ONE

Alex stood at the window, watching the sleet ticking off the fogged up glass pane. He sighed, then turned to Natty who was sitting on a sofa cushion, paws delicately curled up underneath her plump black body.

The small television babbled away in the background, televising the new year celebrations from Times Square.

Alex left his place by the window and walked over to where Natasha was sitting, blinking up at him with her inscrutable feline stare.

"Happy new year Nat." He said as he reached out to stroke the velvet soft fur. Natty meowed gently, bringing a smile to Alex's face.

"Well thank you Nat, how kind of you to attend my little new year's eve soiree." He said as he picked the large black cat up to give her a cuddle.

Natasha meowed again and bumped her head against his chin, her rough pink tongue lapping at his cheek, making him chuckle.

"How about you and I have some champagne to celebrate huh?" Alex said.

Natty purred her approval as she followed Alex into the tiny kitchen. He opened the fridge and took out a small bottle of champagne, he held it up, showing her the label.

"French champagne, not too shabby hey Nat."

Natasha opened her mouth in a delicate yawn, then stalked back to the living room and her place on the couch, curling up on the cushion once more.

Alex watched her go, then shrugged and turned the bottle around to inspect the label. "Well I don't think it's too bad." He said, then he grabbed a couple of glasses and a cork screw and carried it over to where she was still perched.

Alex opened the bottle of champagne, laughing as the cork popped. Natty sat straight up, eyes wide, a soft growl emanating from her. Alex grinned at the look of pure outrage on her face. He knew she hated any kind of loud noise at all.

"Sorry about that Natty." He told her with a grin. Natty regarded him with large golden eyes, then slowly and with great care, settled herself back down once more.

Alex poured two glasses, setting on in front of Natty, and lifting his own in a toast.

"Happy new year Nat." He said cheerfully. "Here's to us old girl."

He watched as the cat cautiously sniffed around the edges of the glass, then lapped at the bubbly sour liquid. With a shake of her head, she backed away from the glass, giving her human a cold glare, she had no idea what this fizzy stuff was, but it definitely was not milk.

Her human began to make that strange sound, the sound that made his shoulders shake and his eyes tear up. It was not coughing exactly, but the short sharp sounds were loud in the small apartment. She waited patiently until it was over and her human had recovered himself once more.

Alex wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and reached over to pick up the glass of champagne, he carried it back to the kitchen and returned with a bowl of milk which he set down in front of her.

"That's better isn't it girl." He said softly as he watched her lap the milk with her tiny pink tongue. A loud purr confirmed her approval of this particular beverage, a vast improvement indeed.

Suddenly noise erupted and Alex glanced at the television. It was midnight and the crowds had all began to sing Auld Lang Syne, a song he had never particularly liked, it always ended up making him feel depressed.

Alex sighed and settled back against the couch to watch the happy crowds join hands and sing, their voices raised with hope and anticipation for the new year.

Natty, sensing her human's mood, climbed onto his lap and settled herself down, purring softly as she felt the warmth of his hand as he petted her.

"Well Nat, I guess it's time to make some resolutions for 2003 I guess."

Natty yawned once more, bored but very content, lazily listening to her human's voice as he spoke.

"What resolution should I make, hmmm?" Alex asked the beautiful black feline. "Maybe I should turn over a new leaf, get away, get out from under. What do you think girl?"

Natty rolled over onto her back, grabbing at Alex's hand, catching it between her paws and licking at his fingers, her tongue tickling his skin.

"Yeah, you're right Natty, we need to get out." Alex told her, his voice soft and thoughtful. "And I think I know a way to do it, but it means that I'll have to go away for a few days, set things up. But what will I do with you?"

Alex frowned, he had money put aside, funds that he had hidden away from the little schemes that he had been running on the side, before the Consortium had discovered what he had been up too.

He could recover the money and disappear, he owned an old farm that he had bought dirt cheap three years ago just in case he needed somewhere to go in case things got too hot for him here in DC. He was pretty sure that Spender and the rest of them did not know about it. He had very carefully covered his tracks when he had purchased the old run down property.

He sat, absently stroking Natty, these thoughts running through his mind, then he smiled, to think that just a few short days ago, he was about to kill himself to finally put an end to his lonely existence, and now, he was actually making plans, plans that would see him far away from here, and from Spender and the rest of them.

He felt a strange sensation, almost like butterflies rise up inside him and he chuckled. *//So this is what hope feels like.//* He thought. *//It's been so long, I had almost forgotten.//*

"I think you'll like living on a farm." He said to Natty. "Lots of mice to catch, and you'll have plenty of places where you can curl up and snooze. I could even get a cow, that way you would have an endless supply of milk and cream, and some chickens for eggs, but you are not allowed to chase them, is that clear."

Natty gave him a slow golden eyed blink. As if she would lower herself to chase mice and hens, why even the very thought was ridiculous.

Alex grinned again, then turned back to where the camera was panning across the colourful sea of people, the cheerful commentator babbling away.

But there was only one problem, he would take him several days to sort everything out, he would not be able to take Natasha with him, and he could not just leave her here by herself. He needed someone to take care of her. But who?

He frowned and chewed thoughtfully at his lower lip. There was only one person he could think of...

TWO

"Absolutely not!" Mulder said. "No way, no how. I'm sorry Alex but I can't, and that's final!"

"But there's no one else that I can ask." Alex said pleadingly. "Look Mulder, if there was anyone else..."

Mulder sighed, hands on hips, his jacket pushed back from his lean frame. He shook his head. "Alex...I don't even like cats. I like fish, I prefer fish, cats, well...cats are another thing all together."

"Mulder, just this one time." Alex said. "Please."

They were both standing in Mulder's apartment, it was New Years day and as usual, Mulder was spending it eating pizza and watching videos from his 'personal' collection.

Alex had turned up on the doorstep with boxes of cat toys, cat food, a couple of her favourite cushions and Natty, who was curled up sound asleep in the plastic and metal cat carrier.

"Look Alex, every time you have some assassination to carry out, you can't dump your cat on me." Mulder told him, his voice firm. "After all, I am not a cat minding service.

"I am not assassinating anyone Mulder." Alex explained, exasperated. "Look, the truth is, I'm getting out, getting away but I need to sort everything out first. It's going to take a few days to put everything in order and I can't take Natty with me so..."

"So you decided to bring her to me." Mulder said. "Oh for..." He stopped suddenly, eyeing Alex with suspicion.

"What did you say?"

"I said I can't take Natty with me." Alex replied.

"No, no...before that, you said something about getting away." Mulder said, holding his hand up. "What exactly are you talking about Alex?"

Alex looked at the other man for a moment, debating on how much he should actually divulge, but the trouble was, he needed Mulder to take care of Natty, he sighed, then plunged ahead.

"I'm leaving Mulder." He told him flatly. "I've had enough, I'm getting out while I still can, I don't work for Spender anymore." He suddenly gave a hard humourless laugh.

"You might say that I've quit, only Spender doesn't know that quite yet."

"And when he finds out?" Mulder asked.

Alex shrugged. "You should be able to guess the answer to that Mulder." He replied.

"Yeah." Mulder nodded. "I guess I can at that." He regarded the slightly smaller man standing in front to him, heavy coat wrapped around his too thin frame, green eyes watching the FBI agent closely.

"That's part of the reason why I can't take Natty." Alex said softly. "I'm taking a huge risk as it is. If he finds out what I'm planning..." He let the sentence trail away, after all, there was no need to elaborate, Mulder knew quite well what the Smoking Man was capable of.

"We can help you Alex." Mulder said suddenly. "If you were to turn evidence on CSM and the other Consortium bastards, we could give you protection, put you in a safe house. You could start over, I can call Skinner and..."

Alex's eyes widened in panic. "No Mulder, not Skinner anyone but him...please."

"But he can arrange things for you Alex." Mulder replied.

Alex shook his head resolutely. "The last time you took me over to his place for my 'protection' I ended up freezing my ass off on his balcony, handcuffed to the goddammed railing. After he punched me in the gut, no thank you, besides, he doesn't look like the type that likes cats."

Mulder had to bite the inside of his mouth to stop himself from laughing aloud at that. Although he had to agree with Alex, Walter Skinner, Assistant Director of the FBI definitely did not look like the type that liked cats at all.
]
Finally he sighed threw his hands up in the air. "All right then Alex, I'll watch your cat for you, but only while you are getting all your...business sorted out, and if you agree to give me some information on what you know about the Consortium, do we have a deal?"

Alex hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay Mulder, we have a deal, but afterwards I disappear and no one comes looking for me. Not if they want to keep their heads on their shoulders, is that clear?"

"As crystal." Mulder agreed. Alex handed the cat carrier over to the dark haired FBI agent, relieved that he had managed to get Mulder to agree to watch Natty while he was gone. He could have bared the thought of Natty all alone in that tiny little apartment without anyone there to take proper care of her.

"Now don't forget, she gets fed twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Alex told Mulder as the FBI agent led the ex Consortium agent to the front door. "She has tuna and chicken kibbles for breakfast and lamb and beef kibbles for dinner, oh and don't forget to give her a bowl of milk at least three times a day...oh and fresh water. And she likes to play with...."

"Yup, no problem." Mulder said as he shut the door on the concerned cat owner. He turned to walk over to where the cat carrier sat on the floor when there was a knock at the door. With a sigh, Mulder opened it once more.

"And don't forget she likes to sleep on the bed at night with her toy bear Mr Cuddles." Alex finished.

"Right got it, Mr Cuddles, great no problem." Mulder replied, then shut the door again. He turned back to the still snoozing cat. "Now then Natty, lets get a couple of things...oh what now."

He stormed back over to the door, yanking it open.

"And don't forget to pat her, she needs lots of love and affection, not to mention reassurance." Alex continued.

Mulder repressed a groan. "Okay, pats, love, reassurance...got it. Bye." He shut the door, then waited. Nothing, great finally Alex had gone. Mulder leaned against the door and let out a sigh of relief.

"Give me fish any day." He muttered under his breath, then went back over to the cat carrier.

"Time to let you out I suppose." He said as he crouched down to open the door to the carrier. Natty slowly unwound herself and slipped out of the carrier, regarding her new surrounding in the calm of a Madonna.

"Well hey there." Mulder said as he reached out to scratch the large black cat behind her ear.

Natty purred and rubbed her head against Mulder's hand, he smiled down at her, enjoying the warmth of her body as she twisted around under his hand.

"Now let's get some things straight Natty." Mulder told her firmly. "See that fish tank over there, you do not go near it, I happen to be very fond of my fish and trust me when I tell you that they are not on the menu. Understand...good."

Natty meowed and continued to rub herself against Mulder, purring contentedly.

"Great, as long as we have an understanding." With that Mulder straightened up and headed towards the kitchen in search of a much needed beer.

Natty followed the tall agent, twining herself around his legs and nearly causing him to trip over a couple of times. Finally he managed to grab a beer from the fridge and head back to the sofa without either tripping over or accidentally stepping on Natty's tail.

He grabbed the remote and started flicking through the channels, seeing if there was anything worth watching. Scully was over at her mother's with her family celebrating New Years day so that left Mulder at a loose end. He wondered what the Lone Gunmen were up too, then grinned, probably playing computer games or trying to break into government systems to try and uncover some deep dark conspiracy.

With a grin, he silently wished them luck, then glanced down at the back furry shape curled up on his lap.

*//And here I am cat sitting for none other than Alex goddammed Krycek.//* He thought with a rueful shake of his head. *//Who the hell would have thought it.//*

He finished the beer and set the empty bottle down onto the coffee table with a thunk. "Happy freaking New Year Mulder." He muttered, then settled back to watch the tube.

THREE

"No, get down from there Natty, come on, what did I tell you huh?" Mulder grabbed the cat from off the top of the fish tank and carried her back over to the couch. "Now stay there, I mean it."

Natty looked up at the human, honestly not understanding why he was so upset. After all, she was only watching the brightly coloured fish swimming around in the tank. She liked fish, they were so pretty...and tasty, and she was sure the human would not mind if she tasted a few. After all, he had plenty to spare.

Natasha waited until the human had settled back down at his funny looking contraption, his fingers tapping at the buttons that made the pictures on the box in front of him change.

'Computer', that's what this new human had called it. After making sure that he was fully absorbed in what he was doing, she padded back over to the fish tank and nimbly leapt back up, watching as the panicked fish dove about, cutting bright streaks through the clear water of the tank.

"Oh for pete's sake."

She felt herself grasped with a pair of strong hands and lifted off the tank and carried back to the couch once more.

"I'm telling you for the last time Natty, stay off my fish tank." Mulder scolded the beautiful animal as she playfully swiped at his hand. He sighed and shook his head, the dammed cat had only been here for four days and already she was acting like she owned the place.

Well time to get tough Mulder, he told himself while she cheekily nipped at his fingers. Or your are going to wake up tomorrow and find all you fish gone and one very plump cat sitting on an empty tank.

"Okay Natasha, this is your last warning, I swear if you get up on that fish tank again..I'll, I'll..." Mulder stopped, after all what in god's name could he possibly threaten a cat with? Ferocious dogs, no he didn't want to frighten her to death, what about not feeding her? No too cruel. He thought for a moment, nothing came to mind, finally he sighed and said the only thing that he could think of.

"I'll give you a good spanking, got it?"

Natasha meowed and snuggled up against him, obviously not taking him seriously at all.

Mulder rolled his eyes. "Cats." He muttered he was definitely a fish person.

He went to pick her up to give her a cuddle, when suddenly there was a flurry of knocks on the door. Setting the purring cat down, Mulder went to open it.

Alex was standing outside the door, clutching at his side, his face contorted with pain, Mulder caught him as he staggered forward, almost falling onto the floor.

"Jesus Alex, what happened to you?" Mulder asked as he helped the other man into the apartment.

"Fucking Consortium operatives found me when I went to retrieve my stash of funds." Alex told him, through clenched teeth. "Must have followed me, goddamn bastards."

Mulder helped him over to the couch, Natty sat ears straight up, her human had returned, but his voice sounded odd, as though he were hurt.

"Here lay down and let me take a look." Mulder ordered him as he carefully lifted Alex's hand away from his side, he could see the blood on his thick pullover. Taking the greatest of care, Mulder lifted the pullover and shirt up, there in Alex's side was a small but deep looking wound.

"Okay Alex, tell me what exactly took place." Mulder said.

Alex nodded, his face pale and sweaty with pain. "I got to where I needed to go." He began to explain. "I went to get the money that I had hidden away when the fuckers jumped me. I manage to get the hell out of there but I had to leave the cash behind, I think one of them must have stabbed me. Shit!" He exploded, then winced.

"I came straight here, I...I couldn't go back to my place, there would probably be more of them waiting for me." He finished lamely.

Mulder nodded, his face filled with concern. "Okay Alex, you were right to come straight here."

"I had to." Alex replied. "Natty's here."

Mulder repressed the urge to roll his eyes in utter exasperation. What was it with these cat owners anyway?

"Listen Alex, I have to get you to a hospital." He said firmly. " That wound's pretty deep by the look of it. It needs to be treated before you lose anymore blood."

Alex shook his head vehemently. "No, please Mulder, no hospital, they'll find me in there and kill me, you know they will."

Mulder frowned. "But Alex..."

"No Mulder...please." Mulder could see the raw pleading in the other man's eyes.

He hesitated, then reluctantly nodded. "Okay Alex, but I am going to call Scully, get her to take a look at you." With that he headed straight over to the phone and picking it up, dialed Scully's number from memory.

Alex heard Mulder's voice as he spoke into the phone, then became aware of a black shape nudging gently at him. It was Natasha, she mewed gently as she sniffed at her human, she could smell the blood on him, and the pain and fear, her human was hurt.

"Hi there girl." He whispered hoarsely as he lifted his hand to caress her sleek black head.

Mulder came back over to the couch where Alex lay. "She'll be straight over." He told the injured man.

Alex nodded, then closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of his cat underneath his hand.

Mulder hurried to the linen cupboard for some clean towels, anything to try and staunch the flow of blood.

Natty watched calmly as the human pressed the towels against her human's side, then they all settled down to wait for Scully.