ONE

Shit, it was raining again. Alex pulled his worn leather jacket around his too thin frame and trudged along the rain slicked street.

He walked past the rows of well lit shop, stopping every now and again to peer into into the warm, inviting interiors.

Stomach rumbling, he moved on, wondering if he would be able to find somewhere to doss down for the night. His rusted old Ford was parked in a back ally a few streets down, but he did not want to have to spend yet another night sleeping on the cold damp seats.

His stomach rumbled again, louder this time. He'd have to get something to eat, and soon. Last time he had gone this long without food, he had fainted, coming to in a puddle of dirty water.

How long had it been since he had been able to put a food in his belly? Two days...three?

Shit, he thought miserably, who the hell would have thought that he would end up like this, a homeless man, down on his luck, his clothes dirty, a three day growth climbing up his gaunt cheeks. A real down and outer, as his mother used to say. And that's what he was...a down and outer.

A man of reduced circumstances. That's what Spender would have said, most likely with a cigarette tucked into his mouth, his eyes cold, with the hint of a sneer.

But he was gone now, him and the rest of the Consortium, gone when the Rebels had foiled their plans of alien colonization.

Alex allowed himself a small smile, well he'd survived at least, if he could call living out of an old Ford, mostly eaten away with rust, surviving.

Mulder...that bastard, it was all his fault, him and his endless quest for the truth. He just could not let things be, even after the truth had been revealed to him, he still had to keep picking away and picking away until the entire fabric of the Consortium had unraveled like a cheap blanket.

He should have been taken care of a long time ago, Alex had been more than willing to do the job, but no, Spender wanted to protect his precious son, hoping that one day, Fox Mulder would join with his real father and continue the legacy of lies and treachery.

Only that was not the way things worked out.

Suddenly, a warm familiar odour wafted on the cool night air, teasing Alex's nostrils, someone was baking bread. His mouth watered. God he was so hungry, he was nearly weeping with the need to cram good hot food into his mouth.

Licking his lips, he walked a little further down the street, maybe he'd get lucky tonight. Some rich old pervert might come along in a BMW or a Mercedes, looking for a little low rent trade.

Alex hated the thought of having to hawk his arse to some wealthy well dressed middle aged pervert, but hell, it it bought him a meal and a room for the night, what the fuck. But the street was empty, all the rich perverts were at home watching Survivor or L.A Law with their families. All sitting in their nice warm homes, bellies full, a nice glass of scotch or bourbon beside them while wifey tucked the kiddies in bed....

Alex shook himself out of these thoughts. No use thinking about that now, he told himself sternly, just concentrate on the matter at hand. You were always very good at doing that, that's what made you one of the best assassins in the Consortium.

Food, that was the first priority, food, then a nice warm room where he could shower and maybe wash his clothes, and shave...Christ, that would be a luxury. To be able to lather his face with scented shaving cream, feel the cool sting of a razor smoothing away the itchy growth of whiskers on his face, to make him feel like a human being again.

He looked up surprised, so intent on his thoughts, he had not realized that he had wandered into small gated community. These small pockets of suburbia were springing up everywhere.

He could see that this was a relatively new one, a large double wrought iron gate locked all the would be trouble makers out, leaving Mr and Mrs Upper Middle Class nice and safe within.

Security cameras were carefully tracking the wet glistening streets and cul-de-sacs, watching for any sign of trouble.

Alex ran his hand through his long rain soaked hair, thinking hard. The gates and cameras were easy for him to get past, he could not see any sign of a security guard, or dogs, they were always the hardest to get around, those dammed dogs, bastards were always more than happy to try and take a chunk out of your arse if they could.

It was fairly late, most people would be asleep by now, he could slip in through a window, straight in, and straight out again with a few little valuables that Mr and Mrs Upper Middle Class would never miss.

Fuck it, why not His stomach rumbled again, he rubbed it absently. Easy there fella, you'll get fed soon, promise.

He walked around the perimeter of the high stone wall, checking it carefully, there did not seem to be any hidden sensors or anything like that. Nimbly, he climbed the wall, fingers hooking into the cracks and crevices between the large sandstone blocks.

Soon he was up and over, landing on the other side of the wall with ease. Still no sign of a guard, probably a fat gutted greasy haired loser to dammed lazy to patrol in the rain, Alex fervently hoped that he had fallen asleep in front of the security monitors.

Crouching low, he dashed across towards a brown of neat well kept looking houses, most of them were in darkness. He knew that the cameras could probably pick up his body heat and show him in infra red, but he did not intend to hang around to long, in, out and gone, that was his motto.

And it was not as if he had not done this before, there had been plenty of times he had broken into someone's house, usually to terminate them, but this would be easy, he'd enter through a window, grab some valuables and get the fuck out of there, hopefully by the time the guard and the homeowners were alerted, he'd be gone.

The first two houses were empty, unoccupied, the third, a very nice semi modern, set well back from the quiet street, was filled with expensive looking furniture and all sorts of electronic goodies.

Perfect, Alex smiled as he tested a window near the rear of the house, it slid open easily. This was getting better and better.

Alex climbed in through the window, landing with a soft thump onto the thick carpet. He looked around, peering into the darkened room. Well one thing about it, Mr and Mrs Upper Middle Class sure had good taste. Alex moved into the living room. There against the far wall sat an expensive looking television set, a DVD player, as well as a VHS recorder. Nearby was a CD player and a computer. Great, but all too heavy and awkward to carry out of here by himself, and besides, these thing were always nearly impossible to off load if you no longer had the contacts.

No, something smaller, easier to pawn...jewellery, laptops, something he could carry easily and quickly, that was the ticket.

Swiftly he searched the living room, nope, nothing like that here, then he moved into what looked like a study. A brand new lap top sat on the large walnut desk, a desk that looked familiar somehow...

He headed straight to the weirdly familiar desk and grabbed the laptop, and a mobile phone for good measure and headed straight out of the study, and straight into a strong pair of arms.

"Got you, you little son of a bitch." The security guard was neither fat or greasy haired. He was tall and wirey, with a large beaky nose.

Oh terrific, I've been arrested by Gonzo the Great. Alex thought miserably, still clutching the lap top and cell phone to his chest. Well I guess things can't get any worse, then he saw who was standing a little behind the security guard and shock washed over him, oh shit, no wonder the dammed desk in the study looked so familiar, he must have brought it with him when he moved here.

Walter Skinner was standing, arms crossed over his broad chest, his face thunderous, Fox Mulder was standing beside him, looking more perplexed than angry, his thick dark hair, tousled, they were both dressed in sleep pants, Walter had thrown a deep red terry toweling robe on.

"It seems we have a burglar here Mr Skinner." The gray uniformed guard said, almost smugly. "He tripped the silent alarm, so I used my security card to let myself in, I hope you folks don't mind."

"Not at all, it's nice to see you guys on the ball." Walter replied, his voice grim, he was still staring straight at Alex, who was now wishing that the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

"I'll call the police then and they can arrest him properly." The guard said, he went to haul Alex towards the door, when Walter stopped him.

"There's no need for that Keith, we can take care of this, thank you."

The guard looked at the bigger man with surprise. "But Sir, don't you want him charged with attempted burglary?"

"That's not necessary Keith, we know him."

"Sir?" Now Keith was looking completely confused. Alex could feel a cold leaden weight settle in the pit of his stomach.

"He's... my younger brother." The lie came easily to Walter's lips, he ignored the surprised look that Fox shot him.

"Oh...I see." Clearly the guard did not.

"My brother has a problem with drugs." Walter continued, still glaring at Alex intimidatingly. Alex felt his mouth go dry, all thoughts of trying to muscle his way out of here, gone.

"It seems that he thought that he could help himself to a few things in order to get another fix...he's done it before, haven't you Alex?"

Alex opened his mouth to protest, but no sound came out, he had experienced fear before, but nothing like this, he felt as though his bowels had turned to water, his legs were trembling, threatening to give way beneath him.

"I see Sir." The guard looked relieved, this sort of thing happened all the time, in fact just the other night, the Jamison's teenage son had gotten drunk and stole his dad's Jaguar taking it for a joy ride. Drugs and booze, the two things that tore families apart, sad really, but nothing to do with him.

"Are you sure you don't want to call the police Sir?" He asked, already knowing the answer, the families could never bring themselves to have the miscreant charged and jailed, most of them just wanted to avoid the scandal of having a drunk or junkie kid in their nice law abiding families.

"No, we can handle it from here Keith, thank you." Walter replied smoothly. Fox had said nothing, but he was looking downright worried now, he had no idea what the hell his lover was up too.

"All right then Sir, but if you need anything..." The guard shot a dubious look at Alex, who had gone a milky shade of pale. Probably scared that his big brother was going to whip his ass for him, probably deserves it too, punk kid. The guard had taken in the battered black leather jacket, the long unkempt hair and three day stubble of beard. Looks like he could use a good wash as well, he thought with contempt.

"Well, then I'll leave you to it." Walter showed the guard to the front door, thanking him for his diligence. He then closed and locked it, the bolts sliding home with a dull thud, making Alex jump.

"Walter..." Fox began, clearly unsure of what to say next. Walter leaned over and kissed him, lingeringly. Alex watched them, lost for words, well Fox Mulder and Walter Skinner...who the hell would have thought it?

Finally the kiss ended and Walter turned back to the obviously frightened ex assassin.

"You can take those things back and put them right where you got them from." He said, his voice cold. Numbly, Alex nodded, he carried the lap top computer and the cell phone into the study, setting them back down onto the desk. Looking up, he noticed an opened window. Great, now to make my escape.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. "Back in here." Walter steered him back out into the living room. Fox had turned on some lights and now Alex could see the room properly.

It was one of the most comfortable, attractive living rooms that Alex had ever seen, a far cry from the dingy motel rooms and seedy apartments that he was used to.

A fishtank cheerfully bubbled away in the corner. Mulder's fish. He thought dimly as he felt himself led towards the couch. They really have set up house together.

He felt himself pushed down into the soft sofa cushions, Walter's large frame looming ominously over him.

"Now you want to tell me what the hell you are doing here?" The question was accompanied by a rough shove. Alex stared up at Walter's coldly furious face and his heart sank.

I am so screwed. He thought miserably. Aloud, he replied. "I broke in to steal some stuff, okay?" There, it was out, after all it no use trying to lie his way out of it now.

"You expect me to believe that crock of shit?" Walter demanded. "I know that you are after something Krycek, I just need to now what the fuck it is."

"Yeah, I told you, I was after some stuff that I could take down to the pawn shop and sell." Alex replied.

Walter laughed, a harsh bark, he stared at the smaller man sitting on the couch in front of him.

"So what are you telling us, that Alex Krycek, double agent exstrordinaire is now a common little thief?"

Alex shrugged, and received a sharp slap to his face for his trouble. Alex's head snapped back with the force of the blow. "Bastard." He gasped, more from the shock, then the pain.

Suddenly Fox stepped forward, he stared down at Alex as though he has just stepped on something particularly nasty.

"What the hell are you doing here Alex, what do you want from us?" He sounded, weary somehow.

"Nothing Mulder, nothing I swear." Alex replied. "I didn't even know that you two lived here. I was just looking to grab a few things and..." He let the rest of the sentence trail off. He knew how pathetic it sounded, even to his own ears.

Alex Krycek, reduced to this...it was pathetic, he was pathetic. He hung his head, his long damp hair flopping over his eyes.

"So the Consortium's best operative, reduced to this, Jesus Christ, who would have thought it." Walter said, the irony glinting in his usually mild brown eyes. "Alex, you look a goddammed mess, when was the last time you took a bath?" This was from Fox.

Alex shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "I'm having a run of bad luck at the moment, that's all, with the Consortium gone...things have been...difficult, but I'll get back up on my feet again."

"Yeah by stealing." Walter stared at him, disgusted. "And you look as though you've dropped twenty pounds. When was the last time you ate?"

His traitorous stomach chose that very moment to growl loudly. Walter and Fox looked at each other, then at the shabby, unkempt man sitting on their neat beige coloured leather couch.

Colour crept into Alex's face as he stared at them defiantly, the last thing he wanted from these two bastards was their dammed pity.

"Come on, let's at least get you fed." Walter grunted. He grabbed Alex up by the arm and hauled him into the large neat kitchen.

"I think we have some left over from dinner." Fox said, crossing over to the fridge. Walter pointed towards the round kitchen table. Alex slid into a chair, still watching the other two men distrustfully.

Fox set down some fresh bread and butter and some cold chicken in front of him. Alex's mouth watered. Without preamble, he tore the leg of the roast chicken and began to eat voraciously. He gulped down chunks of the tender flesh, unaware that he was trembling from head to toe, like a starved dog.

Walter and Fox watched as the famished man swallowed the food, oblivious to the concerned stares.

Without a word, Walter went over to where the electric kettle sat, and plugged it in. He made coffee for the three of them, setting a mug down in front of Alex, who, still chewing, glanced up at him.

"It's only instant, but it's hot." Walter said gruffly. Alex curtly nodded his thanks.

"So where have you been staying Alex?" Fox asked, cradling his own cup of coffee between his hands as if to warm them.

Alex swallowed. "In my car, I am temporarily without an address at the moment." He said the last, matter-of-factly, without rancour. Fox nodded.

"What's happened, why are you living like this?" Fox asked the question gently. Alex stared at him, trying to gauge Mulder, find out what he was after. Fox held his gaze steadily, nothing but sympathy in his warm hazel eyes.

"You and Skinner happened, that's what." He replied, this time there was bitterness in his voice. Walter stared at him, his face closed and inscrutable. "And how do you figure that out Alex?" He asked.

"Well, you were the ones that exposed the Consortium, you helped the Rebels smash the Elite's power base, no more Consortium, no more work, no more money. So I have been a man of reduced means ever since." Alex laughed harshly. "In fact, I can honestly say that you both have fucked me over but good."

"That's not true and you know it." Walter replied, his voice cold with rage. "We were trying to help save humanity. We rid the world of those evil, greedy, venal men, you just happened to be on the losing side Alex, well too dammed bad. You should never have been working for them in the first place."

Alex's face coloured. "I was on the losing side, okay I realize that, but don't try and tell me that you were the good guys in all this."

"Oh but we were." This was from Fox, who was still sitting at the table, regarding the younger man with something approaching curiosity.

"But then you could never see that could you Alex, you could never see the bigger picture."

Alex stared at the both of them, two men living in their nice neat warm home, obviously in love with each other. Comfortable with their life, their existence, while he... he remained on the outside, cold and hungry, his heart numbed with loneliness. How dare they preach at him. He looked down at the food they had offered him and his heart clenched.

"Why did you lie to that guard?" He asked suddenly. Walter smiled, a genuine smile this time.

"Because I wanted to deal with you myself you little rat bastard, that's why. I thought that you were after some information or something. I had no idea that you broke in to steal in order to get yourself some food."

Alex stared at him, then suddenly he broke into a grin.

"I didn't even know that you both lived here." He replied, suddenly the sheer humour of the situation got the better of him and he burst into laughter.

Fox and Walter watched the ex operative laugh uproariously, then despite themselves, they began to grin. After all, what were the odds that Alex Krycek would choose their new house to rob.

"I thinks it's called the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate." Walter replied, remembering Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, an old show that he doubted neither Fox or Alex would remember.

"So in other words, you didn't want to hand me over to the cops, what were you planning to do, torture me for information or something?" Alex replied. Walter stared at him, all humour had fled his broad handsome face.

"As a matter of fact, yes."

Alex felt a chill travel down his spine, he gazed at the older man standing in his robe and sleep pants, barefoot near the sink. This was the man whose heart he had once stopped, using the deadly little nanocytes that the Consortium had given him along with a palm pilot.

"Well, I have no information for you Skinner." He replied, his voice soft. "After all, it's all finished now, isn't it, the war is over, the soldiers have all returned home, and everything that we fought for, finished and gone. A fairytale for our children, nothing more."

Walter nodded slowly, his face set in cold lines. "We won Alex, and you lost... and by the look of it, you lost everything."

"I'm glad that makes you feel good Walter." Alex used his first name mockingly.

"Actually it doesn't you know." Walter replied. He glanced over at Fox, who had been sitting quietly through the whole exchange.

"Time we went back to bed love." He said softly. Fox nodded, rising from his seat and carrying his cup over to the sink.

"You are welcome to stay the night if you want, we have a spare room." Walter said. Alex stared at him, his eyes glittering, then looked away, something tightened in his chest. Why were they being so dammed...kind? He hated it.

"Nah, I have a nice warm car waiting for me." He replied, trying to keep his tone light, and not doing a very good job of it.

"It's still raining outside Alex, you may as well stay." This was from Fox, Alex glanced at him. What the hell was going on? Mulder hated him, more than anything, he hated him. After all, he had killed Mulder's father, then proceeded to set Fox up to take the fall. Why were they offering him shelter, these two men had more reason to loathe and despise him more than anyone else. What the hell was going on?

"I really shouldn't." Alex mumbled, the perfect houseguest trying to be polite, not to be any trouble. It sounded false, even to him.

"Alex, you aren't going anywhere tonight." Walter told him firmly. "And beside that, you could use a shower and a change of clothes."

Alex looked up at him, his green eyes glittering with sudden rage. Then his shoulders slumped. "Okay then."

Both Fox and Walter took the younger man upstairs to the bathroom, Walter getting some clean towels while Fox rummaged around for something that Alex could wear.

The hot water felt like a minor miracle against his skin. Alex scrubbed himself thoroughly, letting the spray sluice away the grime and sweat.

He stepped out of the shower, wrapping a large fluffy towel around himself. He found a clean razor and shaving cream on the hand basin. The shave and a set of clean set of clothes soon made Alex feel like a new man again, or at least a semblance of the old one, the one before his abrupt change in fortune anyway.

The sweat suit felt warm and soft against his skin. He dragged a comb through his unruly hair trying to tame it, but the still damp hair insisted on flopping over his eyes. After a couple of futile attempts, he finally gave up, he frowned at his reflection in the mirror, he desperately needed a haircut. Not to mention how sallow and gaunt he looked. Dark shadows lay like smudges under his eyes, making them appear even more deeper set than they already were. All in all, he looked terrible.

Jesus, no wonder they felt nothing but pity for you Alex, you look like shit.

Both Walter and Fox were waiting out in the hall for him. "We made up the spare bed for you." Fox told him. Alex nodded.

The bedroom was small and neat, a single bed sat in the middle of the room, clean sheets glowed mellowly against the brightly coloured quilt. It looked so dammed inviting, suddenly Alex felt exhaustion wash over him and he sagged.

A hand reached out to steady him, and abruptly he pulled away. Walter was looking at him with concern.

"I'm okay, I just felt a little dizzy there for a moment, that's all." Alex sounded almost embarrassed.

"It's okay Alex, we can see that you have been through a lot lately." Walter replied.

The sympathy that Alex heard in those words stung him and he turned away. "I'm tired." He mumbled.

"All right then, get a good night's sleep Alex." With that, both Walter and Fox turned to leave the room. Alex smiled suddenly and called out after them.

"How do you know that I'm not going to try and kill you both in your sleep?"

Fox looked startled, as though the question had never entered his mind, Walter however chuckled as he replied, ticking the reasons off his fingers. "First of all, you don't have any weapons on you that you could use, and trust me, I checked. Second of all, you would never be able to enter our room without me hearing you, I'm a light sleeper thanks to my Vietnam days, thirdly, right now I doubt that you would be strong enough to take us both on and fourth of all, if you tried Alex I would well and truly kick your butt for you. Satisfied?"

Alex lost for speech, nodded. Then he climbed into bed. Grinning Walter quietly closed the bedroom door.

Fox pulled the covers back and got into the large double bed, he was tired and he had an early meeting tomorrow. He glanced at the bedside clock, it was nearly one in the morning.

He felt Walter's heavyset frame settle into bed next to him, and he turned around.

"Well, what do you make of it all?" He asked without preamble. Walter took his glasses off and placed them carefully on the bedside table.

"I believe him." Walter replied simply.

So do I, but why here, why our house?" Fox said, he heard Walter sigh. "Coincidence Fox, that's all, good old fashioned coincidence, nothing more."

"You have to admit, that's one hell of a coincidence though." His younger lover replied.

"At first, I thought that he was here to cause some underhanded fuckery, but when I saw the state he was in....Christ, I never suspected that he had fallen on such hard times."

"Hard times, Walter, Alex said that he's been living in a car." Fox replied, taking care to keep his voice low so that he could not be overheard.

Walter nodded, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "I guess there's just not a lot of work for an ex assassin these days."

"Poor Alex."

Walter stared at Fox for a moment. "I thought you hated him, after all, he killed your father, didn't he?"

Fox shrugged. "I did hate him, I mean I really hated him, but seeing him this way now..."

Walter understood what Fox meant. When he had first seen the double agent, he had been dressed in a cheap suit and a bad haircut...and he had been full of youthful, bright eyed enthusiasm.

Walter had taken a shine to the eager young agent, fully intending to take him under his wing, give him the benefit of his experience, until it turned out that Alex had been working for the Smoking Man, an agent provocateur, planted there to sabotage both Mulder and the X Files.

Then of course there had been the nanocytes. Walter sighed as he laid down, Fox already curled around him like a kitten.

And now, here he was, sleeping in the next room, Walter could hear the gentle snoring coming through the adjoining wall. Walter smiled, how strange sometimes, the way things turned out. He closed his eyes and gradually sleep overcame him.

TWO

The clock radio alarm buzzed into life. Walter reached over and slammed his hand down on top of it, shutting it off. He rolled over, dislodging his still sleeping lover.

"Come on Fox, time to get moving and all that happy crappy."

Fox cracked open one hazel eye. "Mmmmm." He rolled over, pulling the pillow up over his head.

Walter reached out and slapped his butt. "Ouch!" Fox sat up, outraged. "Walter!"

"Time to get up...oh and we had better check on our houseguest as well."

"Yeah." Fox swung his long legs over the side of the bed, getting to his feet. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head luxuriously.

Walter pulled the robe on and padded barefoot to the door. "Hurry up." He told Fox who was now doing some knee bends.

"Okay...okay, grump" Fox muttered the last word under his breath.

Walter heard it anyway, with a chuckle, he walked over to the spare bedroom's door and knocked, there was no answer. He opened the door. The room was empty.

With a frown, Walter stepped inside. A patch of sunlight gleamed on the light coloured carpet. The bed was neatly made, everything was in it's place.

Walter left the room and hurried downstairs, a thread of disquiet worming it's way through his belly.

There was no sign of Alex downstairs either. Walter searched every room, then back upstairs. Alex had left the house.

After a quick check to make sure nothing had been taken, Walter walked into the kitchen, a note, hastily written was hanging on the refrigerator door.

Dear Walter and Fox... Thanks for letting me stay the night, and thanks for the food and the clean clothes. I really appreciate everything you did for me last night, especially for not handing me over to the cops. I hope everything works out for the both of you.

THREE

The weeks past and both Fox and Walter were immersed in their work, they had not really forgotten about Alex, but they did not mention him either. Fox had tentatively suggested that they try and find Alex, but Walter had vetoed that idea.

"Alex left for what ever reasons that he had, I don't think he wants us intruding on his life." He had explained to his young lover.

Reluctantly, Fox agreed, and that had been the end of it.

Fox had been given a new case, working with John Doggett on a series of what looked to be cult murders. Scully had started teaching at Quantico, but he still saw her every so often.

Life continued it's comfortable pattern for both Walter and Fox.

It was late by the time Walter got home, he had been at a series of grueling meetings and he was tired and out of sorts.

Fox was in the kitchen stirring something bubbling cheerfully away in a pot. Walter leaned over his shoulder, as Fox added a pinch of something to concoction.

"Hi there." Fox said absently as he stirred the mixture. Walter slid his arms around his lover's slender waist. "Hi there yourself."

"What's that you're cooking?"

"It's supposed to be sauce for the spaghetti, but I think I've overcooked it."

Walter smiled, as much as he loved his brilliantly intelligent sensitive and sexy as hell lover, he had to admit, the man was a disaster in the kitchen.

"It doesn't smell too bad." Walter commented, actually, it smelled dammed good.

Fox smiled. "Well, there's only one way to tell, you can set the table and I'll serve up the food."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Walter carried the plates and cutlery over to the kitchen table, humming under his breath as he set everything out.

Fox carried the large bowl filled with the spaghetti he'd cooked plunking it down in the center of the table.

"I know what would make this meal complete." Walter said suddenly. He stood up and walked over to the fridge, getting out a bottle of white wine. He was about to open it, when the telephone rang.

He reached out and grabbed the receiver "Skinner here."

"Hi, it's John Doggett." A gruff voice said.

"Yes John, what can I do for you?" Walter asked, he was puzzled, John Doggett never called unless it was something really important.

"Listen Walt." John was the only one to call the Assistant Director 'Walt'. "I'm down here at the hospital, I got a call about an hour ago about a young man that's been assaulted. Normally I would have let the local PD handle this, but when I was told the guy's name, I thought I had better check it out."

"Who is it?" Walter asked, frowning. He was aware of Fox's eyes on him as he spoke.

"It's Alex Krycek."

"Who?" Walter asked, stunned. Fox had moved across the room to stand beside the larger man now.

"Alex...Alex Krycek." John replied patiently. "He's at St Marguerite Hospital, he was brought in a couple of hours ago, looks like he's been beaten up pretty badly.

"Jesus. Do you know what happened?" Walter asked.

"I'm not completely sure, but from what I can gather, he's been on the game, looks like he picked up the wrong customer this time, hell they really did a job on him, poor bastard's barely conscious. " John told him, his voice tinny over the phone line. "Look Walter, the truth is, I didn't know who else to call, I don't think he's got any family...or close friends for that matter, you were the only one I could think to contact."

"You did the right thing John, where are you know?"

"I'm calling from the hospital." John Doggett replied.

"Stay there and wait for me, I'll be right there." With that, Walter hung the phone up.

"What's going on?" Fox asked, Walter could see that he was worried. "It's Alex." He replied. "He's in hospital." Walter quickly filled Fox in on what John had told him.

"Shit." Fox breathed after Walter had finished. "Poor Alex." He looked shocked.

"I'm going over to the hospital now, John's waiting there for me."

"I'll come with you." Fox replied. Walter looked at him for a moment. "Are you sure you want to come?"

"Of course." Fox replied, clearly surprised at the question. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Okay then, let's go."

John was sitting on one of the hard plastic chair, a cardboard cup of lukewarm coffee in his hand. He saw them and stood up, Walter and Fox walked over to where he was standing.

Where is he?" Walter asked without preamble.

"They have him in intensive care." John told them both. "Come on, I'll show you where it is."

They followed him down a long corridor, the familiar smells of antiseptics and cleaning solutions permeated the air. A couple of young pretty looking nurses passed by, their pale blue uniforms standing out in contrast against the darker green walls.

They stopped in front of a set of double doors. "Here it is." John said, his voice hushed.

They pushed their way through the doors, a nurse was sitting at the nurses station, a clipboard in her hand. She looked up as the three of them approached.

"Can I help you?" She asked, her voice low, the whole atmosphere was hushed, all the sounds muted. Walter suddenly felt a chill, he hated hospitals at the best of times, but this particular ward really creeped him out.

"We are here to see Alex Krycek, he was brought in a couple of hours ago." John told her.

"Are you relatives of Mr Krycek?" The nurse asked. Walter flashed his badge. "We are here to speak to him about the alleged assault." He explained. The nurse's lips quirked up humourlessly. "There was nothing alleged about it, trust me." She replied. "You can have a couple of minutes with him, and that's all."

She showed them the room where Alex was. The three of them entered, then Walter and Fox both stopped, shocked at the sight that greeted them.

Alex was lying in the hospital bed, his eyes closed, his face was puffy and discoloured with bruises, one of his eyes were swollen shut and looked so bad that Walter feared for the sight in that eye.

His lips was puffed up with cuts and bruises and they could see the livid strangle marks on his throat and under his jaw.

"Jesus." Walter heard Fox say under his breath and he moved closer to the bed.

"Alex?"

Alex's good eye fluttered open, he saw Walter Skinner looking down at him and attempted a smile.

"Hi there." He rasped, then winced, his throat felt raw.

"Alex, can you tell us what happened?" Walter asked him. Alex drew a deep breath, then let it out painfully, his chest felt as though a 6oolb woman was sitting on it.

"I dunno." He mumbled through his split lips. He shifted slightly under the sheets, Walter caught a glimpse of bandages taped around his middle, probably has a couple of broken ribs as well. Walter thought to himself.

Alex's right wrist was also bandaged as well, all in all, he was a mess, someone had done him over but good.

"Do you know who did this to you?" John asked, stepping forward. "Come on Alex, is there anything you can tell to help us catch this son of a bitch?"

"Not much." Alex croaked. Walter sighed and ran his hand over his bald scalp.

"Is there anything you want to tell us...anything at all?" Alex turned his head away, stubbornly saying nothing. Walter drew a deep breath, clearly frustrated. It was clear to see that Alex did not want to tell them anything at all.

Just then the doctor walked into the room, he stopped, eyeing the three men severely.

"I'm sorry, but Mr Krycek is not allowed visitors just now."

"We are with the FBI." Walter told him, flashing his badge once more.

"Oh," the doctor nodded. "I see."

"What can you tell us about My Krycek's condition?" Fox asked.

The doctor, a youngish fellow with bright red hair and a smattering of freckles lifted the chart off the end of the bed, looking at it.

"Well, it seems that Mr Krycek here was brought in by ambulance earlier, he had two broken ribs, a fractured wrist, a hairline fracture to his skull, a dislocated collar bone and extensive bruising to eighty percent of his body. I would say by the look of it, someone has worked him over...big time."

"Fell down stairs."

The four of them turned to the figure lying on the bed. Alex stared at them all defiantly. "Fell down, the stairs, that's how..." He let the rest of the sentence trail off, his throat hurt too much and all he wanted to do was sleep.

The three FBI agents turned back to the doctor, who pursed his mouth and shook his head.
No way.

The three agents agreed, no, this was the work of person, or more likely, persons unknown. Alex had been beaten, and by the sound of it, nearly to death.

"If you have finished asking my patient questions, I am going to have to ask you to leave now, he needs to rest." The doctor said firmly.

"Very well." Walter replied. He doubted that Alex was going to tell them anything anyway. He turned back to injured young man. "We will come back tomorrow Alex, maybe then you might want to tell us what happened."

Alex said nothing, just closed his good eye. Walter left the room, Fox and John in tow. The doctor followed them out into the corridor.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" He asked. "Sure." Walter replied. "What's on your mind Doctor..."

"Levinson. Look I think that there's something that you ought to know, I did not want to say anything in front of Mr Krycek, but since the three of you are investigating this." The doctor stopped.

"Go on please Doctor Levinson, anything that you can tell us will help." Walter urged.

"When he was brought into the emergency room, the examination showed that he has been sexually assaulted." The doctor told the three of them. "We found traces of semen and blood, and there has been some pretty serious internal damage."

"Did you do a rape kit?" John asked. The doctor shook his head. "No he absolutely refused the rape kit. He insists that he fell and injured himself that way, but it's not consistent with the injuries that he has sustained."

"I see." Walter replied thoughtfully. The doctor shrugged. "I just thought you ought to know, I mean, I see these kinds of cases coming in all the time, something has to be done. The trouble is, they think they are safe, until they pick up the wrong customer."

"Thanks for letting us know about this doc." John replied. The doctor nodded, then hurried away, probably to attend to another patient.

The three men watched him go, then John shook his head wearily. "Poor bastard, who would have thought he'd end up like this huh."

Walter said nothing, but Fox could see that he was troubled.

FOUR

Alex sat propped up in bed, listlessly picking at the green jelly that the nurse had brought in for him to have with his lunch. It had been nearly two weeks since he had been admitted into the hospital. The bruises were beginning to fade and the cuts and scratches were slowly healing.

He looked up as the door to his room opened and both Walter and Fox walked in. They had been constant visitors, and the only visitors, since Alex had no close relatives or friends. The ex Consortium operative had always been something of a loner to begin with, and with his line of work...it did not make for close relationships.

"Hi there." Fox said with a smile, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "Ooh, great my favourite kind of jello."

Alex grinned. "Here you go." He handed the cup of jelly to him. Walter cast Fox an irritated look. Then perched on the end of the bed.

"The doctor says that you are just about ready to be discharged."

Alex shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." He replied indifferently.

Walter nodded thoughtfully. "You still don't want to tell us what happened?" Alex shook his head. "I told you already." He said.

"Yes, you fell down a flight of stairs." Walter replied. "And we all know that's not what happened, is it?"

Alex looked away, refusing to meet the older man's eyes.

"Why did you leave that morning Alex?" Walter asked suddenly. Alex frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"The night you broke into our house...remember?"

Alex shrugged again. "I didn't think that you'd want me to stay, that's all."

"So you went back out onto the street again, and what...started selling yourself?"

Alex's eyes narrowed. "So, what the hell has it to do with you?" He snapped belligerently.

Fox glanced over at Walter, frowning slightly, wondering what was going on.

"Nothing Alex." Walter replied, his voice matter of fact. "Only you end up here in the hospital, beaten so badly you were lucky not have sustained any permanent damage."

"It's none of your business Skinner." Alex hissed, his green eyes were practically spitting sparks, both Walter and Fox could see the anger and the underlying fear in them.

"That's where you're wrong Alex, it is my business." Walter told him firmly. "Then man that did this to you, he's still out there, and he could do this to someone else."

Alex shook his head angrily. "You don't have any right to do this." He said, his voice cold with rage. Tears gleamed at the corners of his eyes.

"Alex, we aren't trying to upset you." Fox said suddenly, his voice gentle, "we just want to know who did this to you so that we can catch him and put him in prison where he belongs."

"No." Alex cried. "No, just leave me alone...the both of you, just leave me the hell alone." Abruptly he began to cry.

Fox hurried over to Alex wrapping his arms around the distraught man. Alex's slender frame shook with each heart wrenching sob.

Walter sat on the other side of the bed, reaching out to stroke Alex's dark hair, trying to soothe him.

"I h...had no c...choice, I had to whore myself, I h...had no money, nowhere to go. I didn't kn...know what else to do." Alex wept.

"Shhh, it's okay, it's going to be all right." Fox said gently, rocking him back and forth as though he were a child. He glanced over at Walter, his hazel eyes filled with concern, Walter looked back at him, his own face filled with pity for the hurting young man sitting in the bed, between them.

"You know Alex, you never had to leave you know, you could have stayed." Walter told him, his voice gentle. "In fact, Fox and I, we wanted you to stay."

Alex looked up at the older man, his eyes red with weeping. "I thought that you both hated me. After everything that happened...after everything that I did, how could you not hate me?"

Neither Fox or Walter had an answer for that, by rights, they should hate him, the treacherous double agent that had killed seemingly without conscience, that had betrayed both their trust over and over, yet the sweet faced eager young agent in the cheap suit was still there, somewhere deep inside. He was still there...and so very lost and alone.

"I didn't want to do...what I did." Alex whispered suddenly. "It's just that all my life I had to learn how to survive on my wits...I've had to do worse you know, when I was a kid. There are things that I did..." He trailed off, his eyes distant.

"But when those men followed me out of that bar...I was so scared, I tried to fight them off, but there were four of them and I couldn't. They started hitting me, then kicking me, calling me a whore and a faggot, and funny part of it was that they were right." Alex stopped, drawing a deep shuddery breath.

"I guess I only got what I deserved didn't I, my mother always used to say, what comes around, goes around and she's right. Most of the time she was drunk out of her mind, but the old bitch was right after all."

"No Alex." Walter said quietly. "No one deserves what happened to you...nobody, you understand that?"

After a moment, Alex slowly nodded, then looked down at his hands resting on his lap, his wrist still swathed in bandages.

"The doctor says that I can go home in the next couple of days, he says that there is a homeless shelter he might be able to get me into, just until I get back up on my feet again." He smiled humourlessly. "I guess this is my second chance, isn't it?"

"Alex, the spare bedroom is still there if you still want it." Fox said softly, he glanced over at Walter questioningly, Walter nodded and smiled genuine warmth glowing in his eyes. He felt suddenly proud of his sweet, generous young lover.

Alex bit his lip, thinking hard. No, it could never work out, for all sorts of reasons, it could never work out. Him staying with Walter Skinner and Fox Mulder, two men that were so obviously in love with each other. He's only be a third wheel, an unwanted intrusion into their comfortable, happy lives.

No, it could never work, not for an outsider like him, and that's what he was...an outsider, always looking in, always observing, but never ever being able to truly take part.

But the offer touched him, made him feel that warmth for a moment, something he had not felt in a long time. It made him feel less alone.

Both Walter and Fox could see the doubts chasing across the younger man's expressive face. They knew what he was thinking, but neither of them were prepared to take no for an answer. Alex needed them and like it or not, they were going to help him.

"Look, thanks for the offer guys, but..." Alex began. Walter cut him off.

"You are coming to stay with us and that's that Alex, and don't even bother arguing, we are not taking no for an answer...got it?"

Alex stopped, the surprise on his face was almost comical. Both Walter and Fox began to laugh. Then after a moment, Alex joined in as well.

"All right then, if you really insist." Alex replied, after a moment, then the smile faded from his face.

"I don't want you to do this because you feel sorry for me you know." He told them both. Walter and Fox smiled at him.

"Alex, we are doing this because we want too, not because we feel sorry for you, everything we do is because we want to, not because we pity you." Walter's voice was filled with warmth, reassuring the younger man.

Then he frowned. "What if it doesn't work out?" Alex asked suddenly.

"Then we can make other arrangements." Fox replied with a little shrug. "But why don't we at least give this one a go first."

"All right then." Alex replied slowly. "I stay with you both, if you'll have me." He said the last, almost shyly, looking up at both Fox and Walter through his thick dark lashes.

"Good, then it's settled, as soon as the doctor says you can go." Walter stood up, clapping his hands together. Both Alex and Fox watched the older man with amusement.

Suddenly a nurse stuck her head around the door. "Visiting times nearly over." She told them.

Alex made a face, then sighed. "Will you both come back tomorrow?"

Fox chuckled. "Sure we will Alex, but we have to get everything ready for when you are released from here."

Okay then." Alex laid his head back against the pillows, satisfied, suddenly Fox leaned forward and kissed his brow. Alex gave him a lazy smile.

"See you tomorrow then."

Alex watched them both go, a curious mixture of happiness and contentment washed over him. He had no idea whether this arrangement would work out, or whether what he was doing was even wise, but he had somewhere to go now, somewhere were he might feel safe and secure, somewhere he was welcomed. Maybe even loved. He thought of that gentle kiss, he could still feel his skin tingle from the brief touch of Fox's lips against his flesh. He thought about Walter's strong hands and gentle eyes, the way he had stroked his hair when he had broken down and cried. How safe that had made him feel.

But most of all, he thought about how he had felt, that night when he had slept in their spare bed, listening to the soft sound of their voices, their laughter, how he had felt for that briefest of time, that he was a part of something, something so special...so real, and he suddenly found that he wanted more.

He closed his eyes listening to the everyday sounds of the hospital, the nurses talking, the soft hum of the different machines. He would only be here for a couple more days, then he would be allowed to go...home, could it be his home?

Alex smiled, he thought that maybe...yes it could. Maybe everything he had ever wanted, love, warmth, companionship, maybe it had always been there, within his grasp, and he never realized it until now.

Maybe...