Double Indemnity
Round Four

OooOooO

Mulder and Scully were arguing with the strange man, the man who smelled funny to Anson. He wasn't sure what it was all about except that it invovled Alex.

His brother looked yellowish. He had been asleep since they arrived here. He seemed to be struggling to breathe and, from time to time, he moaned in pain.

Anson lay down next to Alex on the bed. He put his arm around his twin. When he held his brother close, it seemed to him as if Alex's color was better.

Turning his face to his brother's neck, Anson burrowed closer.

Sharply, Mulder said, "Anson, be careful. He's injured. He doesn't need you leaning on him."

Sulkily, Anson replied, "I know how to take care of Alex. He's mine."

The little red haired woman... Anson had the urge to ask her how good ol' Charlie Brown was hanging since she dumped him... clicked her heels over to the bed.

"Mulder, I think Krycek is actually more comfortable with his brother near him," the woman said.

The different man said, "They are more than twins, you know."

"How so?" Mulder asked.

"They are connected," Jeremiah said. "Like you, like many other children of the project, they were an experiment. Spender had no problem experimenting on his children, his grandchildren. He intended the twins to be a very special team of operatives. Operatives who could act in absolute harmony without any need of mechanical communication."

"Then it may not have been a failure," Mulder replied.

Anson understood that or at least, he understood that Mulder wasn't calling him a failure. Anson stroked Alex's face tenderly. Although his brother had usually been the one that protected him, there had been times when the roles were reversed. Sometimes when Mother was very angry with Alex, Anson pretended to be him and took his punishment. Anson wasn't as afraid of the dark as Alex. You could hide from Mother in the dark, but Alex for some reason never understood that.

"I won't let anyone hurt you," Anson sang into Alex's ear.

His heart beating faster, Anson tried to make sense of things. From what these assholes were saying, grandfather was even more evil than Anson knew. It just figured that he, Anson, was a mistake.

Anson could feel how much Alex was hurting and he willed part of that pain into himself. He felt almost instantly weaker and wanted to stop, but Alex's eyes opened and he seemed to ask for more of Anson's strength.

Maybe it would be better to just give it all to Alex...

Alex was the one who could survive. Let him live and Anson would die.

A soft groan fluttered from Anson's lips. He couldn't hold Alex anymore and fell back.

His brother suddenly sat up and yelled, "Anson, what the fuck are you doing to us?"

OooOooO

Mulder had been so intent on Jeremiah Smith's discussion of the Project that he had almost forgotten about Alex.

His lover's voice not only got Mulder's attention, but also shocked the hell out of him.

Alex was sitting up and looking much stronger. Mulder rushed to Alex's side and gently drew him in his arms. "Alex, I was afraid I was going to lose you."

"Look at Anson," Alex directed.

Scully and Jeremiah both examined Anson.

"He's in shock," Scully said, uttering a grunt of frustration as she realized she had no way of caring for Anson.

Jeremiah grimaced and said, "I'll help him, but it's difficult. He and Alex almost resist my healing. I feel as if I'm being drained by them."

"Maybe because you're not just healing one," Mulder guessed. "They're joined somehow."

A moment later, the conclusion was obvious. Mulder said, "My first thought was that solving Alex's problem was simple. We could just turn Anson into the police and with his record, he would be the obvious choice for Cancerman's assailant. Especially since I could testify that Alex was with me. Now, I'm afraid that if they decided to execute Anson, that Alex would die with him."

A glowering look from Alex reminded Mulder that he was walking on thin ice. Alex growled, "I told you to leave Anson out of it."

"Alex..." Mulder said. "You need to think about this clearly. Anson is trouble for you. He's very unstable, very unpredictable."

"He's my brother," Alex said, putting his arm around Anson. "He just fucking tried to give his life up for me."

"Yeah, I know," Mulder said, trying not to think about what an easy answer that would have been.

Looking at Jeremiah, Alex said, "Couldn't you heal him?"

Smiling, Jeremiah shook his head. "Alex, your brother's mental condition isn't caused by anything physical. Despite your similarity, you were stronger than he. He broke under the abuse from your mother. You survived."

"Or that bastard, Spender, actually did me a favor by taking me away from our bitch mother," Alex growled.

Scully winced at Alex's comment, but didn't attempt to scold him for his assault against the conventional view of motherhood.

Anson woke at Alex's touch, grasped his brother's hand, and stared at the other as if waiting for an attack.

Mulder found this a frustrating experience.

He had just resolved his feelings for Alex and he didn't need any competition from Anson.

Hey, Mulder thought, if Anson feels it when Alex is hurt, did he feel his pleasure too?

OooOooO

Anson could see that Alex's lover with the big nose wasn't happy with him. The shit!

It was still hard for Anson to believe that Alex enjoyed what they did. Having a dick in your ass hurt...and Anson didn't want to think about why he knew that.

"Alex?" Anson said.

"Yeah?" Alex said, looking at him.

"You remember everything now?" Anson said.

"Yeah, Jeremiah fixed that...or somehow, I retrieved the memory when he was healing my wounds," Alex said.

Grunting, Alex tried to sit up, but he wasn't completely healed. He winced and started to sink back, but Mulder slipped beside Alex, supporting his weight.

Alex gave his lover a sappy smile.

Well, maybe Mulder was okay. If Alex loved him, he had to have something good about him.

All this talk about grandfather had made Anson think. What if grandfather was alive?

What if he wasn't done with devastating his own children and grandchildren?

Anson said, "Alex, I was married once."

Alex looked at him as if he was raving again and said, "Yeah, Mulder checked your record. I can understand how you fucked up your relationship; I never could even tell mine that I felt anything for him."

Mulder's hand squeezed Alex's gently.

That was nice. Karen had never been like that with him. She wanted Anson to be strong, but he hadn't done it right. He wanted to be like his Papa, but instead he was like the asshole his mother had married. It was bad enough that he tried to do bad things to Anson, but when Anson's mother yelled at him about it, the bad man had hurt Mother too. Anson hadn't ever hit Karen and he would never have hit his daughter, but he had yelled too and had broken things when he was mad.

Trying to make Alex understand, Anson said, "I have a kid."

"Yeah," Alex said.

"Think about it," Anson said. "What if grandfather isn't dead?"

"Shit," Alex said.

"Shit," Mulder echoed. "He might go after the kid. All grist to his mill."

"She is safe," Jeremiah said. "Her mother and her were taken, but my people were able to help them."

Thank God! Anson just wished he could have a second chance. He understood things now. He would work hard to get well and be the kind of person Papa would have wanted him to be.

The red haired woman had been looking out into the street. She took a deep breath and said, "Sorry to break up this family reunion but there are a few too many grim looking men getting out of cars below us. I think we have trouble."

Smith went over to the window and peered out. "I concur, Agent Scully, I believe they could be looking for us."

"Shit!" Mulder exclaimed angrily, "How the hell do they keep finding us?"

The alien healer looked thoughtfully back and forth between the humans for a few moments, then said, "Since they can't possibly have followed us here from the hospital, I think that maybe one, or more of you may have a tracking device on, or in, them. If my supposition is correct then we have to get you all shielded as soon as possible."

"On the other hand," Alex broke in, "They could be on our side, or in the neighbourhood on another errand entirely, this isn't the most salubrious part of town, after all."

"While you may have a point there, Alex, I don't think we can afford to take any chances. We'll slip out the back way. Scully, you and Jeremiah take the lead. Anson and I will carry Alex downstairs between us." Mulder took one look at Alex's mutinous expression, and went on, "Save your strength for when it is really needed."

Realizing that this was not the time to pick a fight, Alex allowed himself to be lifted by the two men, carried out of the hotel room and down the fire escape into the car park. As quickly, and quietly, as they could they all got into the limousine. With Scully riding in the front beside him, Jeremiah drove the large car along the service road at the back, then turned left on to the road on the other side of the block.

Leaving Anson to care for his twin, Mulder let the privacy screen down between the front and rear compartments, then phoned the Lone Gunmen. He explained their predicament to Frohike. After confirming where they were and in which direction they were travelling, he gave them directions to another destination and assured Mulder that the Gunmen would meet them there with every counter surveillance gadget and bug detector at their disposal in an effort to protect them from further unwanted visitors.

For the next twenty-five minutes they travelled in tense silence with Mulder peering out of the rear window for any sight of pursuit. When they arrived at the location that Frohike had given them, they found themselves confronted by a large barn-like building.

As the car drew to a halt, Scully got out of the car to see if she could find a way in. She had barely taken two steps towards the building, when the garage doors opened and Langly beckoned them inside. Mulder, of course, was out of the car almost before it came to a halt in the huge garage.

As he pushed the button to close the doors again, Langly said, "Hey, Dude. We've set up a perimeter of jamming equipment which is designed to give us a dome of protection against all known types of tracking mechanisms while we try to find out how, or if, you are being traced."

Mulder grinned. "Thanks, guys, as I said, we're not absolutely sure that we are being tracked. They probably found us at the hospital by someone in the Police or FBI telling them that Alex was there - but when MIBs pull up in force outside your hotel... well, it seemed like a good idea to check."

"Sure thing, Dude."

Once the doors were shut behind them, Mulder introduced the Gunmen to Jeremiah, Alex and Anson. There was a moment of silence, when only the low hum of electricity through circuits could be heard as Frohike stared at the twins, looking back and forth between them, until Alex scowled at him and he nervously retreated a few steps.

Mulder grinned at his friend's retreat, then sidled up to Alex, and said, very quietly, "Try not to intimidate the help, Alex. We need their expertise."

Alex turned his head so that his lips were almost brushing Mulder's. "Sorry... but you'd think he'd never seen twins before the way he was looking at us." He licked his lips, then stole a quick kiss before turning his head to look back at Frohike.

While they had been talking, Langly started running his bug hunting equipment over the limo. Byers came over to where Frohike was standing and gave him one of the two bug-sniffers he'd been carrying. The touch of familiar equipment brought Frohike out of his funk, then he and Byers concentrated on checking the group for any sign of a tracer.

After having run all their gadgets over everything, and everybody, the Gunmen declared themselves satisfied that they were bug-free.

"Now what are we going to do?" Scully asked a pensive looking Mulder.

He shrugged, then gave her a lopsided grin. "Get something to eat?" She raised an eyebrow at him, his grin widened, for a moment, then he became serious again. "As I see it, we have two choices; one we accept that we are completely bug free; or, two acknowledge that one of us is carrying a bug which doesn't show up on any of this equipment." he gestured to the gadgets lying strewn across a nearby table. "If it's the former we have nothing to worry about, if it's the latter.... well, we'll soon find out."

He turned to the Gunmen, "Thanks for coming so quickly guys, I appreciate it."

"Enough to give me your video collection?" Frohike asked.

Mulder laughed, "Maybe.... Anyway, what I suggest is that you return home, while we find somewhere safe to stay-."

"The offer of the house is still open, Mulder." Byers interrupted him.

"Yeah, thanks, I think we will take you up that offer this time. Anson, do you still have my car keys?" When Anson nodded, he went on. "Okay, please give them to Frohike, as I want them to retrieve the car from wherever you abandoned it."

"It's in the hospital parking lot," Anson replied while digging in his pocket for the keys. Handing them over to the odd looking little man, he went on, "It's near the edge of the lot with a clear view of the main entrance."

"Thanks," Frohike pocketed the keys, then turned to Mulder again. "Do you need anything else from us before we leave?"

"I can't think of anything else at the moment."

"New identities would be good," Alex said at the same time. At Scully's frown, he said, "Well it would - We'll need food and clothing for starters... we don't know who is looking for us and we certainly don't want to leave a paper trail that even a boy scout could follow."

"We also need to find a way to placate Skinner and Detective Smith, get them on our side without immediately revealing Anson's existence." Mulder said, taking his phone out. He scowled at it for a moment, turning around to try to get a signal.

"Wait up, Dude, I'll switch the damping field off," Langly told him, a wide grin splitting his face. He flipped a switch and the background hum died away leaving an eerie silence.

"Thanks," Mulder muttered as the phone came back to life. He hit the speed dial to connect to Skinner's cell - as soon as it was answered, he said, "Sir, a friend arrived at the hospital and told me that we were about to be attacked at the hospital and despite what you told us about police presence on our floor, he hadn't been stopped on the way in and there was no sign of them as we left...."

He listened for a moment, then went on, "Yes, Sir, I appreciate that you need to be kept informed which is why I am phoning now. However; I felt it best to wait until I could check that none of us were carrying any known type of tracer, as just after the last time we stopped, what looked like MIBs turned up outside the motel. I was reminded that it could have been coincidence, but I didn't want to take any unnecessary chances."

Mulder listened some more, his silences interspersed with a few "Yes, Sirs" and "No, Sirs." Finally he interrupted with, "Excuse me, Sir, but we would like to get under way again. I have arranged for a safe house to accommodate us though friends that I trust. As soon as we're settled, I'll be in touch again over a more secure line...." He listened again. "Yes, Sir, I'll do that."

He pocketed the phone, then said, "Before we split up, I'd like to bring you all up to date. Skinner is going to contact Detective Smith about the cops having been missing from the hospital corridor when we left, he also said that, in those circumstances, we had done the right thing by acting on our friend's advice and moving Alex out of harm's way. They've got some more pictures from the security video of the intruder who killed Spender and he would like us, and Alex in particular, to look at them to see if we recognize him. Obviously he will also ask to see if they have any videos of the floor where Alex's room was, for the same reasons.  He wants a meeting with us, and I have said I'll contact him from the safe house as the Gunmen have assured me that the line from there is untraceable.

"If the Gunmen don't mind, when we do set up a meeting, I would like them to collect Skinner and check him over for bugs etc."

"Sure, Mulder," Frohike said, as the other two Gunmen murmured assent to his request.

"Thanks," Mulder grinned at them before continuing. "Skinner also spoke about his meeting with Spender. He said that Spender called him for a meeting at the reflecting pool, on the pretext that I was getting into trouble. At the meeting he persuaded Skinner to accompany him to an address where he could see some evidence for himself. Later, to satisfy his curiosity about the apartment, he sent two agents there to investigate. The apartment was empty save for two folding chairs and a card table, which yielded no clues as to why he was being lured there. Anyway, they had just arrived at the apartment building when he spotted someone he thought was Krycek - who in any case was with me at the time - and gave chase.

"At our meeting I had told Skinner that the assailant wasn't Alex, and that I could prove it. He now admits, that having thought further about the attack, and the lack of recognition on the attacker's part, he is convinced that it couldn't have been Alex that he saw... he has told the police who have removed Alex from their list of suspects, and re-opened the investigation although finding the original attacker is secondary to finding the murderer. He also has some other suggestions to make when we meet up, but taking up time now was contraindicated. So, let's get going."

The Gunmen started packing their equipment back into their van, while Anson and Mulder carefully carried a pale and tired looking Alex back to the car and made him comfortable under the watchful eyes of Scully and Smith.

When they were almost ready to leave, Byers came over to them. "We think it would be a good idea if I were to come with you. Since I know the area well and therefore the house's exact location, I could drive there by the safest route, and be able to help you with the equipment once we get there. I'll rejoin the others when you have your meeting with Skinner."

"That's an excellent idea, thanks." Mulder replied, gratefully. All his party were tired and it would be a relief to have someone fresh for the long drive to the safe house.

"Good," Byers replied, "There's plenty of canned and dried goods at the house, but we may want to stop and get some fresh foods-"

"Clothes," Alex interrupted from where he was lying along the side seats. "I'm not spending the rest of my life in these scrubs... and if someone could retrieve my leather jacket I'd be very grateful."

"I'll ask Skinner to get it for you," Mulder assured him

"I bet he'll love that," came the rejoinder.

"We'll make ourselves noticed if we buy too much clothing," Scully said, looking tired and worried.

"Nah, just tell 'em that the airline lost your luggage." Langly suggested. "If you do it close enough to DC it won't be thought of as unusual. There was an article about it in the Post a couple of weeks back."

"There's a mall and factory outlet a few minutes down the road. We could get everything we need there, and if we use lots of different stores the amount we are purchasing won't be remarked upon," Byers replied.

"Good idea." Mulder looked around. "Any more questions or suggestions?" After various replies in the negative, he went on, "In that case I suggest we get under way. I'd like to be settled in before nightfall so that we can take stock of our surroundings, and get some rest... we've all had a busy couple of days."

Langly turned away and opened the garage doors. Byers drove out and turned east, leaving his fellow Gunmen to lock up the barn, and go their own way a few minutes later.

-oo0oo-

They were all silent as Byers drove away from the rendezvous, each busy with their own thoughts. Anson was sitting by Alex's feet watching his twin who was dozing with his head pillowed on Mulder's lap. When Jeremiah came over to kneel beside them to check on Alex, Anson saw a chance to satisfy his curiosity about the strange man.

"Can I ask a question?" When Jeremiah nodded, he went on, "Why do you smell different? It's not a bad smell," he hurried to assure the man who had looked startled by the question. "I'm not explaining myself very well, am I? Most people I've met have the same basic smell, then one which is their own... like the smell of freshly dug earth. To me you smell like the warn metal of the kettle when mama was making tea." Anson's face was contorted into a scowl with the effort of trying to make them understand.

Jeremiah, although he looked very surprised, hastened to reassure the troubled man. "It's very astute of you to notice, I was born on another world," he began. "...And I believe you may be able to tell who is native to this planet and who is not. Tell me, who else has you met that smelled different?"

Anson looked relieved that he hadn't upset the... alien... no wonder he had been able to heal most of Alex's injuries. Then concentrating on the question he's been asked, he replied, "The doctor that mama sometimes used to take Alex and I to, he smelled funny too, not like you though... he smelled kinda like that black stuff you put on a roof. I remember that Alex and I didn't like him at all... he kept jabbing needles into us. Daddy wanted us to stop seeing that doctor and go to the health centre nearby - they had a loud argument about it."

Jeremiah had looked increasingly concerned as Anson's story went on. "A Colonist plant," he said when Anson stopped talking. "There's no doubt in my mind that the two boys were subjected to many tests before Alex was stolen from his home."

"It's equally possible that they had Peter Krajicek killed to stop him interfering with those tests," Scully stated, drawing what to her mind was an obvious conclusion.

Two pairs of green eyes looked at her with horror. Anson sought Alex's hand and held on to it tightly.

Mulder nodded. "You could be right, Scully. If he could give up his own wife to the tests, then I'm sure that getting rid of an inconvenient son-in-law wouldn't have troubled his conscience."

"I saw him kill mama and that man she married, they blamed me... told me I was bad... but it was grandfather," Anson announced, then added, "I'm glad he's dead, even though I didn't manage to kill him."

"I'm glad he's dead, too," Alex assured him, which earned him a happy smile from his twin.

Stunned by the magnitude of the old man's savagery, they rode in silence until the limo started to slow down and Byers informed them that they had reached the shopping mall.

At the mall, after a bit of persuasion from Alex, Anson accompanied Mulder to the store where they bought enough underclothes, jeans and shirts for the three men. Scully meanwhile stocked up on a few supplies at the pharmacy before getting some casual clothes for herself and some other essentials she thought they might need. Before returning to the car she used the ladies rest room to freshen up and change out of her work clothes. Byers meanwhile, went into the large supermarket and bought a cart full of fresh foods to stock the refrigerator.

Mulder and Anson had also changed, so when they all got back to the car, they loaded the food into the trunk and most of the new clothes, except those they would need for Alex

Trying not to jostle the sick man too much, they stripped off the hospital scrubs and dressed him in T-shirt and boxers, topped with a sweat-suit, and put socks and trainers on his feet.

Noticing a pained frown furrowing his brow, Scully made him take him another couple of painkillers. Once he was comfortably settled on the long side seat again, Byers started the engine to continue their journey, stopping off at the gas station to fill up the tank on his way out of the car park.

-oo0oo-

Three hours later they were driving though countryside where there were few vehicles on the road and even fewer signs of human habitation, when the engine cut out without even a splutter. Byers guided it to a halt at the side of the road and got out.

All the others, excluding Alex, got out too, to find out what was wrong. Mulder looked at his watch, the said, "My watch has stopped."

Even as he spoke large men stepped out of concealment from each side of the road, seven from the side nearest them, and eight from the other.

Mulder, Scully and Anson reached for their guns, ready to defend them, when Jeremiah said, "They're friends." He paused for a moment, then said, "I am needed elsewhere, but they will heal Alex completely before we leave."

The four humans stepped away from the car, but as the first alien went past him, Anson let out a cry and tried to pull him away. "He smells bad... like the doctor...."

The alien shook him off and stood at bay by the back door of the limo a fire-wand gripped in his hand, and those who had been moving towards him stopped in their tracks, waiting to see if they could gain some advantage... some way to overpower him before he could kill them. All the other aliens turned towards him, their human faces sloughing away as they concentrated their minds on the spy that had been in their midst. Time seemed to stand still as the battle of wills took place. Suddenly the spy crumpled to the ground, a scalpel protruding from the back of his neck, revealing Alex standing in the doorway of the car. They all watched dispassionately as the alien dissolved into a puddle of green goo. Only once all traces of the Colonist had bubbled way did the exhausted, grey-faced Alex relax and sink to the floor of the limo.

Jeremiah turned to Anson, and said, "That is a very useful talent you have there, his actions could have caused untold harm to us, and the Resistance."

"Will his presence mean that they could be able to trace us here?" Mulder asked, troubled that their presence could have been exposed.

One of the newcomers, who had resumed his human disguise, answered. "He had no tracer on him, and we were able to suppress his attempt to contact his brethren. Now we must help by healing our human colleagues and be on our way before our presence here is noticed."

Five of their number climbed in the car and held Alex's arms, legs and head, while the spokesman and one other approached Scully. When she backed away from him, he said, "While the chip inside you keeps the cancer at bay, it will be a liability in the future... we will dissolve it and make sure that no harm will be caused by it's removal."

Scully thought about it for a moment then nodded her agreement to undergoing the procedure. The speaker cupped her head in his hands, while the other placed his hands on her shoulders - they stood like that for nearly five minutes, then they returned where the rest of their party still waited.

Mulder looked at his watch and saw that it was working again. He wondered how slow it would be when he managed to check it, and looked up at the sun to see if he gauge how much time had passed... the sky was blue, the birds were singing and the insects were buzzing but he had no idea how much time had passed. Giving a mental shrug, he turned his attention back to the car where Anson was pressed up against the glass, as near as possible to his twin without being inside the vehicle.

Suddenly there was movement. The five aliens left the car and strode purposefully across the road into the trees, the others who had been standing nearby followed. Jeremiah paused for a moment at the edge of he trees and said, "We will be in touch." The he, too, disappeared from view.

Mulder immediately went to Alex's side. Now shirtless, the younger man was sleeping peacefully, all signs of stress and pain had vanished from his face... the scars that had marred his body had disappeared... and most wondrous of all his left arm was no longer an ugly, misshapen stump - in it's place was a perfect match for his other one. Mulder lightly ran his fingers across the baby soft flesh, almost unable to believe his eyes. The others drew round, gazing in wonder at the restored limb.

Scully, too, reached out to touch. Eventually she said, in a hushed voice, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen what it looked like before."

He words broke the spell. Mulder laid the shirt, and his jacket over Alex to keep him warm, then said, "I guess we'd better be on our way if we want to get settled in before dark.

Taking the hint, the others took their seats as Byers returned to the driving seat and set the limousine in motion again.

After a considerable drive - mostly in silence – Byers slowed the limo down and turned right off a deserted gravel road and started up a long driveway. The ragtag group had finally arrived at the gunmen's 'safe house'.

"Were here." Byers stated quietly.

Mulder looked down at to the sleeping Alex - whose head lay cradled within the safe borders of his lap.

Krycek looked so serene laying there that Mulder couldn't find the heart to wake him. Eventually though, his right thigh, gone to sleep beneath the heavy brown head, forced him to decide. He gently shook the slumbering Russian.

"Hey Alex..." cooed Mulder softly.

"Huh? What?" Murmured Alex. Slow to wake; sleepy lids eased open.

Anson, to the opposite, was instantly alert at the sound of the hushed voices. Green eyes stared out at Mulder from across the leather seats, holding him captive with an accusing stare, as if Mulder might have tried to do something to Anson as he slept and he'd woken up and caught him in the act. Anson could see that Mulder had never moved from his place with Alex, but that still didn't stop the distrustful man from glaring.

Finally, Anson pulled his suspicion filled gaze away from Mulder and rested them on his brother. The scowl immediately lost out to a tiny smile. "Brother, how are you?" Asked Anson, reaching out to squeeze Alex's left hand.

His twin gave him such an earnest look that Alex could not refuse his newly found brother a small smile and a re-assuring squeeze of the hand in return. "I'm fine Anson, just tired." Alex started to slowly sit up, and Mulder laid a protective hand under his lover's elbow and supported his accent.

The limo braked to a stop then the motor was shut off. Byers turned around in the seat and said, "Why don't Scully, Anson and I check things out before you two get out?"

"Not necessary. I'll check it out..." Protested Alex attempting to climb out of the back door. Suddenly, a tornado of dizziness hit the Russian, he fell back to the seat and rested his head against the cool leather. Closing his eyes to fight of the nauseating whole-body ache. "Shit." He complained.

Anson climbed out of the car and before shutting the door he leaned in and said, "If there's any sign of trouble, just get out of here."

"Everything will be fine Anson," predicted Mulder, running soothing fingers over Alex's hot forehead.

~x~

"What time is it?" Alex asked, the instant the door clicked shut. He opened his eyes, stretching and yawning at the same time. "God, why do I feel this bad?" Another wide-mouth yawn escaped and this time, Alex smothered it with his left hand. "They healed me right?" He said, holding his new hand out and in front of his so he could look at again. Alex was overwhelmed by his 'gift' from the healers, but that still did not remove the sting of feeling sick and vulnerable. "If I'm healed why do I feel like I'm on a spinning ride at the fair and can't get off."

Mulder flattened his palm to Alex's forehead, his chilled skin easing the pain slightly.

"The healers may have put you back together Alex, but the process isn't pain free. Your body is in flux, right now your brain is still trying to reconcile the growth of your arm. In essence your body is trying to acclimate to the speed of the restoration process."

Mulder pulled his hand off of Alex's forehead. "You've got a fever." Diagnosed the un-practiced agent.

Fever or not, Mulder's explanation sounded good to Alex. "I hope it passes soon, I hate being sick."

"I bet you do." Agreed Mulder, rolling down the window a couple of inches. A brisk breeze of cool forest air hit Alex in the face, instantly cooling the man down.

Alex stretched again, still fighting of the dizziness, though it was considerably less in velocity now. "What time is it?" He asked again, reaching for a bottle of water. As he stretched his left arm, Alex noted how 'normal' it felt to do so. Ambidextrous his entire life, Alex was used to being able to use either hand freely; the loss of his left one had hit him harder than most; though typical of his personality, the Russian internalized all of these feelings.

"Late or early depending of your perspective." Replied Mulder, leaving Alex to his own devices while he massaged some life into his still sleeping leg muscle. "How are you really feeling?" Asked Mulder, concerned.

"Well, I'm still dizzy and exhausted. I'm hot and nauseous. But otherwise," The Russian clenched his left fist, "I'll be all right. I just need to sleep." He smiled weekly at his lover, raising his head, he twined his fingers into the silky hair at the back of Mulder's head and pulled the man to him for a kiss.

Mulder leaned down and pressed his mouth against Alex's lips. The Russian's ardour was apparent, his eager lips greedily parted Mulder's, gently pushing his tongue into the agent's mouth.

And Mulder, just as eagerly accepted Alex's offering.

The two kissed for several more seconds before Alex broke the spell, not quite able to co-ordinate breathing and kissing just yet.

"Thanks for rescuing me from the hospital, it was stupid of me to take off on you," acknowledged Alex. "The healer made me remember my life before..." he gulped quietly, "...before when my dad was alive."

"Alex, if you need to talk..."

Alex shook his head at Mulder's offer. "Before we can deal with the ramifications of having just discovered that I've got an identical twin brother I didn't remember existed, we have to deal with the colonist factor," stated Alex, matter of factly, cutting his lover off. The Russian adeptly tucked away his emotions, locking them up tightly, deep inside of himself, as was his custom to do when dealing with feelings like insecurity and defencelessness. Both of which at the moment, Alex felt acutely. Quickly bringing himself under control, he sat up straighter and looked Mulder in the eye. "We have to find away to stop Colonization. I don't fully trust the rebel faction, they have their own agenda, but I'm willing to work with them while they are providing useful information. We need to find the lab where they were making the vaccine, once we have it, then we can figure out a way to kill the aliens, both the greys and the faceless ones."

Mulder grasped Alex's left hand and held it, the appendage was cold. "Is the vaccine being produced in America?"

"Was being produced, yes." Alex sat up breathed deeply, no longer dizzy, but still very tired. "Production quit when the elders burned up." He looked his lover in the eyes, "What was made is still there though, in cold storage just waiting to be used." And finally, Alex felt hope. "The consortium had property in Northern Maine, a rustic cabin with a state of the art lab hidden deep below it." He squeezed Fox's hand.

"What will you do after defeating the Aliens?"

"Your optimism is uplifting Fox, but one bridge at a time, we have to deal with the bad guys before we can contemplate any future, let alone yours or mine." He leaned in and kissed Mulder again."

As they kissed, Mulder ran his thumbnail up the back of Alex's left hand. The two men pulled apart at that point. "How does that feel?" He asked, curious.

"Dull." Replied Alex.

"Dull?" Mulder queried.

"Yeah, like a scab feels before it falls off."

Before Mulder could ponder his lover's description, Scully's voice carried through the pre-dawn air "Would you two hurry up and get inside already," she grouched, bone tired herself.

~X~

Once inside, the five of them settled their gear, then Byers phoned the other two gunmen. After that, he set the alarms then declared that he was going to bed. The other four decided to get some shut-eye too.

The safe house had enough bedrooms for all five occupants, only Alex and Mulder had plans of sharing. Scully took the master bedroom that had it's own small ensuite, Byers claimed his usual room on the main floor while Anson took up residence in the bedroom across the hall from Alex and just down from the main bathroom on the upper floor.

Door safely closed, Mulder and Alex put what meagre belongings they had into the small dresser. Once that was done, Fox, tired but not ready to sleep said, "I'm going to down to make something to eat, you want me to bring you a snack?"

Alex smiled and pulled his shirt over his head, throwing the garment into the corner. "No, I' think I'm going to grab a shower while you eat."

Mulder leered at his bare-chested lover, "I'll eat quick." He said, his eyebrows rising to emphasize his dirty thoughts. "Then meet you in bed."

Yawning again, Alex replied gamely, "It's a date." Going for the button on his jeans.

Mulder kissed Alex on his forehead before leaving the room. Alex watched his lover depart and moved to shut the door behind him. He sat down on the bed intending on pulling off his socks, and without realizing he'd done it, he shut off the small lamp at the bedside and lay back on the pillows, Alex was asleep immediately.

From down stairs, Mulder heard the shower start, he quickly wolfed down a couple of cookies, chased them down with bottled water and shut off the kitchen lights. The house was still, the sounds of the night forest could be heard in the distance and the calling frogs cheered Mulder on as he made his way up the heavily carpeted stairs. He stopped at the bathroom and stripped off all his clothes before opening the door and sneaking in. Only the red heat lamp was on, keeping the room just barely lit with eerie red light. Alex was standing still in the shower, letting the hot spray rain over him. 'He still must have a headache.' Though Mulder, assuming that was why there were no normal lights on in the bathroom, only the heat lamp. Encouraged by the sight of his naked lover, Mulder parted the curtain and climbed into the shower with out speaking. He wrapped his arms around the slim waist before him and nibbled the well muscled neck so invitingly exposed to him.

"I want to make love so bad..." Mulder murmured.

His right hand started to slowly creep downwards over the washboard stomach, but before he could touch Alex's privates, a hand stopped his descent and the words "Touch my dick and I'll rip your hand off." Filled his ears.

On to Round 5