‘Then this goes out on tomorrow’s evening news. I have another copy.’ Watching the image of himself on screen, naked and screaming, Hoynes picked up the phone. ‘I need the number for a Doctor…’ ************* ‘Hoynes is up to something.’ Leo took the coffee mug Bartlet handed him and settled into an armchair. ‘He seemed okay this morning.’ ‘Exactly.’ Leo waited, sipping at the hot liquid. When Bartlet seemed unlikely to elaborate, he prompted: ‘Exactly what sir?’ ‘He was…different.’ Leo smiled. ‘Yeah, coming that close to death probably had an effect on him.’ Bartlet frowned. ‘Thank God I didn’t piss the kid off.’ Leo nodded. ‘He had it coming.’ ‘What about the two agents?’ Leo’s face darkened. ‘Yeah, that was bad.’ Bartlet got up. ‘Bad Leo?! Two men almost died last night. Bad is losing at poker to Toby or CJ. Bad is being stuck in traffic and late for a fundraiser!’ Leo sat quietly and let Bartlet’s anger work itself out. A couple of minutes passed in silence then Bartlet sighed. ‘Do we know where he is?’ ‘Alex? No.’ ‘Aren’t you the least bit concerned?’ Leo looked at Bartlet. ‘I set them up, remember.’ Bartlet shook his head. ‘Should we be looking for him?’ ‘Nah. He got what he wanted.’ ‘You know what Hoynes did, don’t you?’ Leo nodded. ‘Yeah.’ ‘Leo you know what happens if you make a deal with the Devil.’ Leo nodded. The Devil. Alex Krycek. Not much to choose between them. Neatly changing the subject, he said wearily: ‘Right now I’d sell my soul for a plate of bacon and eggs.’ Hungry and therefore easily distracted, Bartlet chuckled. ‘That’s ‘bout all you’d get for it.’ ‘You’d probably get a side order of biscuits for yours.’ The good-natured teasing continued as the two men walked out of the Residence and into the West Wing. ************** When Leo arrived at his desk, there was a note stuck to his blotter. ‘Call me when you arrive. John.’ ‘John Hoynes.’ ‘It’s Leo. What do you want?’ ‘Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right over. Is he there too?’ Crossly, Leo snapped: ‘President Bartlet? Yeah, he’s here John.’ Bartlet wandered through the interconnecting door between their offices. ‘Hoynes?’ ‘Yeah. Sir, why don’t you go on to the briefing.’ Carefully, Bartlet said: ‘No, it’s okay Leo. I’ll wait for you.’ ‘John.’ ‘Stand up.’ ‘What?’ Leo got to his feet and didn’t even see the fist that connected with his jaw, sending him sprawling. ‘You and Catherine gave Alex a copy of the videotape. There was no other way he could have got it.’ Bartlet walked in after watching and listening for a couple of minutes. Ignoring Leo’s attempts to stem his nosebleed with his handkerchief, Bartlet nodded across the room. ‘John.’ ‘I should’ve listened to Josh. Then I’d be in here instead of over there and you would just be another sad old drunk and you’d be a professor at the University of Nowhere. Resign Leo. Today. Or I’ll put this tape out there.’ Bartlet was lost. ‘What tape Leo? John?’ ‘This one.’ Hoynes pushed the tape into the VCR in Leo’s office, pressing the volume button on the remote until the room was filled with the sounds of Hoynes’ panicky breathing. After a few more seconds, Catherine said: ‘Leo, get out of here. I’ll take it from here. Jimmy, show Mr McGarry out.’ Hoynes ejected the tape. ‘I’ll go down. But I’ll take you with me. Think it over. I’ll be in my office.’ He walked out quickly, leaving Leo with blood dripping from his nose and Bartlet speechless. ************ ‘Leo.’ Hoynes fought a smile at the sight of Leo’s bruised face. ‘What did you tell everyone?’ ‘Accident at the gym.’ Hoynes shrugged, then sat back. ‘So?’ ‘What do you want?’ ‘I want in Leo. Decisions, policies, everything. I want to be consulted on everything.’ Leo laughed. ‘No way.’ Hoynes looked up at Leo. ‘Okay.’ ‘You wanna think about this John.’ ‘Was that a threat?’ ‘Piece of advice.’ Hoynes got up. ‘I’ve got something for you.’ He handed Leo the folded sheet of paper. Leo scanned it then reached into his jacket and pulled out a pen. After a moment’s pause, Hoynes watched as Leo wrote on it. Without looking at it, Hoynes reached across and pulled the sheet of paper towards him, tucking it into an envelope. He walked across and opened his safe. ‘Treat me nice Leo. Unless you’d rather call a Press Conference right now and announce your resignation?’ Hoynes paused, the envelope in his hand. ‘F--- you John.’ ‘Not in this lifetime Leo.’ He pushed the sealed envelope into the safe and closed the door. By the time he straightened up, Leo was gone. Bartlet was waiting for him when Leo walked back into his office. ‘What did Hoynes want?’ ‘I took care of it sir.’ ‘Leo?’ Picking up a leather-bound folder, Leo looked at his watch. ‘We’re gonna be late for the security briefing sir.’ Not sure whether to be relieved or worried, Bartlet walked through the door Leo held open for him. ************ Some months later… Alex doubted he’d ever been in so much pain. He heard a loud moaning and a few seconds later a blissful calm overwhelmed him, the pain fading with his consciousness. Several days passed before he was able to move without screaming, and several more before he felt well enough to engage those around him in conversation. He had only one question: ‘Did it work?’ The smiles of the white-coated men and women who came and went from his side gave him his answer.   ************** Some weeks later… Harris padded wearily to the front door. ‘All right already. I’m coming. Stop with the noise.’ He stared at the man in front of him for several seconds. ‘Hello Alex.’ ************* Later still… ‘Come on Alex. You need to do your exercises.’ Alex pulled a face and walked into the sitting room leaving the newspaper open on the kitchen table. Part of him resented not being trusted to take care of himself. But an increasingly larger part secretly enjoyed that someone cared enough about him to nag him. He dropped onto the couch with a huge sigh. ‘They hurt.’ ‘Didn’t your physical therapist say that you’d be sore for a few weeks yet?’ Alex didn’t bother denying it. Harris had been ten feet away when she’d agreed to let him continue with the gentle stretching exercises without her daily supervision. ‘Come on. I’m expecting company. Get ‘em done and you won’t have to do them later.’ Harris realised Alex had stopped listening. And was already panicking at the idea of visitors. ‘It’s just Wisk and Fox.’ ‘Why do you call him Wisk?’ ‘Do your exercises and I’ll tell you.’ Reluctantly, Alex began to flex his fingers, wrist, and elbow. He was used to counting in his head and listening to someone else’s voice at the same time, and he smiled at the idea of knowing something about Skinner’s past. Harris settled back against the couch. ‘I guess he would have been about eighteen or so. He’d just arrived in Nam and there was a heap of paperwork. He had to complete a medical questionnaire and a declaration that he was fit to serve. I told him where to sign, and where to initial. But he was young, and everything was new. So he ended up starting to sign where he should have just initialled. He put the ‘W’ and the ‘SK’ before I noticed. I told him to leave it, that no-one would notice. But his Platoon Commander saw it and asked him what the ‘s’ stood for. Wisk didn’t understand. The guy said he’d put his initials as WSK. Wisk had to explain that he’d made a mistake. After laughing for a while, the guy said: ‘Wisk. That’s what we’ll call you.’ It kinda stuck.’ Nervous at the idea of visitors, Alex moved closer to Harris as he stretched his arm until he was almost touching the older man. Harris put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. ‘Give yourself plenty of room, son. You can’t stretch if you’re all squashed against me.’ Alex looked at Harris. Harris sighed. ‘I’m not Wisk. You can stay here, but you’re a guest. Don’t expect anything else.’ Cheeks flaming, Alex backed as far away from Harris as he could. ‘Sorry.’ Harris smiled kindly. ‘It’s okay. If you wanna go home with Wisk, I won’t be offended.’ ‘Do you want me to leave?’ Alex’s face showed genuine anxiety. ‘No son. I like having you around. But if you want to share a bed with someone, it’s gonna have to be Wisk. I’m not like that.’ Alex frowned. ‘I didn’t want to be.’ Harris nodded. ‘Maybe not. But you can’t change who you are any more than I can. If you want to go with Wisk, I understand.’ ‘I want to stay here.’ ‘You understand what I’m saying, don’t you son?’ ‘You don’t want to sleep with me.’ Slightly embarrassed, Harris nodded. ‘Yeah.’ ‘But I can stay?’ Harris smiled. ‘Sure you can. Now, Wisk and Fox’ll be here soon. You wanna go out or stay here?’ Hesitantly, Alex said softly: ‘I’ll stay.’ ‘LT, come here boy.’ The dog walked slowly over to Harris. Passing Alex, the dog paused briefly and Alex put out a tentative hand. Recognising that he was likely to be petted if he moved closer, the dog insinuated itself at Alex’s side. Harris felt the tension radiating off Alex’s body. ‘Stroke him behind his ears. He likes that.’ Alex’s fingers felt for the terrier/retriever cross’ floppy ear, rubbing the skin where it joined the side of his head. Immediately, LT’s head dropped onto Alex’s lap. After a couple of seconds pause, Alex relaxed enough to continue his stroking. The dog’s eyes closed blissfully, opening only briefly as a knock at the door startled Alex. He concentrated on stroking the dog, fighting the panic he felt as Skinner and Fox walked into the house. ‘Hi Alex. Cute dog.’ ‘Mulder.’ ‘Hello Alex.’ ‘Skinner.’ Harris and Skinner exchanged a look. ‘I’ll put some coffee on. Fox, wanna give me a hand?’ ‘How are you Alex?’ Alex shrugged. ‘Okay.’ He rubbed his hand nervously on his jeans. Skinner watched as Alex’s hand continued to stroke the dog. ‘Alex, what the Hell..?’ Nonchalantly, Alex looked down at his hand. ‘Oh, I had a transplant.’ ‘When?’ ‘Few months back.’ Skinner frowned. ‘How did you afford something like that?’ Alex smiled. ‘I…um, had a donation.’ ‘From?’ Skinner persisted. ‘The Vice President.’ Skinner looked sceptical, but kept his feelings to himself. The man could probably afford it, and, after how he treated Alex, he got off lightly if all he lost was a little money. Alex wished his cup held something a little stronger than coffee. ‘I…um…I’m gonna stay here.’ Skinner nodded understandingly. ‘Okay. But you’ll visit us?’ Alex nodded, relieved Skinner seemed okay with his bombshell. ‘Yeah.’ Mulder stroked the dog’s belly as it lay on its back, enjoying the attention. ‘Maybe we could…walk the dog sometimes.’ Alex smiled. ‘Sure.’ On to Part Five Home Send me feedback on this fic Return to the Crossover Fic Index