Beloved-r9-Jo-p1

***

Cape Fear
Wednesday, August 25
10:00 a.m.

Krycek held the knife blade against Sheriff Kriuchek's as he removed the sheriff's gun from its holster. It had been over thirty-six hours since he'd last seen Mulder, and he was beside himself with worry. He had searched the town and even the manor house, but hadn't been able to locate the agent. "Where?" he growled.

"I don't know what you mean," Kriuchek said.

Krycek nicked the side of the sheriff's throat with the blade. "Don't play with me, Dmitry. You wouldn't want to make me mad." He reached down and grabbed the younger man's groin with his mechanical hand and squeezed.

"They'd kill me if I told," the young sheriff squeaked.

"I'll kill you now if you don't!" Krycek pressed the knife more forcefully against Dmitry's throat and watched the blood flow over its shiny blade. A voice from the doorway stopped him.

"Go ahead," Vlad said. "Kill him."

Krycek turned toward the voice while keeping the blade pressed against Dmitry's throat. "What?" He was perplexed as he looked at the old man's composed face.

"Kill him. Slit his throat," the older man repeated in a deceptively calm voice.

"Why? He's one of you." Krycek eased up on the knife.

"Was. He's weak. He has allowed his heart to get in the way of his duty," Vlad said, stepping into the room followed by six other men, including Deputy Boris Paiva.

"Boris, help me," Dmitry pleaded.

"Sorry, cousin." Boris looked at Dmitry sympathetically as he raised his gun and put a bullet between his cousin's eyes.

It all happened so fast that Krycek didn't even have time to react as he saw the deputy's gun coming up. He started reaching for his own weapon, thinking his luck had finally run out. He was shocked when the bullet tore through the sheriff's head splattering him with blood and gore as the back of the Dmitry's skull was blown out as the bullet exited.

"You have a choice, young Alex. You can take Dmitry's place in the ritual or share his grave. Which will it be?" Vlad asked.

Krycek stared at the seven men three of whom were holding guns on him. Then down at Dmitry's body. "You don't seem to leave me any choice," he said, surrendering his gun to the old man. "Can I see Agent Mulder?"

"All in good time. Take him and prepare him for the ceremony," Vlad ordered.

One of the men stepped forward and covered Krycek's head with a black sack, while another bound his wrists. He was ushered roughly out of the office.

***

The Cave
Wednesday, August 25
3:00 p.m.

Mulder's mind drifted up from the black wasteland where it had aimlessly roamed for the past sixteen hours. The smell of incense and the sound of chanting overwhelmed his senses. The chanting seemed to be coming from all around him. It took all of his willpower to force his eyes open, his limbs didn't want to move. No, that wasn't right, something cold was holding them immobile. He was able to turn his head. It was enough to get a good look at the old hags who sat in a circle around his bound body. His eyes focused on the rough granite surface on which he lay. An intricate circle had been painted beneath his body. He turned his head and studied the other side, confirming his suspicions that his body was positioned in the center of the circle, which appeared to be some sort of a pentagram. Outside the circle sat six, old decrepit men and women dressed as gypsies would have in the eighteen hundreds.

His naked body was laid spread eagle on the pentagram with his hands and legs pulled apart and attached to the four points while his head was centered in the fifth point. Mulder went back to studying the room beyond the old gypsies. A cave, he stared up at the stalactite hanging from the roof of the cave then down to where stalagmite shot up from the cave's floor. Wispy shapes seemed to flow in and around the stalagmite columns. Mulder closed his eyes trying to block out the images.

"You are seeing the dead, young Fox," a crone informed him.

"Why," Mulder whispered, turning his head to look at her.

"Over the weeks that you have been here, you've been given special portions in your meals. They were to prepare you to see beyond the living and into the realm of the dead. It will make it easier for you to transverse over to that realm tomorrow night, taking your lover Alexander with you," she crowed.

Mulder's eyes focused again at the wisps floating around him, he could make out hands and heads. Ghosts. "Alexander is not my lover. What about Fox Spender's spirit? He is Alexander's beloved. Couldn't you send him and Alexander over to this other realm and leave me out of it?" Mulder questioned.

"Child, you do not understand. Most earthbound ghosts are only memories from one lifetime that was ripped away from the whole spirit usually by a violent death. While the rest of their essence moves on, the fragments are left to wander this world until they are again reunited with their original spirit. Fox Spender and you share the same spirit. Each of your reincarnations makes up your total spirit. When Fox committed suicide his lifetime memories fragmented away from the whole. He has since rejoined with you. He will not leave you now, when you die, you will go on to the other-side together. Eventually you would have been reborn into a new incarnation. However, after the ceremony Alexander's spirit will be merge with yours and you will forever be part of each other's essence. You will move into each reincarnation together."

Mulder's head was spinning trying to comprehend what the old crone was telling him. He didn't like the idea of being one with that sadistic bastard for eternity. "Is Alexander a fragment, too?" he asked, thinking of Krycek.

The elder's eyes looked into his with compassion. "No. All of his past reincarnations make up his spirit. It was part of the spell he cast before he died. That is why his life force in this realm is so powerful."

It made a weird sense to Mulder. "Let me go."

"Sorry, Child, we are Alexander's grandchildren. Vladimir was our father, Alexander's son. We are the chosen guardians and have been alive for over a hundred and thirty years. We will continue to live until the curse is lifted. We're tired, young Fox, and would like nothing more than to die."

"Give me my gun and I'll help you," Mulder snarled, pulling at the restraints.

"You must rest for tomorrow night. Sleep now, Child." Mulder felt his lids grow heavy and his eyes began to close, but try as he might he couldn't prevent himself from drifting back to sleep. He missed seeing Krycek being led into the cave.

Krycek had been bathed and dressed in clothes similar to the ones Alexander had died in. He felt like a pirate with the tall leather boots and the soft leather britches that hugged his legs tightly and emphasized the bulge of his groin. A ruffled shirt was tucked into the waistband and a colorful scarf was laced through hanging down from his hips. His breath caught as he saw Mulder chained on the cold earth in the middle of a pentagram. The agent's body had designs painted on its flesh with rust color paint.

"What have you done to him?" Krycek growled.

Vlad looked at the pretty, young man. "Fox, is being cleansed for the ceremony. You need to be prepared too, Alexander."

"My name is Alex!"

"No. It isn't. Alexander, you will be taken to a small room in the cave where you can meditate and fast until tomorrow evening. At the stroke of midnight you will be brought back here for the final ritual."

"And if I refuse?"

"Boris will take your place, and you will be sacrificed, your blood will be used to strengthen the ceremony."

Vlad eyes left no doubt in Alex's mind that he would die and it would not be quick. If he was to get out of here with Fox he needed to play along. "Okay, will you at least tell me what my roll will be in the ritual?" Krycek asked.

"When it is time you will know." Vlad turned to the other six men. "Take Alexander to the chamber and see that he meditates and doesn't sleep or eat."

Alex look longingly at Mulder as he was led passed him.

***

Washington D.C.
Thursday, August 26
3:00 p.m.

Skinner looked out the window in his office. He hadn't been able to get a hold of Mulder in days. Sheriff Kriuchek was no longer answering his calls. The only thing that stopped him from going down there two days ago was SAC Brian Morgan's telephone call. He said that Agent Piquet had informed him that Mulder and Scully were following up on some leads in the backwoods and would be out of cell phone range for at least three days. Skinner was determined now. If he didn't hear from Mulder by tonight he'd go down to Cape Fear in the morning. He turned at the sound of his office door opening.

"What do you want?" he growled.

CGB Spender closed the door and crossed the room. He laid a CD on Skinner's desk. "A present."

"What is it?" Skinner asked, picking up the CD.

"It's a photo CD. The photos are in jpeg format so you'd be able to view them with your web browser," the smoker said, lighting a cigarette he watched Skinner's face as the large man slipped the CD into his laptop. He knew he caught Skinner's interest when the large man's face went pale.

"WHAT IS THIS?" Skinner roared, flipping through the images of Mulder lying on his stomach naked, his back a crisscross of whip marks. Alex Krycek was sitting on the bed attending to his wounds.

Spender ignored his question. "They are going to kill Fox tonight, after the stroke of midnight. The whole town of Cape Fear is involved, Skinner. I need you to go down there and rescue him. He is being held in a cave on the outskirts of town. It is heavily guarded . . . and there are otherworldly dangers you'll need to overcome to reach him. If you fail my son's soul will be forever damned," the smoker emphasized.

"Why haven't you rescued Fox yourself?"

"The curse stated that only my son's true love could save him. And I believe that would be you, Skinner, as trite as that sounds. I want this curse to be ended."

"Where is this cave?" Skinner asked.

Spender pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Skinner. "The directions are here, along with the locations of the guards. Skinner, you're on your own in getting around the other dangers." The smoker dropped his cigarette on the carpeted floor and ground it out with his heel. He turned and strolled out of the office.

Skinner studied the map then looked at his watch, he didn't have much time. To save his lover he needed to assemble a team to take out the guard surrounding the cave. Then there was this otherworldly danger. He'd been in charge of the X-Files' division long enough to know that such a strange warning should be heeded.

"God, Fox, what have you gotten yourself into?" Skinner muttered, picking up his telephone.

***

Cape Fear
Thursday, August 26
11:00 p.m.

The armed strike force invading their town shocked the people of Cape Fear. The strike force was dressed all in black with flack that had the large letters FBI printed across their backs. Most of the town's people were dressed for the celebration after tonight's ceremony. A few had already headed for the river where a large bonfire was to be lit to celebrate Fox's and Alexander's spirits being reunited and the ending of the curse.

Skinner prowled the street menacingly, looking angrily at the crowd that were dressed in their Sunday's best, while others were in garbed in colorful gypsy costumes. "I want everyone placed under arrest!" he barked.

FBI agents carrying semiautomatic rifles rounded up the crowd. Other agents handcuffed the prisoner's hands behind their backs.

"Find me Sheriff Kriuchek," Skinner ordered.

A woman in a flowered print dress stepped forward. "He's dead. So will all of you be if you interfere. You don't know how powerful Alexander is."

"Alexander? Who is this Alexander?" Skinner asked.

"He's a hundred and fifty year old ghost," she replied meekly.

A few of the agents near Skinner chuckled at the absurdity of the woman's statement. Skinner didn't, he remained quiet. He believed her. He had taken precautions after organizing the strike force. He wore a blessed silver crucifix under his suit against his skin and had holy water in a small bottle in his pocket. Tied to his belt was a small leather pouch that he had picked up at an occult shop in D.C. Mulder had taken him once before there and swore that it was the only store in the country that had a real witch as the proprietor. Skinner hadn't believed him at the time. However, when he walked through the doors of the store four hours ago the witch had the pouch waiting for him. Somehow she knew he was coming. She said the contents in the pouch were for warding off the undead, and then she wished him success in rescuing his lover.

"SAC Pearson! I need the assault team assembled now! They are only to take out the guards around the cave where Agent Mulder is being held. It is too dangerous for them to enter the cave. I will do that myself," Skinner roared, climbing into the front seat of one of the armored assault vehicle.

"Yes, sir!" Pearson wasn't about to argue with Skinner, he'd never seen the A.D. any angrier.

***

The Cave
Thursday, August 26
11:30 p.m.

Mulder had been washed and his body shaved and oiled until his skin glowed. His hair was washed and trimmed. He had been given an enema then lubed. All the while this was happening to him Mulder remained in a drug-induced haze.

The gypsies adorned him in a silken robe and had Mulder lain out on his back on a cloth-covered, stone alter. Mulder heard gunfire off in the distance. It didn't register to him what was going on. He didn't have any control over his body, and very little over his mind.

A hundred yards away Krycek sat in a small chamber; it was so small that he could touch all the walls from where he sat cross-legged on the floor. He couldn't even stand upright the ceiling was too low. He had panic attacks several times over the past thirty-six hours. The guards outside the chamber refused to allow him out. It was with great relief that he heard the distant sound of gunfire. He needed to get out of there and rescue Mulder, this could be his only chance.

Krycek quietly crawled through the narrow tunnel that was the only way into and out of the chamber. There appeared to be only one guard. The guard was looking away from the entrance toward the sounds of the gunfire. Krycek stood stiffly behind the guard and before the man could sense his presence the triple agent grabbed his head and twisted it, breaking the man's neck. He picked up the dead man's gun and crept toward the entrance to the cave Mulder was being held in.

Krycek stepped into the cave at the same time Skinner burst into the cave from the main entrance. The A.D. shot and killed two gypsies who got in his way. A phantom screeched and flew at the large man only to be warded off by the pouch dangling from Skinner's belt.

Skinner swore when his gun jammed as he took aim at another gypsy who was about to shoot him. He thought for sure he was a dead man, his gut sunk as he realized he had failed to rescue Fox. Blood suddenly spurted from the gypsy's chest and he fell dead. Skinner looked across the chamber to Krycek who held the smoking gun pointed at the spot where the dead man had stood.

"Skinner, we both want the same thing," Krycek said, stalking across the chamber toward the elders and Fox.

Skinner nodded and advanced from the other direction. His eyes focused briefly on his lover's unmoving body laid out like some sacrificial virgin. The silken robe was open and draped down the sides of the altar like a pair of wings. Fox looked so beautiful.

"You cannot pass into the circle. Go back or Alexander will destroy you!" one old crone snarled.

Between Skinner and Krycek and the altar, Alexander appeared. It had taken the last ounce of power the elders possessed to summon their grandfather to this place.

"Too late, Fox is mine, and for trespassing on the ceremony you shall both die," Alexander said. He gathered the forces around him and struck out at the two men.

Skinner and Krycek both sank to their knees as an intense pain ripped at their chests.

Skinner felt a warm liquid dripping from his nose and into his mouth; he tasted the coppery tinge of blood. He looked through watery, pain-filled eyes at his lover's still figure. The only thought on his mind was that he hadn't been able to save Fox.

***

Many miles away at the Spender Plantation, a loud explosion shook the countryside and lit up the nighttime sky, shattering the peaceful silence as the manor house exploded into a fireball. The fire could be seen for miles in all directions.

***

"NNNOOOOOO!" Alexander screamed and disintegrated into nothingness.

The pain seemed to subside instantly with the departing echoes of the ghostly scream. Skinner unsteadily regained his feet and made his way over to Fox's side. He glanced briefly at the bodies of the elders. All that remained were dried out husks. Even the garments they had worn were tattered remnants left clinging to the withered bodies.

Skinner removed his long overcoat and draped it over his lover's nude body just as several of Pearson's swat team stormed into the cavern.

Pearson met Skinner's eyes, then dropped them to Mulder's unmoving body. "Get the medics in here stat!" he yelled out to one of his men.

Skinner noticed for the first time that Krycek had vanished. The rat probably scurried back into his hole. Skinner had to step aside as the paramedics arrived. They checked Mulder's vitals and relayed them to the hospital in Raleigh-Durham. Mulder was going to be airlifted to the hospital.

Pearson came up beside him. "We've located Agent Scully, sir," he said handing the A.D. a handkerchief for his bloody nose.

Skinner took it and dabbed at the blood. "Where is she?" he asked, realizing guiltily he hadn't even thought of her since hearing about Mulder.

"Agent Piquet was holding her against her will. We've taken him into custody. Agent Scully is on her way to the hospital in Raleigh-Durham. She wants to be there for Agent Mulder when he arrives." Pearson watched as Mulder was loaded onto a stretcher. "What happened here, sir?" he asked.

"As soon as I figure it all out I'll let you know, SAC Pearson," Skinner said, following behind the stretcher, he was not going to let Mulder out of his sight.

***

Krycek had fled from the cave as the swat team stormed the place. He snuck silently through the woods avoiding them and the remaining gypsies. He must have walked for miles because before he knew it, he was coming out beside the riverbank.

Alexander watched as his look-alike stopped beside the river. With his body destroyed, he didn't have much power left on this plane. Only his severed hand that was buried inside a lead box beneath the old oak tree beside the river still held him tethered to this plane. He needed a body or he'd be forced to pass over to the next realm. He smiled staring at Krycek, and the perfect body had just come to him.

Krycek stood panting, he needed to make it back to town to collect his car. He was distracted by the screech of a hoot owl and didn't notice Alexander materialize behind him. He felt light headed as the ghost took possession of his body. Krycek tried to fight the spirit off, but Alexander's will was stronger and soon the ghost had almost total possession over the young man's body.

"Alex, don't worry child, I'll take good care of your body," Alexander laughed, and used Krycek's knowledge to head for town to collect their car.

***

Three weeks later.

Skinner carried a tray out to the sofa where Mulder sat, watching the basketball game. On the tray were two bowls of chili, cornbread, and beer. His lover was still recovering from his ordeal and hadn't been allowed back to work yet.

Mulder smiled up at him. "Thanks, Walter, you're spoiling me."

"I'm trying to fatten you up. The doctor won't release you back to work until you regained all of the forty pounds you lost. That's what you get for being so skinny in the first place, you didn't have any extra weight to loose," Skinner scowled, setting the tray on the coffee table.

"Are you saying that you want me fat?" Mulder picked up the large bowl of chili and dug in. His appetite had only returned a couple of days ago. He had a hard time keeping anything down before then, and Scully, his doctor, and Walter all threatened to have him put back into the hospital if he didn't start gaining weight soon.

"No, I don't want you fat, just healthy. Scully is coming over later to check on you."

Scully, Mulder smiled thinking about her reaction to finding out about him and Skinner. Skinner didn't even try to hide their relationship from her. He had walked right up to Mulder's hospital bed. Mulder remembered being in a half-conscious state, with Scully holding his hand. Walter had bent down and kissed him on the forehead. If it wasn't for the oxygen mask and the feeding tube up his nose he was positive, that Walter would have kissed him on the lips. His lover had to fill him in later on the details about how he and Scully had a long talk over a cup of coffee about Walter's relationship with her partner.

Skinner sipped his beer as he watched Mulder hungrily wolf down the bowl of chili, it was one of the most satisfying sights of the last three weeks for Skinner. He had been scared that his lover would never recover. They still haven't resumed their normal love life, but he felt now that would come in time. Mulder was allowing him to hold and touch him again.

"Fox, I booked us a four day weekend at a bread-and-breakfast in upstate Vermont for your birthday. I thought we could check out the fall foliage, the leaves should be in their peak colors at that time," Skinner said, hoping that Mulder would want to go.

"That sounds good, Walter. You know I'm going to have to be going back to my own apartment one of these days," Mulder said. He did not really want to go, he felt comfortable here with Walter. His lover was able to keep the shadows at bay.

"You don't have to go, Fox. Why don't you move in here with me, or if you prefer we could look for a larger place together. Maybe one of the row house in the city," Skinner suggested.

Mulder would have refused before, but now he wanted to keep Skinner nearby. "Sure. I wouldn't mind getting a row house. It would give us a little more privacy and those homes have a private backyard and patio." Mulder couldn't believe he was talking about buying a house together with Walter.

Skinner's face lit up in a grin. "If it's okay with you, Fox, I'll contact a realtor tomorrow. We can start looking anytime you're up to it."

"Seeing that I still have a ways to go before I'm allowed back at work, now would be a good time to house hunt. Maybe we could find a place across the street from an Italian restaurant, and kill two birds with one stone."

"How's that, Fox?"

"I'll be able to return to work sooner with an all night pizzeria across the street. Just think of how much weight I'd be able to put on," Mulder quipped.

Skinner leaned over and kissed him. Their life together was never going to be boring.

***

The End.