Double Indemnity
Round 2, part 1
Jennie

Mulder wavered when Alex moaned quietly, ground out an emphatic "Yes!", and arched against him. That voice of Krycek's, that silky-soft, smooth as fine brandy, rough as sandpaper voice, was doing unimaginable things to his equilibrium. He had a brief, almost fully-formed thought that the kitchen might not be the most romantic place in the world for his first time with... Jesus, he was about to... With...

There went his balance again. Luckily, Alex and the counter held him up preventing his ending up in an embarrassing heap on the floor. Further, Mulder's slightly slumped posture put them at a height, perfectly positioned for kissing. And grinding their hips together.

The last time Mulder had come in his trousers like a teenager, he'd *been* a teenager. A trip down that particular section of memory lane didn't appeal right then, so he pulled away from the kiss with a soft sound of promise and comfort at Alex's of protest.

"We're over-dressed," Mulder said in an attempt to apologize, soothe and explain without wasting too much of the oxygen that had suddenly become scarce for no apparent reason. "Skin, Alex. I want skin."

"Jesus," Alex breathed, reaching with trembling fingers for the hem of Mulder's shirt.

Attention fixed on opening the fly of Alex's jeans, Mulder only reluctantly stopped long enough to let the damned thing fall down over his wrists and off of him. The second it was out of his way, he completed his task and yanked the worn denim down lean thighs so he had an unobstructed view of... Alex's cock. He wanted it. Alex's cock. Wanted it in his hand, his mouth, his ass. Whatever, wherever, however. He really didn't care, he only knew that he wanted it and he wanted it right fucking then.

Mulder was profoundly grateful that Alex managed to get his pants out of the way before their bodies collided again. But still, something wasn't quite right. He frowned in thought, opening his hands against Alex's back, just above the waist. And that was it, Alex still wore his t-shirt. Intent on removing the cotton barrier, he had the fabric rucked up under Alex's armpits before he had a chance to consciously send his muscles to do so. There was a small, nearly imperceptible change in Alex's stance, but Mulder noticed it immediately. He paused in his effort to remove Alex's shirt and pulled back just enough to study the other man curiously.

Dark eyelashes lowered the tiniest bit more. Gaze firmly affixed to a spot on the far wall. The tiniest slant of Alex's body, left shoulder pulled back ever so slightly.

The arm. Fuck. He'd forgotten. What the hell could he say...?

Mulder's smoooth ways with romance notwithstanding, as the words spilled out of his mouth, he thought that he'd finally, for once, actually stumbled across the right thing to say:

"This," he said softly, ghosting my hand down his prosthesis, "this doesn't matter."

His other hand moved to Alex's chest, opening so that the palm lay atop a thundering heart. "*This* matters."

"This," Mulder groaned, hips pushing forward so that their erections pressed against each other. "Ahhh - this matters, Alex."

"You're beautiful to me. You always were."

Green eyes flicked back to meet hazel for a beat, before returning their attention to the apparently fascinating wall behind Mulder.

"Dammit, Alex," Mulder said, frustrated. "Even when I hated you, I thought you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. How can I... What do I say to make you understand? After all these years, can't you see that who you are is far more important to me that what you look like. I don't care if you gain weight or lose a little hair. I don't care, Alex, how many fucking arms you have. I. Just. Want. You."

Alex sighed, a little of that awful tension drained from him, but he still wouldn't meet Mulder's eyes. "Alex?" Carefully, he put two fingers against Alex's jaw, gently urging him to look at Mulder instead of the fucking wall. "Alex, look at me. Don't hide from me. Please, Alex, don't hide."

Hindsight being twenty-twenty, Mulder later realized what he'd to trigger Alex's reaction. At the time, though...

***

Running, he's running as fast as he can and his head is pounding, his lungs are burning and he doesn't recognize anything, doesn't know where he is, he only knows that there was blood, so much blood, and he has to get away.

He has to *HIDE*.

***

Alex collapsed to his knees. Awkwardly, Mulder followed him down, somehow folding his length around Krycek to end up squashed between the cabinet behind him and the shaking, panting, clutching form of his ex-partner, current almost-lover, and all around pain in his ass.

Gasping for air, Alex kept muttering, "Hide, hide, *hide*," interspersed with the occasional "Mulder".

Unable to come up with a better short term plan, Mulder tightened his arms around Alex and whispered his best soothing inanities into Alex's ear.

***

His side hurts, breathing is getting harder, he really needs to find a place to hide and why doesn't he know where the fuck he is? He stumbles to a halt, shrinking into the shadows and looks around and, yes, he knows that street. Knows where he is and remembers that he has a bolthole two blocks over, so he heads in that direction, always keeping to the shadows, silently working his way through backyards and over fences until he's there. In through the back door - how does he know the security PIN? - and up the stairs to the second floor. One quick manipulation of a wall sconce, then he walks down a passage, up a narrow flight of stairs, another passage, and through a door concealed behind a fireplace and he's safe. He's hidden. He knows this, is absolutely sure of it.

He collapses of the camp bed, curls into a fetal position and quietly whimpers one word, "Alex."

***

"Jesus," Alex gasped, jerking in Mulder's arms.

"Hey," Mulder said quietly. "Welcome back."

After a moment's silence, Alex lowered his head to rest on Mulder's shoulder. He sighed. "It happened again."

"That two places at once thing?"

"Yeah, and... Shit, Mulder, we have to go. We have to go now."

Before Mulder could react, Alex was on his feet and gathering their clothes together. "Get dressed. I know where I - he - we - fuck! - went."

"Here," his quickly discarded clothing was shoved unceremoniously into his hands. "Get dressed, Mulder. We have to go..."

"Alex?"

"Uh?"

"Two questions," Mulder said quietly, pulling his shirt over his head. "Where exactly are we going? And, what do you mean 'we'."

Impatiently, Alex tucked his shirt in, closed his jeans and grabbed his leather jacket. "No time, Mulder. I don't know how long we have. C'mon, I'll explain in the car."

He'd never seen Krycek so rattled and the sight made Mulder more than a little uneasy. Nevertheless, he followed Alex up to the garage.

"Where to?" Mulder asked once he'd back out of the sheltered space.

"Georgetown."

"Georgetown." Mulder repeated. It wasn't a question, more of an attempt to convince himself that he'd heard correctly.

"Yeah, yeah. Georgetown. ----- street." After a short pause, he continued, "I have a bolthole in one of those old homes."

"Ooookay." Dubiously. "Georgetown it is, then."

They rode in silence for a few minutes, until Mulder's curiosity got the better of him. "Alex? Can you... I need for you to tell me what's going on."

After several false starts, Krycek delivered a hurried but concise summary of what he'd experienced. To his credit, Mulder listened quietly without interruption. Something warned him that an ill-judged question would bring the low-voiced explanation to an end.

"... I recognized where we were and got us to my bolthole. I've never used it before, so we should be safe. If we stay there..."

"Alex, you keep saying 'us' and 'we'. What? I... do you *know* who this is?"

"Yes... no... not exactly, Mulder." Alex reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think - no, I know that I know him. There's something... I kinda seem to um, recognize this guy's mind. I... I don't know, Mulder. Somehow, he's familiar to me."

"Alex? Tell me you aren't telepathic." Wouldn't *that* be a kick in the ass?

"I... I don't think I am," Alex said slowly. "This hasn't happened with anyone else."

"Thank god for small favors," Mulder mumbled under his breath.

They parked on a side street and carefully made their way to a very old, majestic home.

"Jesus, Alex! Here?"

"Uh huh."

"How the hell... Never mind." Odds were he really didn't want to know, so Mulder dropped that line of questioning.

Mulder looked at Alex, hesitating very uncharacteristically at a brick fireplace which they'd come to after one trip through a hidden door, a couple of narrow halls and one flight of stairs.

"I don't... I... "

"You can do this, Alex. We have to find out what's going on."

A heavy sigh, a straightening of shoulders, and Alex met Mulder's concerned gaze. "Okay, then. Let's do it." With a dexterous move, he manipulated a brick, and a hidden door swung open.

"Ever consider a career in writing, Alex?" Mulder joked weakly. "Hidden doors and secret passages... You should be writing gothic novels."

Stepping back, Alex cleared his throat. "Would you...? I don't think I can..."

"I'll go in first."

Inside of the small room, they could just barely make out the shape of a body curled up on a cot in the corner. Alex reached up and pulled firmly down on the string hanging from the light fixture above flooding the room with light.

The man on the bed scrambled to his feet and backed quickly away from them. Mulder caught his breath in shock and Krycek moved past him, taking up a stance between Mulder and the stranger.

"Who," Krycek and the stranger, his exact double, growled at each other, "the fuck are *you*?"

They wore matching expressions of warning, but the stranger's eyes, Mulder realized, held a hint of not-quite sanity. He laid one hand on Alex's shoulder. "Careful."

The stranger's eyes unfocused for a second, he blinked, then stared at Alex with disbelief. "Alex?" he questioned dazedly. "Is that you?"

With a strength that didn't really come as a surprise, Alex's hand reached up and closed over Mulder's. He backed up one step, bringing himself into closer contact with Mulder. Jerkily, he nodded at the man that held an uncanny resemblance to him.

All of the air seemed to leave the stranger's body in one explosive breath. "Finally! So many years, Alex. God, I've been looking for so long."

"Who the hell *are* you?"

"I'm Anson. Please, Alex, tell me that you remember me," Anson begged with desperate intensity.

Before Alex could voice a response, Mulder's cell rang loudly. All three men jumped at the unexpected sound. "'S okay," Mulder breathed. "Just my cell phone."

"Yeah, Mulder," he said into the reciever.

"When can you make it into the office, Agent?" Skinner barked into his ear.

"Uh, I'm not sure, sir. Something... came up, and... er... I thought we'd agreed I would see you in the morning."

Yes, well, that was before the Director phoned me wanting to know why he'd had a call from the DoJ in the middle of the night. Scully is already on her way here, I have a team searching for Krycek, and I need you to come in. Now."

"I... um... Can you give me 45 minutes, sir?"

"Mulderrr," Skinner growled in warning.

"Please, Skinner. I'll come in but... I really need a few minutes to wrap things up here."

"Shit! Fine, Agent Mulder. I'll give you your 45 minutes. No longer, though."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate this."

"Just don't keep me waiting any longer."

"I won't, sir," Mulder promised hurriedly.

Skinner broke the connection and Mulder turned to meet Alex's eyes. "Skinner," he explained unnecessarily. "I have to go in, Alex. See if I can accomplish a little damage control, find out exactly what they know, and give us a little more time."

"Shit," Alex breathed. "Okay, Mulder. You go on. I'll - we'll stay here until you get back."

Together, they turned to look at the stranger - Anson. He was still staring at Alex with an expression of awe and wonder. "Alex," he whispered.

Then he staggered, fell back onto the bed, and curled up in a ball again. "Alex. So long. Missed... Searched, Alex. Always... searching..." his eyelashes fluttered down. "Alex..." he slurred before appearing to fall asleep.

***

Yo, Ursula! You're up next...