From: Ladyhawk Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 17:13:59 -0500 Subject: Lightning 2: Flashes of Insight by Ladyhawk 1/1 Slash TITLE: Lightning 2: Flashes of Insight AUTHOR: Ladyhawk EMAIL ADDRESS: funger1@hofstra.edu DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Anywhere, just tell me SPOILER WARNING: vague season 6, assume One Son ended on a good note RATING: NC-17. The slash starts here CLASSIFICATION: V, A, X, R (sort of) SUMMARY: Mulder and Skinner deal with the consequences of Skinner's 'injury.' DISCLAIMER: You think I own them? Yeah right, I can't even afford one of Mulder's ties. CC owns them all. Author's notes: Thanks to Keisha, I can now spell my title correctly (oops!). Thank you Sergeeva, for the support. And to Debbie and WP for threatening and begging me for this, respectively. In case you have trouble, // is a psychic communication and " is spoken. Feedback welcome at funger1@hofstra.edu Lightning 2: Flashes of Insight by Ladyhawk (funger1@hofstra.edu) Where is Skinner? He shouldn't be out of bed after the shock he took. I look at Scully, puzzled. "What's wrong, Mulder?" "Where's Skinner's room?" I could've sworn I heard his voice in my head, not with my ears, but maybe I just heard it echo in the hallway. "At the end of the hall, near the stairs." I can see the nurses' station from my open door. That puts me near the middle of the hallway. There goes that theory. I want to wait until Scully leaves until I test the other one. But I guess Skinner has other plans. //Mulder, where are you?// Scully looks at me curiously as my shock gives way to realization. He's in my mind! But I can't tell this to Scully, not yet. I'll probably scare them both if I do. I pull up the biggest yawn I can. "Sorry, Scully. I'm not good company right now. The painkillers they gave me for my leg act just like sleeping pills." Scully smiles and pats my arm. "That's ok. We both know you need the rest. I'll come and fetch you and Skinner tomorrow. We should be able to catch Dr. Bates by then. We can go home and you two can finish recuperating." I hope so. That man is dangerous. He actually thinks he is helping humanity with that device. It almost killed Skinner with its 'enlightening' charge. My mind suddenly puts pieces together. Oh, shit! Don't tell me that thing actually works! My dismay must have transmitted to Skinner through whatever link we have suddenly developed. //Mulder, what's wrong? What's going on?// I quickly close my eyes to hide from Scully as she gets up and walks out of my room. A sigh wracks my body. My attention now turns to my unseen companion. //Sir, I don't know how to tell you this, but you are reading my thoughts.// //What?// //I think that device that Bates used did it to you. It stimulated the psychic part of your brain.// //So why can I hear you in my head, but not anybody else?// I pause. Why can he only hear me? My mind goes back to my experience in the boxcar in Arizona and my following recovery. Scully told me later that she heard me in her dreams. I remember calling her with the same words she used as I struggled with my own mind. It makes sense now. //Because I have had the ability for awhile now.// //How long?// Good question. Was it always with me? I seem to recall Samantha's abductors speak directly in my mind. But those memories are so distorted that I can't be sure if they are true or not. //I'm not sure. At least a couple years.// This new problem must be tiring my boss. His next message to me feels static-y. Like his brain is beginning to tune out. //I don't want to believe this. That you have access to all my thoughts.// //I don't think I have access to everything. You probably can tune me out. I think Scully does.// //Scully has it too?// //I only feel her in my head every once in awhile. When we are really stressed, or one of us is dying. But, yeah, I know she can hear my thought sometimes.// I feel something, almost like a small spark along my arm. I have this great urge to yawn, even though I'm not at all tired. It must be Skinner. //Get some sleep, sir. We can discuss this later.// //I'm exhausted. Ok. Maybe this will go away when I wake up.// I don't know if I was supposed to hear that last part. But I spoke the truth when I said I don't have access to all his thoughts. He sounds almost desperate to get rid of this connection, but I can't tell why. As I feel him drift away from me, I stare at the TV above me, trying to figure out how to handle this situation. -------------------------------------------------------- I jerk awake to what sounds like a scream. Hold it, I don't think I *heard* anything. //Sir?// //What? Mulder?// //Nightmare?// I close my eyes and see flashes of images. Me, being dragged by Bates, the lightening device, what could be the charred remains of flesh, looking vaguely like my figure. //Yeah. Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I'm not sure how to control it.// He's lying. The images stopped rather abruptly as his 'voice' came into my mind. He can control what he lets through the connection when he's awake. But his subconscious gave me a brief glimpse of what's really on his mind, before he woke up completely. //It's ok. Are you ok now?// He's such a private person. I'm not surprised that he learned to cut his thoughts off from me that quickly. //Yeah, thanks.// I feel his attention shift away from me. Scully's back. Skinner lets most of his conversation drift to me. We're to be released this morning. Bates is in custody. The police just want my statement, then we are free to leave. I sigh in relief and feel a ghostly pat on my arm in empathy. That's strange. I never felt anything like that with Scully. //How'd you do that?// //Do what, Mulder?// //I felt you pat my arm.// //I don't know. I just thought about it.// Hmm... Scully enters my room with a pair of crutches. I 'hear' Skinner talking with his physician. It must be time to leave. I'll have to explore this new discovery later. ---------------------------------------------------- After a painful flight for both of us, Scully drops us at our respective apartments. We both are to take a week off before even thinking about going back to work. Scully and Skinner's secretary have teamed up to make sure we follow orders. I need a week off after that plane ride. Every twitch in my leg seemed to make Skinner squirm next to me. His pounding head made my headphones useless in helping me relax. Not a word passed between us, but his thoughts cursed Bates constantly. My silent entreaties for him to shut up did nothing to stop his incessant complaining. Now that he finally is dropping off to sleep again, I can sympathize with his plight. He's confused and in pain. Fear of me also leaked through the connection at odd points. As if he had a secret that I could use against him. Not that I would, I owe him too much. God, am I tense. Between my injury, Skinner's condition, and trying to hide it all from Scully, my body and mind feel like I've been through a fifteen round boxing match. I grab a couple of aspirin from the bathroom and swallow them dry. Their bitter taste fits perfectly with my mood right now. Sleep feels a long way off, so I take another option to relax. Pulling out one of the tapes I keep hidden so Scully doesn't complain, I pop it into the VCR and lay down carefully on the sofa. Before the first moans from the TV reach my ears, I have my pants undone and my cock pulled out of my boxers. My eyes vaguely focus on the figures on the screen in front of me. My imagination copies what I see and I imagine a faceless, sleek body bending to engulf my member in a warm unseen mouth. I moan as my erection grows in front of my eyes and under my expert hand. As the pleasure I'm giving myself shoots through me, my imagination shifts. The figure bending before me slowly grows features. Strong muscles bulge on the arms and legs. Hair on the faceless head receeds and moves to other parts of the body. The face takes on warm brown eyes and strong, masculine lines. The face gazes up at me as my body arches in response to my hand speeding up. Walter Skinner. For some reason, imagining his face intensifies the warmth suffusing my body. I ignore the pain in my leg as I climax quickly, strongly. I fall back to the couch, pleasantly tired. As I grab the towel I left on the coffee table earlier, my mind awakens to a //Shit!//. Startled, I send back a response. //Skinner?// //Uh, it's nothing Mulder.// Nothing, my foot. His agitation swamps our connection. Wait a minute. I was.. and he... //Oh my God!// //I'm sorry, Mulder. I didn't mean to end up in your.. uh, private activities.// Up until now, I've never been with another man sexually. But as I look back on what just happened, my cock responds to my thoughts. I'm tempted to tell him to do it again. ------------------------------------------------------------ Ok, I stop this one here. How am I doing? I need feedback! Pleeeeeeease :) Feedback welcome at funge1@hofstra.edu See Lightning 1 and my other stuff at: www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Chateau/9659