Dana Scully had always been the stronger one. No matter what happened to
her, she pulled through with no scars. Nothing could break her: not cancer,
sterility, the death of her sister, abduction or loss of a child. Somehow, it seemed to
make her stronger. Made her see that her life was worth fighting for, no matter
what hardships she had to overcome. Strong-willed and determined, that was
Dana Scully. Able to withstand the heat of the flames.
Her partner on the other hand was a different story. Sure, he seemed strong,
but that was just a shell, coating his ever-so-fragile will that was on the verge of
crumbling at any second. Everything around him made him hurt, made him pull in
the pain and blame himself, even when it was far beyond being his fault. It would
only be a matter of days before he couldn’t respond to the world anymore. To when
he curled up inside his own mind to take refuge from the events in his life. One
more tragedy and it would be over; he’d be locked away in some white room and
Dana would have to look for a new partner.
They worked together, fed off each other, took their experiences from one
another. Even on cases that threatened to break them both, her strength carried
him though, and his convictions made her believe. A perfect team. Each had the
ability to see through eyes of the other, feel through the fingers of their partner,
breath through their lungs. So when the time came to test their bond, they were
ready, guns poised, minds ablaze.
It was snowing, white flakes covering the streets and sidewalks in a thin film.
The car skidded only once, as they drove to an address given to them by his secret
source: a man only known by the initials D.R. She was skeptical at first, when he
told her about the warehouse. Her mind couldn’t understand how a small,
abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere could be the elite center for some
new form of mind control drug. But when the AD came to her and professed his
fears about this new drug on the black market, she took the secret source at face
value. Both her and her partner were a little nervous, but the plan was etched
perfect: they were to go in undercover, as transporters, and once the transaction
was made, the SWAT team would be dispersed.
She turned to her partner, watching his eyes as they remained glued to the road.
The silence was irritating but comfortable. “Tell me again why this is an X-File.”
A little smile played on his lips. “Scully.”
“No really, let me hear it.” Always so reluctant to tell her anything, but she
knew he trusted her completely and wanted to share everything with her.
“Politics. And nobody knows how they’re doing it. Somebody is tampering with
the best minds in the country, forcing those in power to bend to their whims. AD
Skinner thinks it’s because of the drugs. I don’t agree.”
“The people who are running the drugs are also able to control others with their
minds?”
“Something like that. A strange form of hypnotism, where the mind erases,
leaving a blank slate. Then whoever is doing the erasing has a clean board to work
on. Sometimes I wonder if they’re just doing the world a great favor.”
“What kind of favor would that be?”
“Fixing people who’s minds can’t be fixed.”
She bit her lip and said nothing. She knew what he was talking about. He
wanted to be fixed, wanted the guilt from his past washed away. Was that why he
chased after this case for so long, prodding and poking until he finally got what he
wanted? To cleanse himself of sins made by other people? No. He wasn’t like that.
But the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Leaning back, she
decided not to mention another word about mind control or the drug to her partner.
At least, not until they got there.
Four trucks were positioned outside of the warehouse, each black, bearing no
marks. She recognized them as the SWAT team trucks. Fully loaded and ready to
go, as they always were. Checking her holster, she made her way to the front
entrance of the brick building, her partner in tow.
The interior of the warehouse was dark, but they could make out a bright light
coming from a closed, steel door at the end of a left hallway. Footsteps were
creeping as they made their way towards the light. Both of them guessed correctly,
that the drug runners would be in the room with the light. Cautiously, they opened
the door.
A large table sat in the center of the room, which was a lot smaller than either
agent expected. The room was lit by four bright lights that hung from the ceiling,
and contained only a long, wooden table laden with drug paraphernalia. Powder,
pills, test tubes and medicine bottles littered the top. A man sat behind the table,
counting pills two at a time, and inserting them into small, zippered bags.
His face rose from the mess on the table. “Can I help you?”
Scully was quick to speak. “We are here for the order, twenty-five, for Carlton.”
He smiled, but it was not filled with any joy. Both green eyes stared at her with
distrust, and his features hardened even as she stood still. But he was handsome,
she’d give him that credit, with his long, mahogany hair that curled by his ears,
curt little nose that pointed upwards, ears that stuck out just a bit, lips that were
not so much thin as hidden, and from what she could see through his tight, black
shirt, a muscular upper body. Although he could benefit from losing some of his
small gut. All-in-all, a man that she wouldn’t mind having, if only for a night.
“Sure,” he finally said, then turned his eyes back down to his work. “Through
that door,” and pointed to his right.
She looked at her partner, who shrugged and ushered her towards the door. As
she passed the table, the man’s eyes stared at her. Uneasy, she turned and locked
onto his gaze. Her partner had bypassed her and walked through the door. It was
just her, and this green-eyed wonder who sat before her.
“Name’s Alex,” he said, voice soft but husky.
“Dana,” she replied, just as breathless. And left, before her hormones could get
her into trouble.
She found her partner among a group of men, yet to fit himself into their
discussion on basketball. Drugs had yet to be distributed, and she found it rather
awkward to be standing among a group of rather buff, decent-looking men, without
a word to say. That, and nobody seemed to notice her. Hands went to her hips and
she cleared her throat, summoning all of the men’s eyes to her. Each one stared,
some smiled, her partner moved to stand beside her. Ah, much better.
“Well, well,” one of the men began, his brown eyes sparkling under the yellow
lights of the larger room. “What’s a pretty little red-headed thing like you doing in
a God-awful place like this?” His voice was deep, and a little chuckle circled the
words. He wanted to throw his head back and laugh at her.
Taking the offensive stance she learned in self-defense training class, she stared
at him, eye-to-eye. No matter how much taller he was than she, he didn’t
intimidate her. “You got a problem with women?” Trying her best at slang talk, to
make them think she was an equal.
His hands went up in mock defeat. “No, no. Like I said, I was just wondering
what you’re doing here. It isn’t often that women of such beauty come sneaking
into our neck of the woods.” He used his height as an advantage, to stare over her.
Too bad she wasn’t afraid.
“What’s the matter? Not getting enough?” Even her own words shocked her.
His laughter was more of a resounding chuckle, echoing across the walls, yet it
wasn’t loud. “No. I get enough. Don’t know much about you, though. You seem
pretty flushed.”
Yeah, she was getting hot. But her partner knew her better. Stood out of the
way and kept his mouth shut. She could handle herself well enough. “Can we just
get what we came for? I’m not amused by your pathetic jokes.”
He snarled but said no more. With a snap of his fingers, a briefcase was handed
over. Deft fingers opened it, revealing the twenty-five of the mind control powder
and pills that had been requested. Her partner took the case and began sorting out
the drugs, making sure everything was in order. He then reached into his pocket
and pulled out the wad of money.
“Nice doing business with you,” the man said, counting the bills in his hands.
The next thing that was supposed to happen was that the SWAT team would
rush into the building and take down the operation. But what did happen was
more of a shock to her.
Two of the men grabbed her by the arms and held her while her partner walked
through a different door. She struggled, but was unable to fend of their heavy
grips. When the door was closed behind her partner, she was let go, and the men
left the room. Her mind was so focused on the man who went through the door that
she paid no attention to what went else went on in the room. Shit! If he was going
to do what she thought he would do, then it had to be stopped immediately. No
telling what the outcome would be, especially with their partnership. If they
messed with his mind, who knew what kind of irreversible damage they could do.
She ran to the door, but found it locked to her twisting, frantic grasp.
“Shit! Fuck!” The handle was jiggled again. “Come out here! Don’t you hurt
him or I’ll. . .”
“You’ll what?” Came a voice from behind.
Alex, she recognized. Turning only confirmed her thoughts. “What’s going on?”
He smiled, showing a row of perfect, white teeth. A feral grin, that made her
knees a bit weak. “You, my dear, have been set up.”
“I don’t think so.” Reached into her pocket and flipped out her badge. “Special
Agent Dana Scully, FBI.” She slipped it back where it belonged. “Now tell me
what’s going on.” Her legs moved her quick under his gaze, but she wouldn’t back
down.
“You’re little friend in there is getting a taste of our medicine. And he asked for
it.”
“What?” Disbelief shone in her eyes. Pulling her head together, she thrust out
her gun and let the barrel point between Alex’s wide, emerald eyes. “What the fuck
are you talking about?”
“Put the gun down.”
Refused to move. “I will not put the gun down until you tell me what the *fuck*
you are doing to my partner.”
Alex sighed but did not look away. “Mind control. He’s getting fixed.”
“Fixed? You mean he’s getting his mind taken away. Why do you want him?
Just leave him alone!” Her hands were shaking now, the anger branching through
her nerves. Why would they do this? Why would *he* do this? Sure, his wall was
slowly ebbing away, but they still had each other. She knew he would try
something stupid like this. Why hadn’t she gone to Skinner with her suspicions?
Fuck! Her partner for six years and now he was to be nothing.
Alex’s look turned affectionate. “He will only get what he asked for.”
“And what is that?”
“To not be afraid.”
Scully was shocked. Afraid? Of what? She knew his life wasn’t the best, living
alone was hard and having no friends was even harder. But she was there for him,
always, and they made a perfect team. Out and about to collect the garbage and
strange from the streets, that was what life was all about. Together. But now. .
.she didn’t know what to expect.
Realizing that she couldn’t shoot him, she put the gun away. Muscles tensed in
anticipation of a blow from Alex, but none came. Instead, he turned his back to her,
towards the man who had given her partner the briefcase. The man stepped closer,
standing beside Alex, eyes locked on her. They were almost the same height,
although Alex had a smaller build. Yet both were blessed with qualities of
good-looks that made Scully’s mouth want to water. God, it had been so long.
Still, there was something different about the way they stood side-by-side, a bit
too close to just be friends. What confirmed her suspicions was the small touch that
Alex gave to the man’s elbow. Then her only wonderment was why both stared at
her like she was a creature from the gods.
“How’s it going?” the man asked, his eyes burning deep with a detectable
concern.
“Fine, baby.” Alex motioned to her. “She doesn’t believe me, little miss FBI.”
Baby chuckled again, laughter resounding in his throat this time. Eyes almost
black from pupil dilation glared at her. “A non-believer. Don’t worry. Nobody’s
gonna get hurt.”
“Except my partner,” she mumbled.
“Oh, no, no, no. You’ve got it all wrong. He will never be hurt again.”
Alex smiled. “Not if we can help it.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Just stared at them with mute
shock.
“He came to us, Dana,” Alex added. “Asked us to take it all away. And we did.
Soon, he will be just the way he wants: strong, just like you.”
And at that, she swayed on her feet. But she would not let it overcome, and
remained standing. By now Baby had wrapped his arms around Alex’s waist and
was kissing his neck, right in front of her. Her knees felt weak again.
“Would you stop that,” she ground out, but the words seemed to have no effect on
the men. Somehow, she doubted they were shy about sharing their affection with
others.
“What fun would that be,” Baby teased, sliding his long, slippery tongue up the
side of Alex’s neck. White teeth nipped at the skin, pulling just enough to make it
red. He continued, eyes locked on hers.
She wanted to run, to get out of that warehouse as fast as she could. For the
moment, all SWAT team whereabouts were lost to her, eyes only able to see Baby
and Alex, almost as one being, one behind and one in front, eyes tearing into her
breast. The sight of the two of them began to make her hot, letting all thoughts of
her poor partner fly out of her head, if only for now. Her breath came in short rasps
as her eyes followed Baby’s tongue, lapping at the shoulder that he uncovered. Alex
turned his head and met that mouth with a kiss. She could see both tongues
fighting for dominance. A tingling began in her belly, lowering to her crotch.
No! Her partner! Mind control! But the site of these two, right in front of her,
right where she could touch, was too much. It was a distraction
tactic and she knew it. They almost seemed to be ignoring her,
hands lowering where they would, mouths kissing, then breaking apart for deep
breaths and more suckling. Then Baby turned his eyes upon her and smiled. He
kept his eyes on her, even as Alex lifted his shirt and twisted his nipples. The room
was too hot for her; she had to unbutton the top of her blouse.
Alex turned his blazing green eyes to her and smiled wickedly, fingers still on
Baby’s chest. He made a big show of twisting hard, causing Baby to arch back and
whimper. She felt a small sympathy pain and a twisting in her stomach. His hand
moved slowly across to the other nipple, the one she could see. Fingers clamped
around the hard nub and twisted brutally, turning the brown skin a tinge of red.
Baby arched further back and his sob echoed. Even as her stomach twirled, she
knew he liked it.
“God, Alex,” he breathed.
“You like that, baby?”
“Yes.”
She wanted nothing more than to kiss their swollen lips in turn, suck and bite
on Baby’s oversized lower one. Everything was forgotten to her except the two in
front of them. How she wanted them to touch her. How she wanted to touch
herself. Where was her strength now? Gone, she realized, like all her reserve. It
had been too long since a man touched her like they were touching each other. She
wanted it, and wanted it bad.
Alex smiled. “I think she’s excited, baby.”
Baby looked over at her, eyelids drooped. “Yeah. I think she is.”
“You want to join the party, don’t you, Special Agent Dana Scully?”
Alex’s words were right on target, but she didn’t dare move. No matter how hot
they made her, she would not succumb to being with them. Her partner. She had
to remember that he was still locked up inside the room. But her eyes would not
pull away from the beautiful sight in front of her. Only now as she watched Alex
and Baby, she began picturing her and her partner.
A thin sheen of sweat rose on both bodies. Their hands never stopped touching,
moving down, grabbing, squeezing, then trailing back up again. Then they
slammed into each other, grinding hips together and kissing as if their lives
depended on it. Alex pulled Baby’s head roughly away by his hair, and bit down on
the soft spot between neck and shoulder. Scully shivered when Baby cried out. But
it wasn’t Baby’s voice that she heard.
Now she knew she was losing it. It had come to her attention that she liked her
partner, but she always dismissed it, until now. Now, after not having somebody
for so long, she understood what she felt. She wanted her partner, in her arms,
making sex noises just for her. Just like Baby did for Alex.
The click of a lock brought her away from the men in front of her. She turned, to
see her partner emerge from the room. Rushing to him, she took his arm into both
hands. He didn’t look well; his face was pale and his hands were shaking.
“Are you okay?” she asked, knowing what the answer would be.
“I’m fine, Scully.” As usual.
The briefcase was no longer with him, nor were any of the other men. She
pulled him towards her and put an arm around his waist. Her eyes met Alex’s and
Baby’s again.
Baby was behind Alex, pulling his arms behind, making Alex grunt to keep from
screaming. They were both still staring at her. But she had no time for their
games. The man in her arms was more important than either of them. But she did
leave them with some words.
“If he doesn’t come out of whatever the hell you did, I’m going to hunt you both
down and rip your balls off with my bare hands. Got it?”
Alex simply nodded, unable to speak. Baby grinned at her and said, “We got it,
Dana. Don’t you worry.” And his mouth descended on the exposed neck in front of
him.
She pulled her partner from the warehouse, amazed to realize that he didn’t
notice what the two men were doing. Fear set in, but she pushed it back. No need
to think bad thoughts until the results came in. She pushed him into the car,
noting that the black vans were still positioned in front of the warehouse. Decoys,
she mused. Her partner set her up all along. But having him in her arms seemed
to make everything all right. Memories flashed of Baby and Alex, making her more
determined to get him home and herself, so she could relieve herself with those
visions for fantasy. Her eyes went to the man at her side, who was still a bit
shaken. He would make even better dreams.
The engine hummed and they made their way home.
Scully learned that the warehouse closed down, and that the mind control drugs
had been taken off the market. Her partner was indeed a new man, not the same
as he was before. Not understanding what they did, she chose to accept it, until it
became obvious that he didn’t want her around anymore. He refused to talk to her,
burying his nose in casework that he wouldn’t discuss with her. It was like they
had rebuilt his stamina and strength, making him feel invincible. Brown eyes that
were usually so warm were now chilling. The sweet smile that would shine from
his lips in the morning turned into a sneer. After two weeks of this, she got fed up.
“I have to talk to you,” she began.
He sat behind his desk without looking up from his folder. “Yeah.”
“What’s going on? You haven’t said two complete sentences to me for the past
week. Would you like me to get reassigned?”
That made him look up. The cold fell from his face almost instantly. “No,
Scully.” His eyes dropped. “Oh, God, I’m sorry. I’ve been so wrapped up in work
that I’ve been ignoring you.”
“Yes you have. And I wouldn’t mind it, except that we’re partners.” She paused.
"And I thought we were friends.”
The expression he wore was of utter sadness. “We are. I don’t know what’s
come over me. I guess since I feel so much better about myself, I can’t see to care
about anyone else. I’m sorry, Dana.”
She couldn’t help but smile, to reassure him that it was okay.
Suddenly, he stood and walked to the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I almost forgot. My father asked me to help him with some project. I have to
meet him downtown.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Your father? I thought you hated working for him,
didn’t like what he stood for.”
“No. I was afraid of him. I’m not scared any more.”
That did it. His father was the last straw. Once that man who she could only
call a bastard got his claws into her partner, everything would be over. Bye-bye
X-Files, hello desk job. That, and she would lose the best thing that ever happened
to her. His father would take him to work underground, in secret governmental
projects that she cared not to explore. Her small frame stopped him at the door.
“Don’t.” Angry voice with angry blue eyes to match. “I don’t understand. You
used to be so kind, so warm, and now you go about not caring about anything or
anyone, not even yourself. What happened to your passion, your strive for the
truth?”
“I was weak, Dana. I’m not weak anymore.”
“You weren’t weak, you were hurt, and that was what drove you. That was what
made me want to cling to you. I don’t want this new you. I fell in love with the old
you. The one who had the ability to love me back.”
He blinked, face betraying his shock. “You. . .you love me?”
“Yes. I have ever since I first came into this office of yours.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her lips curved as her hands went to his arms. “Because I didn’t understand
what I was feeling. You don’t know what you miss until it’s gone.”
His eyes remained locked on hers. She watched his lips curl inward, vanishing
from site. Then he opened his mouth. Waiting for words, she was pleasantly
surprised when he lowered his mouth to hers, sweeping her lips into a gentle kiss.
Six years waiting for this, and it took two horny men, mind control and a dirty
father to make her realize how much she needed it. His hard length pressed
against her thigh. Yeah, he had wanted it too.
“I love you too, Dana. I’m sorry it took this to make me understand.”
She just smiled. His thoughts were hers. But he didn’t stop trying for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I can’t leave my father waiting for me. I have to go to him. But don’t worry.
I’m not going to get involved with his affairs now that you’re here to back me up. I
guess I don’t have to prove my worth to him to show him I’m not scared anymore.”
“No, you don’t.”
He kissed her on the cheek, hands resting against her waist. “I’ll call when I’m
done. Maybe meet you for dinner?”
“Perfect.”
But she noticed he was reluctant to leave. Can’t stay away from something
good, can you? she wondered. He brought his lips to hers again. “I love you Dana
Scully,” he whispered against her red lips.
“I love you too, Jeff Spender.”
And with that said, he was out the door.
FIN
2/8/99