Alex Krycek stood lurking just outside the cabin door. It was late, almost midnight, and Skinner and Scully still lay dozing inside, in front of the fireplace, sated from their earlier lovemaking. He peered around the corner and in the window, able to see them in all their glory. Jesus Christ, he thought to himself, I'm glad I wasn't half an hour earlier. He shivered just thinking about having to see AD Skinner giving Agent Scully the old 'hot beef injection', and shook his head to clear THAT image. If the Consortium wanted that for evidence, they could damn well collect it themselves, he mused.

He had wanted to make it to the cabin before Skinner and Scully arrived, but Smoking Spenderman had decided to withhold his instructions, as well directions to the place, until they were certain the agents would really be showing up. One never knew when AD Skinner might come up with some last minute business, and have to postpone. As it stood now, Krycek's orders were simple; reactivate the virus, and hide under the goddamned porch until Skinner was weakened and Scully's defenses were down enough to be overtaken. Shit. What a lousy job, he thought to himself. Oh well, he thought dryly, it pays well, and the torture part is fun. Que sera ser-fucking-a. He took the virtual pen and moved the bars up on the LED, until they were about one-quarter of the way lit. He closed the lid of the metal device, and stole silently to the side of the house farthest from where Skinner and Scully were resting. He found the edge of the wooden deck, and proceeded to kneel down, crawling under it far enough so he wouldn't be seen if the AD and Scully decided to venture outdoors. He was wearing his typical uniform, black jeans, black shirt, black leather jacket, black gloves, black boots. Far be it from me to be unfashionable, he laughed to himself, scooting further under the structure, not minding sleeping with the spiders for a night. Skinner would be far gone enough for him to bust in by tomorrow mid-morning, he was sure. Krycek closed his eyes, visions of Dana Scully's tear streamed face putting him to sleep with a smile.

At almost the same time that Krycek had activated the virus, Walter Skinner awoke with a slight jump, waking Dana as well. "Oh, we must have dozed off, " Scully said drowsily. She looked at Walter and saw that he had broken a slight sweat, and she sat up, "Walter, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Dana. Just had a bit of a nightmare, I think. Did you have a nice rest?" He smiled at her.

"I certainly did, Mr. Skinner. What time is it?" Scully asked, yawning and stretching.

Skinner checked his watch, "the time, Ms. Scully, is....jacuzzi bath time! Actually, it's 12:15." He leaned over and kissed her, then stood, offering his hand to help her up. She took it, and he led her into the bedroom, where they put on his pajamas. Walter stepped into the pants, while Scully buttoned up the oversized shirt. She managed to leave it open enough so that he could see her cleavage if she bent over, and she smiled at him wickedly as she tested it out on him, bending over so he could see straight down her front. "How's this, Skinner," she asked.

"Hmmm...looks good from here." He took the two steps necessary to close the distance between them and kissed her, then continued, "looks good from here, too." They both chuckled, and Walter got into his overnight bag and pulled out a bottle of Merlot. "Would you like to run the bath, and I'll go scrounge up a couple of wine glasses and candles?" He asked.

"Absolutely. Too bad we don't have bubbles."'

"Sorry, Scully. If you want to leave now, we can..." he trailed off as he left the room in search of glassware and candles.

"Ha ha, Walter," she shouted at him, laughing as she started the bath. Hmm, she wondered, Doc seemed to have everything ELSE in the cabin, why not bubbles? She looked under the sink, and just happened to find a travel sized bottle of bubble bath. Good old Doc, Scully thought, must've been a boy scout....always prepared! She unscrewed the lid and poured the contents of the small bottle under the running hot water, then sat on the side of the tub, waiting for it to fill so she could turn the jets on.

Skinner had padded into the sun room to the fully stocked bar, finding a corkscrew in a small drawer underneath the tiny bar sink. He popped the cork out of the bottle, then grabbed two wineglasses with Kachina designs on them. He knew that there must be candles somewhere, and took the wine and the glasses into the kitchen, setting them on the wooden island so he could properly raid the kitchen drawers. "Ah HA," he said aloud, finding three white tealights hiding in a utility drawer underneath the one containing the silverware. He grabbed a box of matches as well, and turned around to grab the wine. A wave of dizziness washed over him just then, and he set the candles and matches down on the island as well, steadying himself until it dissipated. "Jesus," he said to himself, "I must be getting too old for this," he smiled, retrieving all the items from the island and heading back into the bathroom. He deduced that it was the lack of blood that was in the head on his shoulders this evening, and nothing more.

"About time. I was beginning to worry," Scully chided as Skinner entered the bathroom, eyeing the pretty redhead on the edge of the tub. He raised an eyebrow at her as he set the glasses and wine down, and handed her the candles and the matches. "Were you now," he replied, pouring the wine as she lit the tealights and set them in the corner closest to the wall, away from the running water.

"You know, Walter, I've been meaning to talk to you about something." She looked very serious, and he set the wine down on the counter, giving her his full attention.

"What is it, Dana?"

"It's...well, it's just that..." she pretended to fumble for her words, even though she knew exactly what she wanted to say.

"What?" Walter said, "You know you can talk to me about anything, don't you?"

"Well, it's that eyebrow thing that you do." She bit her bottom lip, stifling the hysterics that lay just underneath. "I think that you should know that, well, I can outdo you. Big time." He let out a sigh of relief, and then he arched his eyebrow at her, taking a small step closer to where she sat, precariously balanced on the edge of the jacuzzi, and said, "You mean this?" He pointed, so there could be no mistake what he was talking about.

"Yes. Yes, I believe that I am the master archer," she stated, arching hers back at him, her blue eyes shining up at him, "and you are unsuccessfully invading my territory." She let out a slight giggle, followed by a yelp of surprise as Walter took another step towards her and grabbed her arms, throwing her gently into the tub full of bubbles, shirt and all.

"YOU SHIT," she yelled at him, laughing, throwing the bubbles onto his head as he bent over her to tickle her. When he straightened back up, his bald head was covered in a mass of white bubbles, and Scully lost it. She laughed so hard that tears rolled down her face, unable to even tell him to look in the mirror. He did turn around, and when he saw the reflection looking back at him, he lost it too, laughing a deep, loud, gruff laugh that counterpointed her high pitched one, and soon they were both in tears. As Walter caught his breath, he untied and stepped out of his pajama bottoms, and grabbed the glasses of wine, handing one down to Scully, who had removed the soaking wet shirt and thrown it into the sink closest to her. "At least you didn't put the candles out, you big oaf," Scully said, still chuckling as he stepped into the tub and settled down behind her, his long legs around her petite body. She lay back against his massive chest, the hair there tickling her back until she squirmed around for a minute, causing Walter's cock to twitch yet again. "Sit still, Scully, " Walter growled at her, "you're going to wake the sleeping sea serpent."

"Walter, I am just going to pretend that you didn't EVEN say what I know I just heard you say." Laughter rumbled in his chest, giving her goosebumps to feel it against her back. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. You make me feel so....so cocky, Dana!"

"Oh, nice choice of words, Walter." She giggled again, taking a long sip of her wine. "Mmmm, this is good. You have impeccable taste, sir." She ran her free hand gently up and down his thigh, loving the way that his body felt touching hers, surrounding her, like some steel fortress. She had never felt so safe with a man in all of her life, and she leaned down and kissed his arm, murmuring, "I love you, Walter."

"I love you too, Dana." He kissed her wet hair, marvelling at how good she smelled, loving the feel of her small body against his. "Hey, let's see if we can get the jacuzzi on." He sipped his wine again, and Scully leaned forward, looking for the switch, which she found, and instantly the jets came on.

"Aaaahhhhh," Walter groaned, "that feels amazing." The hot water bubbled up around him and Scully, who had gone back to her position with her back against his chest. "Not bad, Skinner, not bad at all," she said, sipping her wine. They lay there for a long while, relishing the feel of the steaming hot water, washing away all the horrible things that a week in the J.Edgar Hoover building did to them. Dana got up and poured them some more wine, and they shared conversation until they were both completely pruned, the moisture sapped from their skin.

"I suppose we should get out and go to bed," Dana said, finally feeling sleepy, the adrenalin of the night's activities wearing thin.

"I agree. It's WAY past my bedtime," Skinner said, and Scully snorted at him, standing to grab a towel. She wrapped it around herself and stepped out of the tub, grabbing one for Walter and handing it to him as he stood. Well, he had tried to stand, anyway. That plan was cut short by another attack of dizziness, this time his vision shaking as well, and he slumped back down into the tub. "Walter," Scully said, instantly alarmed, "are you alright?" She knelt down next to the tub, feeling his forehead, but not finding a fever. "I'm fine, Scully. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Are you sure? You look a little pale..." she started.

"Dr. Scully, I am fine. Just the wine and the heat, I'm sure." He didn't dare tell her that it was the second time tonight he had had an attack. "Here, hand me that towel, would you please, darling? I'm getting a chill." She gave him the towel and watched him carefully as he stepped out of the tub, drying his beautiful body off in front of her.

"You're SURE you're okay, Walter?" Scully knew that he would never, EVER admit that he was feeling badly, especially this weekend, their premiere trip together.

"Dana, please," he said insistently, "I'm fine. Go warm up the bed, why don't you?" She arched an eyebrow at him, causing him to smile, and she smiled back before she left the bathroom and padded across the thick white carpet to the huge bed, peeling back the massive dark green down comforter and, oh my, she thought, matching flannel sheets. "Yummy," she said aloud, and hopped into the bed, waiting for Skinner.

Walter stood in the bathroom, back in his pajama bottoms, leaning against the counter, his head hanging down so the vanity lights reflected off of his perfectly bald scalp. Something was wrong, he thought, and he wasn't sure what it was, but he had an idea. One that he didn't care to share with Dana at the moment. Or at all. His vision was blurring again, and it wasn't just because he wasn't wearing his wirerims. It wasn't because he was tired, and it wasn't the wine; it certainly wasn't the sex, either, because he was in the best shape of his entire life, and even Dana couldn't wear him out. "Most days," he whispered aloud, and chuckled. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, studying it as best he could with his eyes fucking him over, and shuddered. It couldn't be that goddamned virus again. It was in remission. Krycek had promised him that, and yeah, so what if he held the button under his finger, he had no idea where Dana and he were.....did he? Skinner wondered, as he shut off the light and headed towards the bed, fighting the dizziness and nausea the whole way there.

"You're sure, Walter, absolutely certain nothing is wrong?" She scrutinized his face, looking for any sign of illness, and only finding his dark brown eyes, gazing into hers, melting her to her soul as only he could do. "I am fine. I love you, Dana," he said gently, sliding into the bed next to her, and pulling her body close to his. She wrapped her arms around him, kissing his neck, and said, "I love you, too." She fell asleep quickly; he could tell by her deep relaxed breathing. He wished that he could be so lucky, but it was no use. He lay on his side, the love of his life sleeping peacefully in his arms, and could do nothing but think about the virus. He knew that's what it was. He was no idiot, no sir, not Walter Skinner, Assistant Director of the FBI. He closed his eyes, and felt the lump come back into his throat, and tears streamed down the side of his face as he sobbed quietly to himself, not letting Dana hear him.

In his mind, he screamed out to Krycek, even though his body lay still, and Scully lay sleeping in his arms. The rage would be undeniable, if anyone were able to hear him, he would scare the living hell out of anyone with his tirade. Krycek...You MOTHERFUCKER, Skinner screamed, why do you have to do this to me? To US? We work for YOU, and you know it. You use it against us, and the moment that we try to find some peace, you have to tear it away...like THIS? How can you do it, you RAT BASTARD, how can you ruin my life, and now it will be two lives, no THREE, because you'll kill Scully's spirit---rip her fucking heart right out, and Mulder, Hell, Mulder looks up to me like a surrogate father, what the fuck will HE do? I'll tell you what he'll do. He'll breach protocol, that's what he'll do. He'll hunt you down, just like you did....ohhhh, shit. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. That was it. In his mind, Skinner had just figured out what was going on. He and Scully were breaching protocol. They weren't following the rules. They had tried to be so careful...so fucking careful not to let anyone know...only Mulder and Scully...aside from me....no fraternizing with your suboordinates, AD Skinner.

"I'll tell you in the morning, my love," Walter whispered to Dana, and she stirred slightly in his arms,"at least rest tonight." He cried himself quietly to sleep then, something that he never remembered doing before in his life.

When Alex awoke, underneath the deck of the cabin, it was still dark out, although the first light was showing, and the morning birds had started their songs in the forest. Krycek wished he had a semi-automatic weapon of some kind that he could use to shut them all the fuck up, but knew that that was just a fantasy. He pulled out the small metal device and opened the lid once more. A C T I V E, read the LED screen, and he smiled wickedly, knowing that by the time Walter and Dana were awake, he would be able to set the remainder of the plan into action. He used the virtual pen to move the bars up to the halfway point, closed the cover again, and checked his watch. 5:30 AM. Marvelous, he thought. Only a few more hours, which Skinner'll probably sleep through anyway, and we're in business. Krycek drifted back off to sleep, knowing that he would be awakened by his cue in a few hours....he hoped it would be the sound of Dana Katherine Scully screaming her little red head off.

Dana awoke and looked over at the clock on the table next to her side of the bed. 9:30. She smiled, stretching her arms up over her head, and looked over at Walter. He was still soundly asleep, with his back to her, and she resisted the urge to wake him, slipping out of bed instead and pulling on his shirt from the night before. She walked into the kitchen, admiring the view. The morning sun filtered in through the trees, and sunbeams shot down in the sitting room from the skylights. She walked into the sitting room and opened the door that led out to the deck, the chilly morning air hitting her instantly. The air was so fresh up here, she thought, and she breathed in deeply, listening to the birds singing from the surrounding treetops. She left the door open, allowing the fresh cool air to come wafting in, and she set herself to the task of fixing breakfast for Walter and herself. She hummed to herself as she opened the refrigerator door, finding fresh eggs and milk, bread and butter, as well as bacon. There were also a variety of fresh vegetables and meats, and she decided to make an omelette. A really big omelette, with two forks. While she was in the midst of preparing her meal, she heard a creaking on the deck outdoors. Just a slight creak, really, and she figured that perhaps a squirrel had found its way there, and she smiled, grabbing a piece of cheese as she crept quietly around the corner of the kitchen, into the sitting room. Dana Scully was never one to pass up an opportunity to commune with nature.

"Good morning, Agent Scully," Krycek hissed, his gun pointed directly at her chest, "what's cooking, good looking?" He smiled at her, and she froze, unable to comprehend what was going on. "Mmmm, I'm so hungry I could eat a whore...I mean, horse," he corrected himself, and she opened her mouth, but nothing came out. "Ah, ah ah ah, no no, Agent Scully, you can't scream. I already got my wakeup call. It slithered past my head this morning....such a shame, as I was SO looking forward to your reaction at finding Walter." He smiled at her, and she felt like collapsing to the floor. Her heart was already there. "Sure was nice of you to leave the door open for me, though. That solved a big dilemma for me, let me tell YOU." He snickered, and she was certain she was going to throw up.

"What are you talking about," she said, "he's still asleep." Panic filled her from her toes to her scalp, and she was sure that every hair on her was standing on end. "Why, Agent Scully," Krycek said, mock concern in his voice, "you look truly pale. Perhaps you should have a seat." He motioned for her to sit in the rocker, and she did, not wanting to agitate him.

"Sorry, Ms. Scully, but Walter is not asleep." Krycek held up the monitoring device for her to see, and she saw the screen, with the A C T I V E lit up, as well as half of the bars underneath the word. It wasn't rocket science...she knew exactly what he had done.

"No, Alex, no, don't do this." Scully was tearing up now, not emotional tears, but tears of fear, and rage; disbelief that he had once again gotten to Skinner, and now, to her. "Please, don't do this to him. It's not right. You KNOW it's not right."

"Awwwww, Scully, you are so fucking NOBLE," he said loudly, "oops, don't want to wake WALTER," he shouted the name, "now, do we?" Krycek laughed, oblivious to the commotion he was creating.

"Alex, please...don't do this...we'll do whatever you want, I swear," Scully cried, she was in full throttle now, sobs wracking her small frame, "I'll do whatever you want, just please, don't do this to him. Not again."

"Too late, Agent Scully. You two have been VERY naughty. You have been breaching protocol, and the big guns aren't very happy about that. In fact, they're pretty fucking pissed off, to tell you the truth...yep, the truth IS out there, baby, and that's it. You've been a bad girl, and Walter's been a very very bad AD, and now, you have to pay."

There was a loud *THUMP* in the hallway, and Scully turned slightly so she could see...and wished that she hadn't. Walter had made it out of the bed, and to the hall, but that was it. He collapsed on the hardwood floor, groaning loudly. "Dana," he moaned, "Dana, oh God, it hurts.." he was clutching his stomach, his teeth clenched and eyes shut tightly against the pain.

"WALTER," Scully screamed, jumping out of the rocker and running to his side, not caring anymore if Krycek wanted to blow her away. "Jesus Christ, how SWEET!" Krycek roared, following Dana to the hallway, stopping to watch her try to calm Skinner, who was writhing in agony, his knees drawn up against his bare chest.

"Let me see it, Walter," Dana sobbed, "please, just try to relax, okay?" Although she knew that there would be no more relaxing now, no, not today, Krycek would see to that. "Walter, please," she forced his arms away from his stomach and gasped, seeing the familiar mottled purpling of his flesh, already a huge patch that blanketed most of his gut and chest. The veins reached towards his arms and groin, pulsating with the rapidly forming carbon masses that would turn his blood against him, ultimately killing him.

"NO, YOU BASTARD," she screamed at Krycek, "YOU CAN'T DO THIS, NO, NO, NO," she cried over and over again, Walter squirming on the floor next to her.

"Shut up.... Jesus, you make a racket, woman," Krycek said, watching the little drama play itself out before him. "This is the way it has to be. You can't just breach protocol. If you do it, then Mulder will do it, and then the other AD's and suboordinates will start doing it, and then pretty soon, well, IT'LL BE ANARCHY!" Krycek yelled. "Worse than Hoover running around in his goddamned dresses, Scully. Nope, we can't have that, now, can we?" He started to laugh, and Scully reached her breaking point; was actually shoved rather violently over it, in fact.

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU RAT BASTARD!" Scully screamed, jumping to her feet, and *BANG*.....Scully crumpled to the floor, blood pouring out of her right shoulder. She could feel the bullet tearing through her flesh, felt it even as it lodged itself in the bone, right before she hit the floor, knocking herself unconscious on the hard wood.

"FUCK," Krycek screamed, "why do you always have to make me SHOOT?" Krycek was slightly panicked now. This was not the way it was supposed to go. No sir. Smokey was going to be really pissed, and he was going to have to do something major, right this minute, to fix his little fuckup. Dana was NOT supposed to be shot. Skinner was supposed to go out gracefully, and she was to be left alone, albeit slightly scarred for life emotionally. Mr. Spender Sr. had made that quite fucking clear, and once the truth was out there, Alex knew he was going to lose his other arm. At LEAST.

"Scully," Walter moaned, aware of what had just happened, and unable to do anything about it, "Scully...." his voice trailed off as he lapsed into unconsciousness himself. "Fuck this," Krycek said aloud to no one, "I can't do this. This is too goddamn mother fucking fucked up. I'm going back to Russia." Alex dropped the monitoring device on the floor, next to Walter's head, and ran out the front door. He sprinted up the road to his car, unlocked the door, got in, buckled his seatbelt, and turned the key. Nothing happened. Frantic, he undid everything he had just done, and leapt out of the car, waiting for the explosion. There was nothing. The car was dead.

Just then, he happened to look up the road, and saw an old beat to death pickup truck heading towards him. He flagged it down, and got in, never so thrilled in his life to see an old hillbilly that he didn't know from Adam. They took off down the road, and a moment later, the car that Krycek had left behind, exploded, flames leaping hundreds of feet into the air. He laughed nervously to the old codger that had just picked him up, and said simply, "engine overheated." The old man shook his head and continued to drive.

End Part3
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Walter Skinner opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, not immediately remembering what had happened, or how he came to be lying on the floor. He pieced it together in his head, his vision coming back to him slowly, the pain in his stomach causing him to look down for the knives that must surely be protruding there. He looked down cautiously, finding the horrible purple bruising that he remembered all too well, and out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the form that lay several feet from him, unmoving, red hair flowing out around her head. He remembered...Krycek had been there....and there was...oh my God, there was a shot, and Scully was lying on the floor; the son of a bitch had shot Dana.

"Scully," Walter groaned, "no, oh no, Scully...Dana," his voice was no louder than a whisper, trying to sit up, fighting the excruciating feeling that coursed through his whole body. He couldn't sit up, no matter how hard he tried, and he barely managed to roll over onto his stomach, nearly losing consciousness again as he did. The pain broke in bright waves, dancing like little black lights in his vision, white behind his eyes when he closed them. It took every bit of strength Walter had in his body and soul to move, but he did it, the drive to reach Scully overpowering everything that he felt physically. He crawled, inch by inch, sweat pouring off of his head, rolling down between his eyes from his smooth scalp. "Dana," he croaked, "oh my God, no, Dana, please," and somehow, moments that seemed like hours later, he was there. She lay on her side, her back to him, and all he saw was blood, a fair amount of it, pooled under her upper body. He reached out and gently rolled her over so she lay on her back, and propping himself up on his elbows, pressed his fingers gingerly to her throat, feeling for a pulse. "Thank God," he whispered, finding it, still strong, just like the tough little redhead herself. He found the wound quickly, blood still trickling out of the hole in her shoulder. It was deep, and looked pretty bad to Walter; he was no doctor, but he knew that he had to tie it off. He yanked a sleeve off of the shirt that Dana wore and wrapped it under her arm and around her shoulder, tying it off firmly. She stirred as he was finishing, and he thought that he had never seen a more welcome sight in his life than that of her eyes fluttering open, blinking up at him as he leaned over her.

"Walter...." Scully whispered, "Krycek....here..." she gasped at the pain that wracked her upper body. Scully had been shot before, and she knew that it wasn't a fatal shot that she had sustained, but from the weakness that she felt, she was certain she had lost some blood. She had no idea how long she had been out, and more importantly, she looked frantically around, scanning the immediate area for Alex. He was nowhere to be seen. She looked back up at Walter, sweat still pouring off of him, and she reached up with her good arm and placed her palm on the side of his face. It was hard to tell, but he was crying, his tears mixing in with the sweat that trailed down his face, the pain of the virus and moreso, the pain of seeing Dana this way, too much emotion for him to bear. "Walter," Scully said again, her voice stronger with her alertness returning, "the virus.....oh my God..." she struggled to sit up, fighting the ache in her shoulder, and within minutes, she was bent over Skinner, who had exhausted himself and collapsed back to the floor.

"Scully," Walter groaned, "are you alright?" He gazed up at her with his brown eyes wide open, drinking in the welcome sight of her, focusing on her ice blue eyes that were now filled with pain of her own, not so much physical as out of concern for him.

"Sssshhh, Walter, I'm..I'm here, okay? I'm not going anywhere." She looked around the cabin, out the front door that stood wide open, and she hollered, "Krycek, you bastard, are you still here?" even though she was fairly certain that he had evacuated immediately after the shooting. As her gaze swept back from the front door, the glint of metal caught her eye. There was something on the floor just beyond where Skinner's feet rested, close to the open door.

"What..." Scully said aloud as she crawled over Walter and retrieved the flat metal box that fit in the palm of her hand. She sat down on her bottom and flipped the lid open, realizing immediately what it was that she held. "Walter," she cried out, "Skinner, he left it here!" She was so shocked, she practically forgot about her shoulder, and she scrambled back over to his head so she could show him. "Look," she gasped, "we can stop this - right now." She looked at the LED, and saw A C T I V E, as well as the bars that were lit....she grabbed the virtual pen that was attached to the device and placed it on the small screen, dragging the bars back down to where it listed I N A C T I V E. She closed the metal cover and tossed the device up on the window seat next to the front door, turning her attention back to the fallen giant lying face down beside her.

"Walter?" He wasn't speaking to her, but he moved his head slightly, and she took that to be a good sign. "Walter, can you hear me?" He turned his head so he could look at her, blinking rapidly, his vision slowly clearing.

"Dana," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

She gazed down at him, "No, Walter, please don't..."and she felt the tears come again.

"I..." he started, his voice slightly stronger, "I couldn't stop him. I couldn't keep him from hurting you, Dana, I couldn't protect you." He closed his eyes, feeling utterly defeated.

"Walter," Scully said gently, "don't..." her voice trailed off, and she moved closer to him and whispered in his ear, "can you get up, Walter? I can help you...here, take my hand," she said.

He opened his eyes again, and reached out for her hand, surprised that he was able to do it without passing out. He gripped her hand more firmly, and Dana helped him up to a sitting position, examining the bruising that spread across the front of him. She inspected him with her palms flat down on his skin, and he winced when she applied pressure. "It's not pulsating anymore," she reported, "I think we stopped it. You're going to hurt for a couple of weeks while it heals, just like before, but...." she stopped as he grabbed her hand in his.

"Dana, I love you so much. I have never, ever felt helpless in my life...I'm too strong for that, I'm too much of a...too much of a hardass for that, you know.....but....I felt helpless today."

"It's alright, Walter," Scully said softly, tears rolling down her face, "you can't always be in control. I've learned that, over the last several years, especially. I am so used to having control of everything, every situation in my life...and when they gave me my cancer, I had no control....they took that control away from me, and all it does is....well, it just makes us human, Walter. That's all we are, you know, after everything is said and done, we're all vulnerable," she finished with a slight smile, "hardass or not. And all this does, this situation today, is make me love you all the more for the human being, for the man, that you are. We're not infallible, Skinner, we're just......"

"Scully, shut up and kiss me," he said, his tears mingling with hers as she leaned towards him and pressed her lips against his, both of them crying and smiling into one another's mouths at the same time.

"Walter, " Scully said, pulling away from him, "I have my cellphone in my bag...I'm going to call an ambulance. I'll be right back." She stood up slowly, and walked into the bedroom, retrieving her phone from her bag, thankful to hear a dial tone, given their remote location. She dialed 9-1-1 and explained the situation, and she was told that it would be about 15 minutes before the squad would arrive, and she thanked the operator and hung up. Exhausted, she plopped herself back down next to Walter, and they waited for the ambulance together, neither of them saying another word.

By 2:00 that afternoon, they were both checked into the hospital, and Walter was restless as he waited for word from Dana's doctor...she had been taken into surgery to remove the bullet that had lodged in her shoulder, and even though he knew that she was in good hands, it didn't stop him from worrying. He knew that he should call Mulder, and let him know what had happened, but he dreaded doing so, because he knew that Fox would panic, and break every traffic law to get there as quickly as possible. Finally, giving in to his better judgement, Walter picked up the phone next to his bed and dialed Mulder's cellphone number.

Mulder was going for the all time record for getting sharpened pencils stuck in the ceiling..he hadn't had one fall yet since lunchtime, and he was getting ready to call the Guinness Book people when his cellphone trilled to life, causing him to jump so badly he nearly fell out of his chair.

"Mulder," the voice answered, and Skinner swallowed hard before he said anything, then gathering himself, he said, "Mulder, it's AD Skinner...um, Walter." Jesus, he thought to himself, THAT went well. Mulder never used Skinner's first name...not even after all they had been through with the X-Files.

"Sir," Mulder said, instantly knowing that something was wrong, because Scully had been quite adamant about him not calling and disturbing their weekend, "is everything alright?"

Walter took a deep breath, "No, Agent Mulder, everything is not alright. Agent Scully and I were......we were attacked by Alex Krycek this morning." He closed his eyes, the horror of the last several hours replaying itself in his mind over and over again.

"Sir, do you need help? Where is Scully?" Mulder was already shutting down his laptop, ready to leave immediately.

"Mulder, she's in surgery---"

"WHAT? What.....Skinner...." Mulder's heart sank to someplace below his ankles.

"Mulder, calm down, she's going to be fine. Krycek tagged her in the shoulder, but she was conscious and called the ambulance. She'll be fine, but I know that she'd want you to know what happened, and that she's going to be fine." Skinner wished his own words would comfort him as much.

"And you, sir?" Mulder didn't really feel all that much better, but he was relieved; if Skinner said she was okay, she was okay.

"Agent Mulder, I'd prefer not to discuss this any further over the phone." Walter gave Mulder directions, and within 3 minutes, Fox was in his car and on his way.

About an hour later, Mulder pulled up to the Blue Ridge General Hospital, parked his car, and ran into the building. He found the nurse's station, only slightly winded from his run, and pulled out his badge, "Agent Mulder, FBI. My partner and my boss were brought in earlier today?"

The nurse checked her computer, and gave Mulder the rooms, 213 and 215, and he ran to the elevator, punching the button furiously until the doors opened. He got in and punched Floor 2, pacing until the elevator stopped to let him back out. He walked quickly up the hall, following the damn signs with their little pointing arrows until he found room 213, which was Skinner's room. Mulder poked his head in, "Sir?" he questioned, making sure it was alright for him to enter. Skinner motioned for him to come in, and Mulder walked to the bed, taking a seat next to his boss's bed.

"Hello, Agent Mulder." Skinner was exhausted, but the pain in his stomach and chest had dissipated, allowing at least some of the color to return to his face. He was propped up on 3 pillows, and he smiled weakly at Fox, actually happy to see him. There's a first time for everything, Skinner mused.

"Sir, you look like Hell. What happened?" Skinner was touched by the look of concern that plastered Mulder's face, although he suspected he was more worried about Scully.

"Krycek happened. He reactivated the virus, Mulder."

"SR-819, sir?" Mulder looked confused, "Sir, I thought that was closed...the committee killed it...."

"Agent Mulder, Krycek was behind the whole thing. He killed that physicist, Orgell, and he was the one that was following me around. Until this morning, he had his finger on the button...." Skinner trailed off, clenching his jaw, and shaking his head. "No one was supposed to know. To allow you and Scully to investigate, would've meant..."

"He was going to kill you, wasn't he, sir? He was sent by the Consortium to take care of you and Scully...that bastard," Mulder exclaimed, "he screwed it up the first time, so he came back to finish the job."

"Yes, but not for the reason that you think, Mulder," he said quietly.

"What are you talking about, sir?"

"Agent Mulder," Walter said, his jaw tight, "Alex Krycek was sent to take care of me.........because of my relationship with Agent Scully." There. He'd said it. He closed his eyes momentarily, and opened them again to see Fox Mulder with his mouth hanging open, chin nearly resting on his chest.

"Sir, how did they know?"

"Mulder, they know ALL, you know that. We couldn't keep it a secret forever. The Consortium knows, and they don't like it. Which only leaves me one option."

"Sir, what..." Mulder was cut off as the doctor entered the room.

"Mr. Skinner, you asked to be notified when Agent Scully was out of surgery? She is in her room, and doing just fine. She's already awake, in fact, asking to see YOUR charts." The doctor smiled and left, and Mulder stood, looking down at Skinner, noting the intense relief that washed over the man's pale face.

"I'll go see how she's doing, sir," Mulder said, and he left Walter alone in his room.

Mulder knocked on Scully's door, entering when he heard her faint, "Come in." He grinned slyly at her as he shut the door behind him.

"Mulder? What are you doing here?" Scully asked, surprised, but glad to see him nonetheless.

"Nice to see you, too, Scully," Mulder laughed, taking a seat next to her bed, "the bossman called to tell me what happened. He was filling me in when the doctor came in to tell us you were out of surgery."

"I see," she said, offering him her hand, which he took gently in his. "I'm fine, Mulder, really, there was no need for you to come all the way up here."

"Scully, I've heard that song and dance before. You know how much I love to play nursebitch to you," he laughed, causing Dana to giggle as well.

"How is Walter? Is he alright? Does he look okay?" Her blue eyes searched Mulder's face, making sure that he wouldn't lie to her about Walter's condition.

"He's fine, Scully. He's resting, and he was just worried about you. You two make quite a pair." Mulder shook his head, and laughed, "whoever would've figured, you and old hardass...."

"Mulder," Scully said, giving him the evil eyed look that he'd come to know and love so much.

"Oh, oh, Scully, do the eyebrow thing, please?" She arched one at him, then the other, and Mulder was sure that she would be just fine.

"See, they still work. I'm glad you came, Mulder. It's good to see you."

"You missed me, didn't you, Scully? This was all just a ploy to get me up here to rescue you from Skinner, right?" He snickered as she smacked his hand with hers, then continued, "actually, Scully, I'm a little worried about the big guy."

"What do you mean?" Scully was slightly concerned.

"Well, he just told me that the Consortium was all bent out of shape over his relationship with you, and that there was only one thing to do."

"What? Mulder, what EXACTLY did he say?" Scully had wondered if Walter might do this....try to back out of their relationship, all in the name of keeping her safe. She had had just about enough of being protected by both of the men in her life...Skinner AND Mulder. She could take care of herself, after all.

"I just told you, Scully. EXACTLY," he mimicked her, "verbatim. I think you two need to talk, Scully." Mulder stood to go, having more pressing issues to deal with, but she stopped him.

"Mulder, go over in that closet and take out my pajama top. Take that godforsaken monitor to the Lone Gunmen and see if they can figure it out, or even better, destroy it."

He looked at her incredulously,"You have the triggering mechanism, Scully?"

"Just go get it and get it out of here, okay, Mulder?" He walked over and got the small metal box out of her pocket, gingerly turning it over in his hands.

"Scully, we could get a raise..."

"Mulder, can I borrow your gun for a minute?"

Mulder smiled at her, one of his shit-eating grins that she loved about him as much as he loved her eyebrow arches, and walked over to her once more, leaning over to kiss her on the forehead. "Take care, partner. Get rested up. I'm glad you're okay. And go easy on the big guy. He loves you, Scully."

"Thanks, Mulder." She smiled up at him, and watched him leave. Now, she thought, what is this bullshit with Skinner all about. She picked up the nurse call button, and pressed it, requesting a visit with her next door neighbor. Hospital protocol dictated that she go in a wheelchair, and she did...wheeling herself to the next room and right on in.

"Dana," he said, surprised to see her, "how are you feeling?" He wondered why she wasn't looking overly thrilled at the moment, figuring that she might be happier to see him than she appeared to be.

"How are YOU feeling, Walter?" Scully asked, a bit of snottiness in her voice. Easy Dana, she told herself, he's been through the wringer, too.

He frowned a little at her tone, then replied, "I'm feeling much better, thanks to you. How's your shoulder?" Goddammit Mulder, can't you keep anything to yourself for 3 minutes, Walter thought.

"It's going to be fine. The doctor said I can go as early as tomorrow. What about you, sir?" she asked, reverting to suboordinate. If that's the way you want to play, Dana thought, I can beat you at your own game. Big time.

He clenched his jaw at her use of 'sir', then raised an eyebrow at her, and replied, "Same story. There isn't much that they can do for me, as you well know. It just has to run its course, and then, back to normal, I guess." He continued to stare at her, trying to figure out what was going through her beautiful little head, and coming up with nothing. She was as good as he was at masking her emotions, he thought, smiling slightly.

"Sir, may I ask you a question?" She was getting more and more pissed, and was wondering if coming to visit had been such a good idea...goddammit, she was just so tired, and only wanted to be comforted, not worrying about whether or not Walter was going to back out on her for her 'own good', as she was sure he would put it.

"Certainly, Agent Scully," he said, his voice gruff, wondering how it came to be that their first weekend together had ended up as such a mess, and thinking how perfect it would be to have it end in an argument.

"Sir, are you going to let the Consortium....are you going to.....goddammit, are you going to quit....us?" She finished weakly, oh, Dana thought, that was fabulous, just perfect..way to go, girl.

"Dana," Walter said, stunned, "all I told Mulder was that..." he didn't get to finish.

"...was that there was only one thing to do, sir, that's what you told him, isn't it?" She could've jumped out of the chair and strangled him, but she stayed put, waiting for him to say the words....she wanted to hear it from him.

"Yes, but..." Walter was interrupted again, and decided against any further attempts at resolving the situation. He was tired, and she was too, and this was going nowhere, but he let her finish in spite of the facts at hand.

"...so, let me do it for you, Skinner. You said you loved me, and now, to protect me, you're going to revert back to Mr. Surly Man, right? You're just going to leave, and let me be safe, right? Well, fuck you, sir," she spat, "allow me to make the break, allow ME to take that weight off your big massive shoulders. Goodbye, sir...that is all you will be from now on...just SIR." She turned and wheeled out of the room, not caring that it hurt the Hell out of her shoulder to be using it so soon, and not looking back at him as she shut the door.

"Jesus Christ," Walter said aloud, rolling over onto his side and smiling, a huge grin on his face, and then he felt it growing in his belly, and he started to snicker, and within minutes, he was laughing hysterically, Scully's emotional words still ringing in his ears, the look of anger on her beautiful face, and how he was going to be 'just sir'. He laughed until his stomach really did ache, and then drifted off to sleep, dreaming only, as usual, of Dana Katherine Scully.

Back in her room, Scully cried, sure that he was going to leave her, certain that he would let her go to 'save' her, to 'protect' her. She sobbed into the pillows on her bed, and wondered how she was ever going to be able to face him again, how she would ever be able to look into his eyes and only think of him as 'sir'. Physically, and now emotionally exhausted, Scully drifted off to sleep, Walter Skinner's face haunting her dreams, and breaking her heart.

Monday morning, Mulder was shocked to see Dana show up at work. Aside from having her arm in a sling, Mulder thought, she looked completely unscathed from Friday's tangle with Krycek, as did Skinner, who he'd seen a bit earlier.

"Good morning, Scully," Mulder chirped happily, and she gave him the finger with the arm that wasn't bandaged. "Or not," he corrected himself, "well, I think I need to go get some coffee. Do you want some?"

"No thanks, Mulder." She mumbled something at him about reports, and he left their shared office, nearly knocking Walter Skinner down as he boarded the elevator.

"Is she in yet?" Skinner asked Mulder hopefully, not doing a very good job of hiding the bouquet of red roses behind his back.

"Sir, I wouldn't go in there if I were you." Mulder had a look of mock fear on his face, and Skinner snorted. "No, sir, I mean it."

"Is it bad?" Skinner asked.

"Do you have your gun, sir?" Mulder bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"Agent Mulder, I have roses," Skinner stated.

"Sir, I told her good morning, and well, let's just say, I'm number one." He chuckled at Skinner's grimace.

"I see. Agent Mulder, do you think...."

"Take all the time you need, sir. I'll just be up rifling through your desk."

Skinner growled at him, stepping off the elevator so Mulder could be on his merry way, and headed cautiously down the hall, towards the shared office of Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. Luckily, it was a private office, and there was no one else down in the basement this morning. He took a very deep breath, and entered the office. She had her back to him, and she was pounding the shit out of her laptop. She didn't even turn around as she said, "Mulder, on second thought, coffee sounds pretty good."

"I don't have coffee, Scully, but I have something else for you," a gruff voice came from behind her, and she froze, afraid to turn around and look at him. She knew that if she did, she would either kiss him or kill him, and was still trying to figure out which it should be when he shoved the bouquet in front of her and stepped back, crossing his arms, waiting.

She stared at the roses, and got tears in her eyes, but she didn't turn around. Not even when he closed the office door and locked it. Not even as he walked around the office and closed the blinds that allowed anyone to see into the office. Her gaze was still fixed downwards as he sat at Mulder's desk, across from her, folded his arms across his chest once again, and just stared at her.

"Agent Scully," Walter said, in his best authoritative tone, "do you or do you not have anything to say to me."

Nothing. She couldn't speak. She bit her bottom lip, trying to fight back her tears, and failed.

"I'm waiting, Agent Scully. I don't have a lot of free time around here, as you are well aware."

"Sir," she managed weakly, but that was all.

"Agent Scully," he hissed at her through clenched teeth, knowing that this was an Oscar-worthy performance,"do I have to repeat myself?"

"No, sir," Scully said, "no, you don't have to repeat yourself."

He stood up and walked over to her chair, standing directly beside her, looking down at her intimidatingly. "Look at me, Agent Scully. It is an agent's duty to grant eye contact when speaking to, or being spoken to by......" he stopped, deliberately, and she finally looked up at him, her blue eyes swimming in tears, and he continued, ".....when you're being addressed by the man who loves you."

She leapt out of her chair, into his arms, weeping with relief, wondering how she ever could have doubted him, for even one moment. His strong arms closed around her, gently so as not to hurt her shoulder, and she cried into his chest for what seemed like hours, sagging against him when she was finished with her outburst, her breath coming in little hiccups as he rubbed his hands up and down her back, soothing and comforting her, bending down to kiss her flaming red hair, and then her lips as she raised her tear stained face up to his. She saw the tears in his eyes, too, and she smiled, and kissed him more passionately than she could ever remember kissing a man in her life. She gave him her whole heart, at that moment, not caring any longer about the Consortium, or who knew about them, or what the consequences might be of the entire situation.

Skinner lifted her up by her waist and set her on Mulder's desk, his hands sliding under her bottom, his lips never leaving hers, her mouth tearing the breath out of him as he worked his hands between her thighs, groaning when he found that she was wearing garters and thigh highs. She nuzzled his neck, driving him insane with pleasure as he found her panties and pulled them down and off of her, whispering to her the whole time, "Scully, don't you ever leave me..... don't you ever believe that I would leave you......do you hear me?" and he continued to soothe her, whispering to her even as she wrapped her good arm around his neck and his fingers found her, slipping inside of her, finding her so ready for him, and he moaned to her that he loved her so very much as he found her clit and rolled it gently between his thumb and forefinger, making her moan, her muscles clamping onto his strong hand as he undid his pants with his other hand, setting his erection free, then pulling her to the edge of the desk and sliding into her, grabbing her ass as he did, still murmuring to her, words that should never be heard in the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building. He didn't care anymore, and he pulled out and thrust back into her, pulled out and thrust in, each time telling her, "never, Scully, I'll never leave you," and she whimpered in her throat, urging him on, and he fucked her harder and harder, pulling her onto him with his hands, trying to fuck her to her very soul, if he could, to show her just how he felt. "Oh, Walter," she moaned, loudly, gasping for breath, feeling him deeper, then deeper still as he pulled her to him, "oh, God, I'll never leave you, never," she cried out, nearly fainting as she came, his cock twitching in time with her spasms, her muscles closing around him, refusing to release him to thrust again, and she felt him come, shooting into her with the force of a rocket launch, thrusting into her several more times, his teeth clenched, head thrown back in pleasure, "fuck," he cried out, still twitching inside of her moments later.

They caught their breath, and Walter stood between Dana's legs, tiny spasms still coursing through his cock, her muscles continuing to respond with their own tiny clenching sensations, and they locked gazes, chocolate brown eyes to ice blue ones, and he placed his hands on either side of her face, kissed her gently, and said, "I love you, Dana."

"I love you, Walter," she replied, her good arm reaching up to caress his face, "I'm so sorry....."

"Don't be sorry, Dana. Just love me. That's all I want. Just you." He slowly and gently pulled out of her, and handed her panties back to her, a huge smile on his face as he put himself back into his pants, and she returned it, tooth for tooth.

"I do love you....sir," she sighed, and slid off of Mulder's desk to pull her panties back on.

They embraced, and Walter looked at his watch, "Shit, I have to go. I'm slightly late for my 10 AM Monday morning bitch session." He kissed her once more, and walked around opening the blinds, then unlocked and opened the door, to find Mulder standing in the hallway, sipping his coffee, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"It's safe to go in now, Agent Mulder. I've debriefed Scully, and I think she's feeling much better now." Mulder almost choked on his coffee as AD Skinner, former hardass, walked past him and got on the elevator, riding up to the fourth floor.

Mulder walked into the office to find Scully typing her report, the roses sitting in the middle of her desk, and he grinned at her as he sat down behind his desk. She didn't even look at him, but watched him out of the corner of her eye as he pulled his laptop over from the edge of his desk, where it was precariously balanced.

"Hey, Scully...you didn't...not on my desk, Scully. I know you didn't do that on my desk. Oh my God, you did, didn't you?"

Scully smiled at Mulder, her blue eyes shining, and she replied, "Mulder, if I told you, I'd be breaching protocol."

THE END.

(Excuse the formatting and style of this piece...it was my very first one!! Jvantheterrible, February 5th, 2000)