From: Donnilee <donnilee@snet.net>
Date: 25 Feb 2003 19:31:53 -0800
Subject: [all-xf] "A Vampire's Tale: Steeped in Blood" by Donnilee
Source: atxc
 
PART 7 (NC-17)
KENDALL FAIR'S TOWNHOUSE
GEORGETOWN, D.C.
LATER THAT EVENING - 6:30 PM
 
I enter and close the door behind me.  He emerges from the hallway,
walking slowly.  I observe his jaw muscle clenching and releasing, his
hands forming fists and uncurling with effort.  "How are you, Pet?"
 
He swallows and admits quietly, "The pain is bad."
 
"I'm sorry I left you alone so long, but I couldn't help it."
 
"I know."  He hesitates, blinking rapidly, trying to hold back his
tears.  His is trying to be stoic and endure.  He doesn't want me to
know he is having trouble handling the pain.  But with the pain, comes
a lowering of his barriers.  Without even reading his mind, I can see
the lines of pain etched on his face.  They show in the small lines
around his eyes, the narrowing of his lips that are growing pale.
"Can you help me?" he asks, clearly embarrassed that he has broken
down to the point where he needs to ask for my help.
 
I step into him and smooth his hair with my hands and cradle his head.
"Come, little one," I murmur, having sensed his distress from the
street as I exited my car.  "I will help you."
 
I pick him up gently and easily in a baby carry and bring him into
the bedroom. He tries to squirm for a moment, wanting to maintain his
dignity but the pain is too bad and he finally gives up, collapsing
against my body.  I can see that he has spent most of the day on the
couch in front of the TV. An empty small pizza box, a Coke can, and a
bottle of aspirin lay on the coffee table. The afghan is balled up on
one end. I will clean that up later.
 
I stand him next to the bed and gently undress him. He is pale, but I
see him gritting his teeth against the pain, once again, trying not to
show me that he is scared. "It's O.K. to let it out," I whisper.  "I
know the pain is bad."
 
"Ah, God, Gareth.  I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so needy."
 
"It's all right."
 
"I know you just walked in the door.  You didn't even get to sit
down."
 
"Shhh, you've been waiting for hours.  I wish I hadn't had to leave
you."
 
"It's all right.  I know you needed to go."  He grits his teeth again
and I feel the muscles of his back spasm.  "Ahhhh," he begins to moan
and willfully cuts it off again.  "Sorry," he mutters again.
 
"No need to apologize, Alex. I understand." It has been so many
centuries ago that I don't remember the pain in vivid detail, but it
is coming back to me. The death of my mortal body took a week and a
half and I was often curled into a ball moaning.
 
"I don't like feeling this weak!" he cried out. "I'm used to feeling
strong and healthy!"
 
"I know love. I'll help you as best I can.  Let it go if you need to."
I cupped his face.  "I won't think less of you, Alex.  You're safe
here with me." My maker had been slightly cruel and was stingy with
his blood, making me suffer unnecessarily. I learned later from
Zebrosia that it hadn't had to be that way. I didn't intend to make
Alex suffer the way I did, or any more than he had to.  "I understand
the fear."
 
"I hurt too much to fear it," he moans. Once stripped, I pick him up
gently and place him in the center of the bed.
 
"Should I roll over so you can take me?"
 
"No, pretty one. I won't take you right now."
 
"Why not?" he cries, thinking this is how I will take the pain
away.
 
"That would cause more pain right now. Maybe later. Shush now, lie
back and relax."
 
He goes boneless on the mattress and I lay down beside him, sliding
an arm under her neck and letting his head rest on a pillow. I am on
my side. "Time to do some sharing, Alex."
 
He sniffles. "Just please help me," he said softly.  "Shit," he
mutters, embarrassed. I hate seeing him in this much pain. I know how
strong he is. For him to be reduced to whimpering, the pain must be
incredible. I curse myself again for leaving him alone this long.
Maybe I will take at least one day off.
 
His eyes are glued to me as I bring my free left wrist to my mouth.
I open my mouth, letting him watch as my fangs extend. I bite
deeply into my wrist and he gasps, wondering how that possibly could
be painless for me. I pull back as I pull my fangs out, slashing two
deep furrows in my veins. I tip my wrist to his lips, and remember him
saying he liked hearing my voice in his head. He needs my comfort
now. So I speak to him in that way that makes him feel intimate with
me.
 
*Drink, my love. But drink slowly.*
 
He opens his mouth and I can see his swollen gums. He has tiny
fangs. He is hesitating, perhaps feeling them there.
 
*Yes, curl your lip and push them out.*
 
His lip curls and I see his canines extend into baby fangs just barely
longer than his regular teeth, but the sharp points are showing.
*Drink, Alex.*
 
I press my wrist to his mouth and his tiny fangs sink into the open
wound. He doesn't need to hold it open this time. Even his tiny
fangs are enough to keep the hole open in my vein. He sips and
swallows, sips and swallows. He is doing as he is told and taking
small amounts, drinking slowly.
 
He shivers and hums against my wrist. I rock him gently as he
suckles like a baby. I probe his mind gently. He still aches all
over, all his joints in agony from stretching, but the pain is
subsiding slightly. I decide that even if it means I will be weaker
for a day or two, I will give him all I can. He sips for a long time,
his eyes finally closing in exhaustion.
 
*That's enough for now, love. Retract your fangs, just bring your top
lip down and put pressure on them with your bottom lip. Gently, now.*
 
He is very good at taking instruction and that will save him many a
mishap. I can't say the same for myself. I'd had many minor
disasters caused by my rushing out without proper instruction. Then
again, my maker, Hotep, hadn't been the kindest Master. He had been
an Egyptian Priest, a Holy man that held sway over his congregation
because of his seeming 'gifts from God'. He had been such a huckster.
He thought to make me his slave and then groom me to take his
place, as he was tired of the sermons and wanted to retreat from
civilization.
 
I'd ruined his plans when I escaped his grasp and fled to Scotland.
He'd marched out into the desert, laid down and waited for the sun to
rise. He'd burned to a crisp. I'd felt his death like a physical
blow and had sped back to Egypt to make sure it had really happened.
I hadn't been old enough yet to trust my instincts and I'd had no
teacher in the real sense. I'd found a black smudge in the desert
outside a small cave of rock that thrust up out of the sand. It was
all that was left of my master. I scooped up his ashes, mixed them
with water and drank them. Surprisingly, even his ashes had given me
strength.
 
All this ruminating was not going to help Alex now, though, except to
remind me not to abandon him as my master had abandoned me. I'd run
away, to be sure, but because of his cruelty and his desire to enslave
me. That was a form of abandonment too. Once, I had trusted him.
 
Alex falls into a deep slumber and I merely hold him while he sleeps.
After a while, I rise and clean up the living room. I go back in
the bedroom and strip naked. I lift Alex and slide him under the
covers with me, spooning around him. He mutters and snuggles deeper
into my body.
 
I feel a swelling sensation in my chest and realized it is akin to
the love a mother feels for a child. He is truly becoming my child
and I swear to protect him and teach him well so that he may survive
the centuries to come with me. I fall into fitful sleep myself. I
rise at 5:00 AM.
 
I did not shower last night and although I don't sweat or stink in
the normal sense, dust and dirt will adhere to my skin sometimes.
Besides, I just enjoy the warmth of the shower sometimes for the pure
sensation of it. I get in and rinse off, running soap over my body,
not to cover a smell but to give me one.
 
I get out fifteen minutes later and comb the long hair that is hanging
down to my waist now. Once the tangles are out, I pull it back into
a queue. They have the greatest coated elastics these days, much
easier than those lousy leather thongs I used to have to use to hold
my hair back.  They loosened and fell out half the time.
 
I smile in the mirror and turn, enjoying the feel of my long pony
tail down my back. I am not going to cut it today.
 
I go to the living room and pick up the phone, dialing work and
Kelli's extension. Her voice mail answers, prompting me to leave a
message.
 
"Kelli, it's Kendall. I'm afraid something personal came up and I'm
not going to be able to come in today. Please reschedule my
appointment with A.D. Skinner for tomorrow morning, whenever is
convenient for him. Could you also call me on my cellular if Agents
Mulder or Scully call in. Better yet, just give them my phone number.
I should be in tomorrow. Don't hesitate to call if there's an
emergency. I'll talk to you later. Thanks, Kelli."
 
I hang up and sigh and go back into the kitchen and fix Alex a
bowl of chicken soup with Ritz Crackers the way he likes it, salty and
with too little water added to this nasty stuff from the can.
 
Pretty soon, he won't need to eat, but he isn't there yet. I go into
the bedroom and wake him gently. I prop him up on pillows against the
headboard and set tray with the soup, crackers and orange juice on his
lap.
 
He smiles gratefully, blurry eyed and I watch him eat in silence.
Eventually he becomes self-conscious. "What?" he mumbles around his
mouthful of half swallowed crackers.
 
I smile. "You are so beautiful."
 
"You always call me that."
 
"What would you rather I call you."
 
"Handsome. Beautiful is for women."
 
"Ahh, my Alex, you are beautiful though to me."
 
He smiles again. "I know. You still have some archaic expressions in
your vocabulary, you know?"
 
I raise my eyebrows in amusement. "You don't say?"
 
He shakes his head. "I don't mean anything by it. I find it
charming."
 
"You find me charming, eh?"
 
"Yes, I do. This is still weird for me sometimes."
 
"Which part? Becoming a blood drinker? I would think that would be
strange for most people."
 
He laughs now. "No, actually I was referring to ... " He stops and
licks his lips, his eyes wandering down my naked torso. Finally he
continues, "This lust I feel for you."
 
"Why is that weird?"
 
"I was never gay."
 
I smile indulgently at him. "Those are modern terms slapped on
people by a society with a closed mind and a need to label people,
pushing them into categories."
 
"Go on," he encourages as he begins to spoon up more soup and then
drink deeply from the glass of orange juice.
 
"I mean that sexuality is sexuality. I mean, we all have our
preferences, I suppose, but I think given the right situation, we are
all a bit bisexual, don't you think?"
 
"There are people who wouldn't even consider it, on both sides of the
fence."
 
"That's because they were taught that it was wrong, instead of
following their own experience. And they've never been in the correct
situation of feeling an overwhelming love for someone, regardless of
gender. They won't allow themselves to feel it. If they get a
glimpse, they run the other way."
 
"Have you always been bisexual?"
 
"I think so. I mean, in the early days as a mortal I was exclusively
heterosexual, but later on, during the Renaissance and the Roman bath
houses, and the Roman orgies, I learned the delights of male flesh.
I've enjoyed both. Still do. Gender isn't important. Caring and
love is important, Alex."
 
"I know that. It will just take me a little more time to adjust
completely, that's all."
 
"There's nothing that says you can't still enjoy a woman if you want
one."
 
He swallows and licks his lips again, setting the tray aside. I
pick it up and set it on the floor. "You'd let me do that?" he
asks.
 
"Of course. I know you love me. You belong to me, but I don't own
you, Alex. I don't have time for that kind of petty jealousy."
 
"You don't believe in monogamy?"
 
"If that's the arrangement you want and have, yes. If you want a more
open relationship and are up front about that, I don't see anything
wrong with either situation. It's a matter of preference. I guess
I've lived too long to worry about it much anymore. I go where my
heart takes me, Alex."
 
"Meaning?"
 
"Meaning, I didn't pluck you out of thin air."
 
"Pluck me?" he teases my choice of words.
 
I lay down on my back and pull him up over my torso. He sprawls over
me like a warm blanket and I notice he isn't complaining about pain.
He isn't wearing his prosthesis either and I look at his arm reaching
toward the bed and ending just below the elbow. It is definitely
longer than it was a four days ago. He looks too and says, "My
prosthesis won't fit anymore."
 
"Do you want me to get you an adjustable one?"
 
"No, not unless I have to go out somewhere."
 
"You shouldn't. I'll try to keep you here until it's grown completely
out. Then you will be good as new."
 
"I still can't believe it," he says, the tears of gratitude in his
eyes again.
 
"I'm glad that it will make you whole again, Alex."
 
"More importantly, it will make me FEEL whole again."
 
"You are whole, Alex, in every way that counts, arm or no arm."
 
He presses a kiss to my breastbone, closing his eyes. I respond by
kissing the top of his head. "I'm grateful," he says softly.
 
"Don't thank me yet. It's not all wine and roses. There are many
sacrifices as well."
 
"I know. You've explained it all to me. I appreciate your honesty.
You've been more than candid about the disadvantages. I know you
could have lied to me to seduce me and I wouldn't have known the
difference. I want you to know I recognize that and appreciate it."
 
"You had to be willing and have all the facts, Alex. Willing and
hoodwinked isn't the same thing."  His lips smile against my chest
and he turns his head to the side, using my pectoral as a pillow.
"I wanted to know that you would stay after the change. If I was
dishonest, you would just feel betrayed and leave me. There would
be nothing I could do to stop you, really."
 
"I won't leave you."
 
"I know you won't. I pride myself on not making the same mistake
twice."
 
"Someone left you?" he asks incredulously, like this is the most
amazing thing he's ever heard.
 
"Yes. I took her for granted, and I treated her badly. Then I paid
the price when she told me she wanted nothing to do with me and left.
I've searched for her but have been unable to find her. I have no
idea if she even lives among mortals."
 
"That's sad. Maybe one day you'll find her."
 
"Perhaps. I may enlist the help of our two favorite agents."
 
"Mulder and Scully?"
 
"Who else?"
 
"You're going to let them know what you are?"
 
"I don't think so. I just want to set up the hunt and see if they
find her. They don't have to approach or talk to her, just locate
her. I could do the rest."
 
"What would you do if you found her?"
 
"I would tell her I'm sorry. I would tell her I still love her and
want her to travel with me through time. She may be dead though."
 
He sniffles, thinking. I didn't probe and let this information sink
in. Finally he asks, "Could I lose you to her?"
 
"No, Pet. It's not an either/or situation. That's what you humans
do. We creatures of the night, well, there are few of us. I don't
think we can afford to turn another away. I've no idea if she can
ever forgive me anyway. But if she did, I see no reason why we
couldn't all cohabit."
 
"A menage a trios?"
 
I chuckle. "It could happen. Never fear, Alex. I may still love
her, but that has nothing to do with my love for you. My love for you
is just as strong."
 
He squeezes me in response and I sigh. "I love you, Gareth," he said
softly, barely audible.
 
I let my affection for him steal over me. I'd already admitted it, so
what was the big deal? "I love you too, Alex. Don't doubt that."
 
He hiccups and raises his head to kiss my neck. "That's the first time
you've said it," he declares quietly.
 
His hot, wet tongue laves the column of muscle up my neck and I tingle
from head to toe. He rubs himself against me. I want him so badly.
I'd held off for two days now despite my declaration of that first
night that I would take him every night. I'd been too afraid of
hurting him and not sure how mortal he still was.
 
Now though, I feel the lust rise up in me again. "How's the pain,
Alex?"
 
"Not bad this morning. It generally increases as the day goes on."
 
"Can you take me? I want you very much."
 
He rises up on his knees and kisses me. I kiss him hungrily and don't
need to will myself erect, because I'm already there. "Just like
this," I growl.
 
XXXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17
 
He pushes up and braces on my chest with one arm. I reach over to the
nightstand and pull out some anal lubrication. I don't want to fool
around with my saliva and I don't want to wait long. "Lube me and
yourself well."
 
He does, smearing it up into his ass and gliding it over my shaft. He
tosses the tube aside when done. I grasp his waist and lift him up.
He holds my cock straight up and positions himself.
 
I raise my knees and form a backrest for him. He slowly sinks down on
me. I have risen to just above eight inches, not having had time yet
to grow. This is like our lovemaking of the last months before the
change began.
 
He groans and wiggles and bounces until he has me fully embedded
between his sweet ass cheeks. Then he leans back against my legs. I
gently pull his knees up and straighten his legs, placing them in my
armpits. *Use your legs for leverage Alex.*
 
He experiments in pushing himself up using his legs braced against my
armpits. He moans and sinks back down. "Oh, God, that's good!" he
cries.
 
I hold him steady around the waist as he reaches back with his good
arm and grasps my thigh. He begins pushing with his legs and raising
himself up and down my shaft. We both moan as his speed gradually
increases, until he is bucking like a bitch in heat, wailing. I watch
his erect cock bounce on his stomach with every thrust.
 
I remove one hand from his waist and wrap it around his pulsing shaft.
I stroke him in time with his thrusts up and down my shaft. That's
all it takes and we are both coming, crying out each other's names.
We deflate and lay against each other. He is exhausted again. I can
see it in his face. "Sleep again, Alex."
 
XXXXXXXXXX END OF NC-17 PORTION
 
He glances at the clock. "Oh my God! You're late for work! How are
you going to get in?  The sun is up!"
 
"Easy. I called in today."
 
"What?"
 
"You heard me. I called in."
 
"Why?"
 
"I wanted to spend the day with you."
 
He is silent for a few long moments and then says, "You mean you want
to take care of me."
 
"Both."
 
"I don't need you take care of me ..." he trails off, looking
chagrined, remembering his behavior of the day before. "I'm sorry."
 
"Don't be sorry, Alex. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Relax. I
took the day off because I wanted to. I don't want you to suffer like
I did. And you worried me last night. I had no idea what kind of
shape you would be in this morning."
 
"I'm better."
 
"Now. But what about later?"
 
He is silent, having no good answer for me. We both know it will get
bad again before the day is out. I hope I can detect it early and give
him the blood sooner, thus helping before the pain became severe.
 
"I don't know why I'm complaining. I'm glad you're here. I missed
you all day yesterday. I thought I was going to die."
 
He is dying, but I elect not to point that out to him. I know what he
means. He means take a dirt nap.  "I'm here now, and I want to be
here. I care about you, Alex and I want to make this as easy for you
as I can. So sue me."
 
He miles and flops down onto the mattress, rolling onto his side.
"What do we do now?" he asks.
 
"Why don't we get dressed and I'll start with some of your lessons.
There will be a lot of things you need to know."
 
"Sounds good."
 
PART 8 (PG-13)
OLD FARMHOUSE
BULL'S BRIDGE ROAD
KENT, CT
 
I leave Alex sleeping and write him a note that I am going to Kent,
but would return before dawn. I make the trip quickly with no cargo
and land lightly on the property, blending into the shadows.
 
"AAAAHHHH, SSCCUULLYY!"  I hear Mulder yell as I stand on the edges of
the property just into the tree line.
 
The sound of Scully's running feet across the floor and up the stair
case thumps in my ears. "What's the matter?" she shouts, as she
mounts the stairs.
 
Her footsteps come to a halt. She whispers, "Oh shit." I assume they
are both standing in the guest bedroom now, looking at the present
I've left for them. I can picture her diminutive frame approaching the
bed, checking for a pulse even though she would recognize the pallor
of death right away. My acute sense of smell tells me that Spender had
recently thawed out and therefore, although rigor mortis is setting
in, decomposition is minimal.  It is still internal and there is no
smell, at least not to them.
 
"Something's very wrong here, Mulder."
 
"Yeah, he's dead as a door nail."
 
"Tsk," she clucks her tongue. "That's not what I mean and you know
it," she replies, her tone touched with disgust.
 
"Sorry."
 
She crosses the room to him. I move behind the trees until I can
see into the second story lighted window. They are standing in front
of it, back lit by the overhead light in the room and I can see
everything perfectly. My eyesight is quite phenomenal as well, far
beyond human range and clarity.
 
She wraps her arms around his waist and leans into him. His arms come
up and enfold her, his chin resting on her head. "No, I'm sorry,
Mulder.  This is just a shock, finding him here.  Whatever I expected
to find here, this wasn't it."
 
"It's not really a shock to find out someone killed him."
 
"We don't know that yet," she hedges.
 
"Yes, we do. He didn't lay down for a nap and die. What would he be
doing here anyway? No. Someone killed him and left him here for us
to find. What I don't know is ... why?"
 
"This is going to be a hassle, getting him removed from here."
 
"You're right.  I have no positive feelings for the man. And frankly,
I'm not sorry he's dead. Does that make me a bad person?" It's a
rhetorical question and he continues, asking, "Who knows we're here?"
 
"D.D. Fair, D.D. Skinner and the owner."
 
"Mulder ..."
 
"As morbid as it may sound, I'm almost relieved he's dead."
 
"Relieved?"
 
"He's one less force that can harass us. He was nothing but evil in
life, at least in his dealings with you and I. I almost killed him
myself one time. I could have ... but I wanted what he knew more than
I wanted him dead and so he lived. I've regretted that day on more
than one occasion."
 
"No, Mulder. You did the right thing. You wouldn't have wanted his
blood on your hands."
 
"Speaking of which ..." They disengage from their huddle, not having
felt anything other than the need to comfort each other. I wonder at
that sometimes.
 
Mulder is approaching the bed. He leans down and I hear him say to
Scully, "Is it my imagination or is he paler than he should be?"
 
"He's dead, Mulder. Of course he's pale. We have to call the local
cops."
 
"It'll take them forever to get here. Let's just phone this into the
Bureau and have them fly a local agent out to transport the body back
to Quantico. And we're going to have to call Fair."
 
"Shit. This is going to be a mess."
 
"Scully, he has no blood."  Mulder is bending over the corpse and
peering at his
skin. "He's just like the other victims. He's been exsanguinated."
 
"That's impossible!  He probably bled out before he was moved here."
 
"You know it's not, Scully. We've seen it before. Why couldn't he be?"
 
"He didn't own this house. It doesn't fit the pattern."
 
"True, but that doesn't erase the fact that his skin is almost wax
like. I've seen a lot of dead people, Scully. Maybe not as many as
you, but plenty. Even I know the texture and color of his skin is
unnatural."
 
"He's into heavy rigor mortis already."
 
"And yet, he isn't decomposing."
 
"He must be."
 
"Not at the rate you would expect."
 
"We don't know how long he's been here."
 
"True," he states mildly and pokes the corpse's cheek with a finger.
"It's like a frozen turkey."
 
"What?"
 
"You know when you thaw a turkey and it's not quite thawed yet and you
push on the skin and it crunches slightly like crepitus from a bad
joint."
 
"That's a disgusting thought."
 
"I've had more disgusting thoughts."
 
"I'm sure. Look, we can't settle in until we get rid of this. There
will already be questions. They knew we were arriving today.  We could
blamed for his death.  It would be natural for them to consider us
suspects, especially with our history with the man."
 
"I'm not worried about that."
 
"I am," she sighed.
 
"Oh ye of little faith," he teases.
 
She sighs loudly. "I'll call the local Bureau. I think there's one
in Hartford, but even that's a good hour away by car."
 
"They might have a chopper."
 
"Maybe."
 
"I'll call Fair."
 
"What about Skinner?"
 
"Fair's in charge of this investigation. He's who we are reporting to
on this one and besides ... I'm sure Fair will pass this on to
Skinner.
 
I listen while they make their respective calls. I wait patiently,
holding my cellular phone in my hand as I ease it out of trouser
pocket. I know Kelli will tell him I'm gone and give him
my number.
 
I wait, counting. One, Mississippi, Two, Mississippi, Three,
Mississippi. Four. Mississip....
 
My phone trills in my hand and I let it ring twice before picking up.
"Kendall Fair," I answer.
 
"Deputy Director."
 
"Yes."
 
"Sir, this is Agent Mulder."
 
"Calling to check in so soon?"
 
"Uh, no, Sir. We have a serious situation here."
 
"What's wrong, Agent?  You sound upset."
 
"We arrived less than an hour ago and found a dead body in one of the
guest rooms upstairs."
 
"Another one?  Didn't you say these deaths have all been about
three years apart?"
 
"Yes, sir."
 
"Refresh my memory. I thought you said the last one was fairly
recent."
 
"It was."
 
"Do you know who the victim is?"
 
"Yes, sir. It's ..."
 
"Who, Agent Mulder?" I ask, trying to sound authoritative and
slightly annoyed.
 
"It's Cancer Man."
 
"Cancer Man?" I repeat, pretending bewilderment.
 
"C.G.B. Spender."
 
I am silent, waiting.
 
"You know him, Sir?"
 
I send out a small probe and realize he knows I know him from the
encounter in the hall last week. He is testing me to see if I will
lie.
 
"Yes, I do, ... unfortunately," I add.
 
I can almost feel him relax on the other end of the line. Of course,
I am also watching his posture soften through the lighted window as
he paces back and forth.
 
"We weren't sure whether to call in the local police or ... Sir?"
 
"Yes?"
 
"Is that wind or trees or something I hear chirping in the
background?"
 
"Yes, Agent. I'm outside on my porch."
 
"Oh, just curious."
 
"You were saying?"
 
"We thought we might call the nearest Bureau office rather than
involve the local police."
 
"Sounds like a good call. I'll arrange to have them come out and
retrieve the body. Can you stand being around him another hour or
so?"
 
"Sure. The locals couldn't get here any faster than that anyway."
 
"So do you have a theory, Agent Mulder."
 
"I have a bad feeling."
 
"How so? Other than the obvious, that there's a dead man in the
house."
 
"He didn't die here. Someone put him here. I'm not sure if it's a
message for us or not."
 
"Not many people knew you were going there."
 
"Exactly my point."
 
"Well, things leak out. Accounting knew, the motor pool knew, ...
I'll look into possible leaks on this end."
 
"It's possible Spender knew and told whoever killed him, so they
brought him here."
 
"How would he have known?" I ask.
 
"I saw him leaving your office the day I came to ask you about the
case."
 
"I didn't know about it when he was here, only after he left."
 
"He could have listened."
 
"With his ear to the door? I don't think so. Someone would have
mentioned it to me and chased him away. Kelli is very protective."
 
"I didn't mean literally."
 
"How do you mean then?"
 
"Uh ... Sir, I'd check your office for bugs."
 
I feign a stunned moment of silence. "You think ..."
 
"He's been known to do that."
 
"I'll have that checked right away. This is turning out to be a busy
day off."
 
"I'm sorry, Sir."
 
"No problem. Let me know what you turn up in your investigation."
 
Scully speaks up in the background, having finished her call to
Quantico. "I want to do the autopsy."
 
"Uh, Sir. Scully would like to do the autopsy. That means returning
to Quantico."
 
"Would she rather use a facility out there?"
 
He asks her and she says no. She wants state of the art equipment
such as was located at Quantico. Here is a wrinkle I hadn't foreseen.
Ah well, you can't think of everything.
 
"Well, whatever she thinks is best. I don't like you being out there
alone, though."
 
"Don't worry about me."
 
"Well, let's get this ball rolling and I'll talk to you later after
I've made arrangements. Maybe Agent Doggett can fly out and spend the
night until Agent Scully returns."
 
"I'll let you decide. I don't mind being here by myself."
 
"It doesn't bother you?"
 
"Better than being here with a dead man."
 
"Good point."
 
XXXXXXXXXX
 
The rest of the evening turns out to be a whirlwind of activity for
my two favorite agents. I dispatch a chopper from Hartford that
picks up the body and Scully and returns them to Virginia. I call
and update Skinner on the situation. He informs me that no one has
seen Kersh in over 24 hours.
 
"Isn't that strange?" I ask.
 
"He's not my personal favorite," Skinner says, "but it's not like him
to leave no word of his whereabouts, at least with his secretary."
 
"And Debbie knows nothing?"
 
"She says she doesn't."
 
"I'll be in tomorrow morning and we'll talk. If he hasn't turned up
by then, we'll start looking."
 
I disconnect the call with Skinner and take to the air, returning
to Georgetown in the nick of time. There are only fifteen minutes 'til
dawn
when I finally touch down and trot into the house.
 
Alex is up and pacing the floor, obviously worried.
 
"Where have you been?"
 
"I told you ... Connecticut."
 
He sighs. "I wish you had woken me up."
 
"You were in no shape to travel."
 
He gives me a petulant look but then relents, his shoulder slouching
slightly. I pull him into an embrace and let him rest his head on
my shoulder. I whisper in his ear while placing soft kisses on his
cheeks and jaw. "The time will come soon ... when you and I will
hardly ... ever be apart. Don't ... fret now. I want you in good
shape before ... you venture out. I don't ... want to risk ...
anything happening to you."
 
He gives me a soft smile. "I'm sorry. I told myself I wasn't going
to be needy. I guess I'm off my game and unbalanced. You're my
anchor right now, Gareth. I get ... worried when I can't reach you."
 
"You have my cellular phone number."
 
"It was busy for hours," he informs me gravely.
 
"Sorry. Mulder and Scully discovered Spender and called me. I spent
a while on the phone making arrangements for them and filling in
Skinner and asking Quantico to give her priority."
 
"Scully came back with the body?"
 
"Yes. I didn't think she would want to do the autopsy. I should have
known better."
 
"Is that a good idea?" he asks, pulling out of my embrace.
 
"What?"
 
"Letting her find his ... lack of blood."
 
"I want her to.  I want them to think whoever is committing these
murders is somehow involved with Spender."
 
"Do you have a scapegoat in mind?"
 
"No. They aren't going to figure it out."
 
"I wouldn't be too sure."
 
I look at him. "I'll tell them before that happens ... if it comes
to that."
 
"Tell them what?"
 
"What I am and that I need their help."
 
"You're crazy."
 
"No, I can make them ... not fear me. Hypnosis is easy for me. You
should know all about that."
 
I watch resentment flare in his eyes for a moment and then go out.
"Whatever.
It's your game, Gareth."
 
"No, pet. It's OUR game. I assure you."
 
"Why are you doing all this? What's in it for you?"
 
"I told you."
 
"This is all about finding Zebrosia? Nothing else?"
 
I stare at him, deciding whether to lie or not. He doesn't  know the
full story. No one does. "For now," I finally answer.
 
"Meaning there is more but you're not going to tell me."
 
"Not yet. Can you deal with that?"
 
"I don't really have a choice, do I?"
 
"No, I guess not."
 

PART 9 (NC-17)
QUANTICO
BASEMENT MORGUE
VIRGINIA
 
I stand in the pale lighting in the hall outside the morgue in front
of an unlocked janitorial closet. I listen to the conversation. I can
hear her plainly speaking into her cell phone. With only a slight
effort, I can hear his voice coming through her handset.
 
"Mulder, it's me."
 
"Hey, Me."
 
"I'm done here."
 
"What did you find?"
 
"You're not going to believe this."
 
"Let me guess. Been dead less than 24 hours, been frozen and thawed.
Not a drop of blood in his body."
 
Scully is silent for several moments and then says, "You know, Mulder,
sometimes you are truly spooky."
 
His laughter wafts out to my ears as he laughs in amusement at her
assessment. "Elementary, my dear Watson."
 
"Well, I almost expected the exsanguination. But the damage to
the muscle and skin tissue is exactly what you said. It was partially
or thoroughly frozen and then thawed. That's the part I don't get.
Let's forget for a minute that his victimology doesn't fit the others
in terms of this case and that house. None of the others were frozen
and thawed."
 
"That's because they were killed here and left here."
 
"And Spender?"
 
"He was killed elsewhere and transported here, maybe in a
refrigerated vehicle. Who knows? It would make sense if they didn't
want him to start stinking. I'm guessing he was killed back in
Washington and taken here."
 
"Because someone knew we would be here." It is a statement.
 
"Maybe. Maybe whoever is doing the killings here knows someone is on
to him and he wants to confuse the matter. Killing Spender is
certainly going to get our attention. Killing him the same way is
going to get our attention. And as the coup de gras, leaving him
here as a housewarming gift guarantees we can't walk away from
dealing with his death."
 
"Housewarming gift, Mulder?"
 
"Bad pun. But you get my point."
 
"You think this is a diversion."
 
"Yes. I think whoever did this was hoping that we would both leave
and devote our time to solving Spender's murder."
 
"This is all speculation, Mulder."
 
"Isn't most of what we do speculation?"
 
She sighs loudly. "What do I do now?"
 
"Not give him what he wants."
 
"Which is what?"
 
"Divide and conquer. You at Quantico. Me out here."
 
"Oh my God! Mulder, you don't think he's going to come after you
while you are there alone, do you?"
 
"I think it's a distinct possibility. It didn't really occur to me
until after you'd left and I'd had a couple of hours to ruminate on
the whole situation. I mean, we just got here and he had you out of
here within the same day. I think someone planned this very
carefully."
 
"I'm on my way, Mulder."
 
"Don't break your neck. I'll be fine. I've battened down the
hatches. The locks on all the windows and doors work properly. I'm
going to try and stay up most of the night reading on the couch. I
think sleep might be my enemy right now."
 
"Are you tired?"
 
"Not really. I only sleep about four hours a night anyway, and I've
been guzzling coffee for hours."
 
"Have you eaten?"
 
"I made a sandwich."
 
"Where'd you get that? Did you go grocery shopping?"
 
"No, it seems our new benefactor saw to it that someone stocked the
fridge and cupboards. There's lunch meat and frozen steaks and canned
veggies and canned soups. There's potatoes and snacks in the pantry.
There's enough food here to feed an army for a month."
 
"Our new benefactor? You mean D.D. Fair?"
 
"The very same."
 
"You're really enamored of him, aren't you?"
 
"I don't think that's the proper term."
 
"What term would you use?"
 
"I respect him. I'm ... inclined to hope."
 
"Amazing. Even after all we've been through, you can still hope that
someone will see things our way."
 
"You don't?"
 
"I guess I have hope too. I'm just wary of it."
 
"I know I should be."
 
"But you're not, are you?"
 
"I'm taking a leap of faith here, Scully. I'm going to trust the man
until he gives me a reason not to. No, I'm not going to tell him my
life story and I'm not going to confide intimate details to him.
But I'm not going to undermine a potentially very good thing by being
suspicious of ulterior motives every time the guy opens his mouth,
either."
 
"Why are you suddenly so reasonable?"
 
He doesn't respond right away but then says softly, "I guess I want to
believe, Scully, that it won't always just be us against the world.
That somebody, somewhere, is on our side."
 
"Me too, Mulder. I don't mean to rain on your parade."
 
"We all have to stick with what we're best at."
 
"Hey!" she cries out good naturedly.
 
He is chuckling into the phone. As his laughter dies down, he says,
"I miss you already, Scully."
 
She gasps a little, probably inaudibly to Mulder. "I ... uh, I wish
you were here too."
 
"I don't. I wish you were here."
 
"Well, I'm on my way. In the meantime, be careful."
 
"I will."
 
She disconnects the phone, again not saying good bye.
 
I creep back down the hall with the stealth and silence of a cat and
exit into the stairwell, making my way up a couple flights of stairs
and out of the building into the night air. I walk on down the
sidewalks, looking for a secluded spot in which to take to the air. I
find one within a couple of blocks and rise into the air, dashing
towards home.
 
XXXXXXXXXX
KENDALL FAIR'S TOWNHOUSE
GEORGETOWN, D.C.
 
Alex is waiting for me, as usual. I find that I rather like coming
home to find him there. He is pale and trembling slightly and I
realize he is in need again. I've given him a lot in the last couple
of days, but he needs more.
 
XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17
 
We repeat the ritual of the previous night.  This time, I loosen
him up with a dildo and lubricant as he suckles my wrist, his fangs
now a bit longer. When he finishes I am still a reasonable
nine inches long, having been making a conscious effort to curb my
lust. I roll onto him, hooking his knees over my elbows and bending
him gently in half. I ease into him slowly, sinking deeply.
 
He groans softly and I begin to thrust, staring into his eyes, being
struck again by his beauty. I take him as gently as I can as he moans
with every stroke inside.
 
I don't try to prolong the pleasure and as soon as he begins to
ejaculate, I led go of my load, filling him with warm jism and making
us both shudder. I extract myself slowly and roll off him, lowering
his legs to the bed.
 
He smiles sweetly at me and says, "So good, every time."
 
XXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION
 
"Sleep now, little one."
 
"You're going to leave again, aren't you?"
 
"No, not tonight."
 
He smiles wider. "Good."
 
I smooth his hair with my hand and kiss him softly on the lips. "Rest
up."
 
"The pain wasn't as bad today."
 
"I noticed. But the hunger is coming on you, isn't it?"
 
"Yes ... I wanted to go out today."
 
"No! You mustn't!"
 
"I know. I keep my word. You'd know if I left anyway."
 
"Yes, I would and I would be furious."
 
He frowns. "I won't do it, but soon, Gareth ... I'm going to need
to."
 
"I know, but I want you as strong and fit as possible first. I'll go
out tomorrow and feed. It takes a very short time for new blood to
mingle with mine and change. Then I will have more to give and we
will share again. You're almost there, Alex."
 
"I know. I feel strange all the time, but in a good way. If the
aching in my body would just let up, I would probably feel great."
 
"Define strange."
 
"Same things as before, but I'm starting to notice other things."
 
"Such as?"
 
"I can hear your neighbors without much effort at all. I was watching
a basketball game before you came home and the cheering hurt my ears.
I needed to turn it way down. I can see better too. I was looking
out the window and I could see in crystal clear detail for such a long
way."
 
I smile. "These are but a few of the gifts, Alex."
 
"How do you stand the noise?"
 
"I'll teach you to block it. In fact, that will be one of the first
things on the list. We all have to find our own frame of
reference for it. I'll tell you how I do it and we'll go from there.
I wish Zebrosia were here."
 
He snaps his head around. "Why?"
 
"Because she is a better teacher than I could ever hope to be."
 
"I thought your maker taught you."
 
"Not much, just enough to survive."
 
"So you didn't know about your skills."
 
"Not all of them and not at first."
 
"Zebrosia taught you?"
 
"Yes. She had a generous maker that taught her many things about
what we were capable of. She in turn, taught them to me. Thank
goodness, or I probably would have perished very young after being
steeped in the blood. I fled not knowing a tenth of what I was
capable of. I've no doubt I would have done something foolish
eventually, and not knowing how to get out of it or what skills were
at my disposal, get myself killed."
 
"I guess I owe her a debt of thanks then."
 
I smile. "You owe her nothing. But I do." I hear the coldness in
my voice and start at it.
 
"What's up with her, Gareth? I mean, now I'm seeing that she was your
teacher and that obviously builds affection. I'm living, or dead,
proof
of that."
 
I smile at his little joke. "I don't know how much to tell you."
 
"There's more to this. I can tell. You SAY you owe her. You speak
of her as if she is the love of your life and yet ... I sense that you
hate her."
 
"Do you now?" I ask in a low, controlled voice.
 
He catches it immediately and sits up, arranging the bed clothes
around his naked waist. "I don't say these things to piss you off,
Gareth. I say them because they occur to me and because I'm curious."
 
"I know."
 
"I wish you would tell me."
 
"I can't ... yet."
 
"There is more though, isn't there?"
 
"Yes, there is more to the story of Zebrosia and I." Much more, I
think to myself.
 
He is quiet for a few minutes and then looks at me. "If you can't
trust me, Gareth ... who the hell can you trust?"
 
Indeed. His quiet plea touches my heart and makes it ache quicker
than any angry demand ever could. I reach for him and he comes into
my arms. I cradle him against my body, feeling his breath on my chest.
"It's not a matter of trust, Alex."
 
"Sure it is."
 
"No, there's more to it than that. I do trust you, but ... I also
need to protect you."
 
"From what? Knowledge?"
 
"If you know too much of her ... she will be able to find you."
 
"How? You can't find her."
 
"She is older and more skilled than I."
 
"Older, I get, but more skilled? That seems preposterous to me."
 
"Only because you don't have all the facts yet. You don't know
enough."
 
"So teach me!"
 
"I will."
 
"Why would I be in danger by knowing about her?"
 
"She doesn't want anyone to know she exists."
 
"No one does, except you and me, of course."
 
"There are others. Many of them believe she killed herself in the
sun. I know better. I know HER better. She was selfish but she
loved being who ... what we are."
 
"Is this what you fought about?"
 
"Partly."
 
He is silent again as he ponders this. "Even the bravest hearts can
turn to sorrow if the circumstances are right."
 
I hold him tighter and his hand rests against the skin of my chest,
swiping back and forth. "You are wise for one so young."
 
"Got beat up a lot as a kid. Comes with the territory."
 
I kiss him on top of his head and run my hand up and down his back, as
his head rests in the crook of my shoulder. I smile again, sighing in
contentment. We are silent for a long time and finally I say, "I love
you, Alex, and she could kill you so easily."
 
"So could you."
 
"But I don't want to."
 
"And she does? She doesn't even know I exist."
 
"Oh, she knows you exist. She knows every one of us that exists."
 
"How can that be?"
 
"Let's just say she is the Queen Spider in the middle of the web.  And
her  webs
can be very sticky."
 
 "Are you saying she would be jealous?"
 
"I don't know. I don't think so. But if she wanted to get back at
me, killing a fledgling of mine would be a perfect way to do that."
 
"You seem so sure she could kill me. I'm not sure it would be that
easy."
 
"Yes it would, for her. Her strength is enormous."
 
"Well, if we stick together, it would be two against one."
 
"You don't understand."
 
"Then explain it to me."
 
I pause and finally decide if she wants to visit me, she will and
there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. Finally, I say, "Alex,
just to give you some idea ... she could torment me or make me into a
black spot on the desert if she wished."
 
"You're exaggerating," he says with confidence.
 
"No, she is that strong. And I can guarantee she knows you exist.
You are the first I have taken to me in over a century. Only time
will tell if she cares one way or another."
 
"And if she does?"
 
"She will come to see you ... and me."
 
"Is that why you made me? For bait?" he asks, suddenly crushed and
angry.
 
"No!" I nearly shout. "I made you because I wanted a companion and
I've been too lonely for too long and I ..."
 
"And you?" he asks, still wary.
 
I whisper. "I was so drawn to you, Alex. I loved your looks, your
strength, your thoughts ... everything about you. Please believe me.
I have more than one agenda and they may overlap, but you must never
doubt my devotion to you. Making a fledgling is not something I take
lightly. Hence the fact I haven't done it for over a century. No
mortal in all that time has caught my interest enough to consider it.
No mortal in all that time has ever been worth it."
 
He swallows harshly. "And I was worth it?"
 
I smile sadly at him. "Yes, love. YOU were worth it."
 
He smiles again and my heart eases. I turn away from him but hug him
to me. I may very well have painted myself into a corner with this
one. If she comes for him, there will be nothing I can do to protect
him. Will I go with him? Or will I be a coward and step aside like
I did the last time? I hate her for that ... still. She didn't want
me. She didn't want anyone else to have me either. Not fair, but
true. And despite it all, I still loved her. I wasn't sure I would
ever worship her again like I did back then, but I would always love
her, if only for the things she taught me. I only wish, despite all
her strengths, she'd had the courage to tell me that she loved me too.
I know she did.
 
I'd let go of that hope a long time ago. And I am stronger now. Who
knows how powerful I've become? I've never really tested myself to the
limit. Perhaps I should do that.
 
As I lay there thinking, I remember again. Zebrosia was furious that I
had made a fledging without her permission. I had done it for the
wrong reasons. I was lonely and hurt that she wouldn't love me back
after all we'd shared, and I wanted someone who would love me
unconditionally. I'd done it to spite her. I'd thought that she
loved me enough not to take this away from me.
 
I was dead wrong. I relive the anguish quietly of watching her stare
at my helpless fledgling, a mere few weeks old and crying out as she
burst into flames like a Roman candle from merely the force of her
will and her stare upon her. Smelling her burnt flesh and her screams
as she perished like a firecracker that is brilliant and suddenly dies
out.
 
She'd left me then with a warning. 'Don't ever defy me again.' And
she had left. Just like that. And I'd never seen her again. So how am
I supposed to ask permission this time if she was never anywhere
to be found? I wonder if that is why she keeps herself hidden. I was
rethinking Alex's statement that even the stoutest of hearts can know
despair. I know he was speaking of himself but it was a metaphor.
Maybe she had grown that weary that she wanted all of us to perish.
 
There is no way for me to know. I'd never tried to use the ability
to start fires. I didn't even know if I was capable of it. Seeing
Vanessa burn had so traumatized me, I didn't even want to have a
fleeting acquaintance with that ability.
 
Now as I lay here pondering the possibility that she could still care
enough to come and see me and destroy my fledgling, I am rethinking my
decision. I will need every ability at my disposal should she come.
There was always the possibility that she wouldn't want to fight me.
I didn't put up any resistance the last time. What would happen if I
did? I didn't know.
 
Tomorrow, I will go off somewhere secluded and test myself on starting
fires and all my other abilities. I need to know what my abilities
are. I can't make the same mistake twice.
 
PART 10 (R)
OLD FARMHOUSE
BULL'S BRIDGE ROAD
KENT, CT
THE FOLLOWING WEEK
 
The following week saw Alex improve tremendously. He is fully a blood
drinker now and I've been teaching him how to hunt. I have taught him
how to read the mind of his victim and determine whether he is
innocent or evil.
 
I've stressed that he must never take advantage of the innocent.
Having power is a privilege. It is also a responsibility. I want to
instill this deeply within him. It is easy to become power drunk and
want to show off. This is not the way to survival.
 
As I told him before, our greatest defense is that people don't
believe we exist. To flaunt ourselves is to endanger the entire race
of blood drinkers. There aren't many of us left, and there are enough
so that our extinction is a definite possibility should one of us
decide that he or she feels the need to reveal themselves to the
mortal population.
 
I wait in the shadows of the long hallway and watch Mulder and Scully
leave through the front door. They trudge out to the woodpile near
the small barn in back of the house and return with an armload of wood
each, filling the wood bin.
 
"It's going to be cold tonight, Mulder. We may want to keep the fire
going all night, just in case the power quits. The furnace has an
electric start, so if the power goes out, we could be in trouble."
 
"You're right. I'll spread some newspaper here and we'll make a small
woodpile here against the wall. We'll stock up. Can't hurt."
 
"Let's do it. It's already dark out."
 
"After you."
 
He follows her out the back door this time and I move to the archway
between the hall and living room. They have put paper, kindling and
logs in the grate of the fire place. I open the flue and back into the
hallway, directing my will toward the pile of wood and kindling. It
immediately bursts into flame and I smile, knowing that I have another
skill in my arsenal that I didn't have before. I retreat into the
shadows again and watch them bring the wood in.
 
"Mulder! Did you light this before we went out?"
 
"No, Scully. I was right behind you, remember?"
 
"Who lit the fire, Mulder?" she asks, her voice full of trepidation.
They drop the wood and pull their ever-present weapons. They scan the
area and begin going from room to room, turning on lights and scanning
the walls to see if someone is lurking.
 
I see Mulder shudder. "There is something in this house, Scully."
 
"Someone, you mean?" she whispers back.
 
"No, I think it's a someTHING."
 
She glances warily at him and doesn't argue. They go up the stairs to
check the second floor.  I easily avoid them, moving with stealth and
speed when I need to avoid detection. Now I settle back into the
shadows at the end of the hall as I listen to them search the
upstairs. They come back down and enter the living room, staring at
the fire place.
 
"Someone lit that fire, Mulder!"
 
"I know, but he or she is gone now."
 
"Damn it, I'm spooked now!"
 
They replace their weapons in the holsters and Mulder pulls her into
his arms. She lets him do this and it's gratifying to see it. "This
makes no sense, Scully."
 
"I know."
 
"Beyond the fact that the fire is lit."
 
"What do you mean?"
 
"Even if someone did light it, how did it get going so well in the
small time we went out to the shed and back?"
 
She pulls her face from his chest and looks up at him. She swallows.
"What are you thinking, Mulder?"
 
"I'm thinking that this fire is not natural, or wasn't started
naturally."
 
"You mean it wasn't started by a person."
 
"Right."
 
"And what do you think started it?"
 
He looks at her stoically, knowing she is going to be incredulous. "I
think this house is haunted, Scully."
 
"Oh Geez!" she exclaims, pulling out of his arms and beginning to
pace. "Mulder, for God's sake. Don't feed into the local folklore.
Ghost stories are just that, stories. People make them up to explain
things they don't understand and are afraid of!"
 
He gives her a mournful glance when she turns to look at him again. He
is
silent, knowing he can't win this argument. It saddens him. For that
matter, it saddens me.
 
The house is still except for the crackling of the fire. I move so
fast that I am a blur, but not so fast that I am totally invisible to
the naked eye. I race past the fireplace and around the perimeter of
the room, causing the fire to sway with the gust of air I create from
my passing. The curtains on the three windows in this room, billow up
and settle back down to the windows as I pass.
 
They both stare and turn in a circle watching this happen. My body
appears to be a translucent white blur. I leave the room and race up
the stairs into the guest room where Scully is staying. I move all
her toiletries and clothes from the closet onto the bed. It takes me
about ten seconds and I race by them on the stairs as they head up to
follow me.
 
They feel the breeze of my passage as I go down the stair case by them
and race toward the rear of the house. I open the door and purposely
slam it on my way out, racing for the trees until I am once again
hidden in the shadows. I hear their feet clumping on the hard wood
floors as they retreat downstairs.
 
I hear Scully yelp as the back door slams. They now stand on the
porch, scanning the tree line for any sign of movement. I am dressed
all in black as I always do on these excursions. I stand close to
a tree, motionless as a statue. I will appear as part of
the tree trunk to them, should their eyes even light on me.
 
I listen to them murmur quietly to one another. "You saw it, Scully."
 
She is silent.
 
"Don't even try to tell me you didn't see it."
 
"I saw it. I'm just not sure what I saw."
 
"Oh come on, Scully. Jesus Christ, you can be stubborn! What the
hell will it take for you to admit what your own damn eyes are telling
you!"
 
"Don't get mad at me, Mulder." Tears are in her voice.
 
"Oh, fuck," he mutters, and pulls her into his arms again. "Shhh, I'm
sorry I'm being an ass."
 
He is realizing that she denies these things mostly because they
frighten her. Her arms wrap around him and they stand there for a
while. "It's getting cold out here," he says.
 
"Mmmm," she hums and lifts her head. She finds his head tilted down
toward hers, their lips a mere inch apart.
 
"Scully," he whispers. God, even I can hear the longing in his voice.
Why can't she?
 
"Mulder, we should go inside," she says.
 
He doesn't answer her, but continues to stare at her lips. I sense
that she is about to pull away. I gently probe her mind and plant the
picture of a naked, aroused Mulder in her mind. She gasps and he
lowers his mouth to hers.
 
YES! At last. She is startled but doesn't pull away. I know the
feelings are there and I need do nothing else. She will respond
because she has no choice. As I suspected, if he could just find the
courage to touch her in a sexual way, her body would betray her.
 
Mulder groans and grinds his pelvis into hers, letting her feel how
aroused he is. Her knees bob slightly and he fastens an arm tightly
around her back, holding her tightly to him, lest she try to escape.
He tilts his head and continues kissing her, deepening the kiss.
 
I inhale deeply and I can smell them both. I can hear the insistent
whoosh of the blood in their veins as their hearts speed up with
excitement and arousal. If you asked me why it is so important to me
that they come together, I'm not sure I could tell you. But I loathe
to see love like this squandered.
 
He breaks the kiss finally and takes her hand without a word as he
pulls away and leads her back into the house. I wait and listen to
see what they will do.
 
I hear a twig snap behind me and whirl to find Alex a foot away. He
smiles. "I broke the twig on purpose."
 
"You are silent as a cat now. Very good. I should have sensed you
though. Usually, I can sense another blood drinker for miles away."
 
"You were pretty absorbed in the display on the porch."
 
"Yes, I was. It's grand, isn't it?"
 
"That the bastard finally got the guts to kiss her?"
 
"Ahh, my cynical Alex."
 
"He's such an idiot. Everybody and their mother can see how she looks
at him. Even I figured it out, and I'm not the most perceptive person
in the universe."
 
*What else did you figure out?* I ask, projecting my voice into his
head.
 
He talks back easily. *That he needs to be the one to push it.*
 
*Why?*
 
*Because she can't. He has to leave her no out, no choices.*
 
*What is she afraid of?*
 
*Losing her sense of self. Losing the respect of her peers.*
 
I reach out an arm, still leaning on the tree. He moves into my
embrace and presses his chest to my side. *Do I sense some empathy,
dear one?*
 
I hear his chuckle in my head. *Maybe.*
 
*You will not lose yourself, Alex.*
 
*I already have.*
 
*No. You have just changed your paradigm of who you are. You are
still Alex, but new and improved.*
 
*I admit that I still balk sometimes at depending on you so much.*
 
*It won't be that way forever. But dependence isn't always a bad
thing, Alex.*
 
*How do you figure?*
 
*No one is an island. As soon as we believe that we don't need anyone
else, we are resigning ourselves to a life of loneliness and fear.*
 
*Is that why you live among mortals?*
 
*Yes. I must have the contact with the real world. It's too easy to
live a fantasy land that is nothing but feeding and sleeping and
loneliness. That leads to despair, Alex.*
 
He snuggles closer. *I want to go home.*
 
*In a few minutes.*
 
He nods against my shoulder and I listen to them as they enter her
room. I can see into the window.
 
I hear her cry out, "Oh my God!"
 
"Let's go in my room," Mulder suggests.
 
"I have to put this stuff back. Damn it, Mulder. How did this
happen! All my stuff ..."
 
"I think we both know how it happened, Scully. I'm just waiting for
you to admit it."
 
"What does it want?" she asks quietly.
 
I hear Mulder's chuff of breath. He is amused. This is her way of
admitting she believes there is something unnatural in the house. She
won't come out and say it, but she will ask the question as though it
exists. He lets her have it, this small concession, as he always does
at this point in their investigations.
 
"I don't know, Scully. I guess we need to try different things and
see what happens."
 
XXXXXXXXX
 
For the next week, Alex and I tormented the couple as they tried to
research the victims and checked into all the residents in the area.
We moved things around. We moved Scully's stuff into the master suite
with Mulder. She moved it back into the guest room and we moved it
back into the Master suite. We set romantic tables for dinner with
candles when they weren't looking.
 
They studied family histories and the history of the house,
discovering what I already knew; that there had been a suicide in that
house in the late 1800s.
 
A girl had killed herself when her father wouldn't let her marry the
man of her choice. She had slit her wrists and let her blood drain
out on the bedroom floor. The boy had later hung himself.
 
"So," Mulder begins. "Maybe these ghosts are looking for some kind of
resolution."
 
"Like what?"
 
"I don't know for sure. But this is a classic tale of unrequited
love." He looks at her significantly.
 
"So what? Anyone who lives here and does not do what the ghosts
wants finds themselves dead?"
 
He is silent and then says, "I think they want someone to get what
they didn't have, Scully. Maybe they want to live out their love
through someone else."
 
"What's that?"
 
"The love of a lifetime. They want someone in this house who will
fill it with the love they never got a chance to."
 
She gives him her skeptical look. "That has got to be the worst come
on I have ever heard," she finally replies, amusement clear in her
voice.
 
He chuckles mirthlessly, sounding ironic and sad. "No, think about it.
Can you imagine it, Scully? Loving someone so much that you can't live
without them. Loving them so much that being denied the opportunity to
be with them pushes you to not want to live anymore?"  He stares at
her, his expression sad, trying to convey that he isn't really talking
about the ghosts at all, but about them.
 
She is paying attention but not adding to the scenario he is creating.
His tone is dead serious and she senses that they are not talking
about the ghosts anymore.
 
Finally, he admits it. "I feel that way about you, Scully."
 
"No, Mulder. Don't say that."
 
"Why? Because it frightens you?"
 
"Yes!" she admits.
 
"I can't help the way I feel, Scully. I love you ... that much," he
adds quietly.
 
She begins to cry silent tears and he gathers her into his lap on the
couch, kissing her tears. They have become more affectionate and had
a few wicked make out sessions. But he still hasn't coaxed her into
the bedroom.
 
He continues as she cries silently.  I watch through the window as her
legs separate and straddle his lap. "I've thought about it, Scully. I
really have. And I honestly can't say whether I could live without you
or not."
 
"You did before," she finally whispers.
 
"That was before you came along. Knowing you now, having fallen in
love with you ... I don't know. I don't think I could go on alone."
 
"You would, Mulder. You're a survivor."
 
"The point is, I don't want to find out what that would be like. The
couple of times you've been missing were plenty for me."
 
I probe her mind and feel her turbulent emotions and thoughts. I
speak to Alex as he stands next to me in the dark. *You take him,
I'll take her.*
 
*You got it,* he replies.
 
We both begin planting images in their minds of each other, caring for
the other one, reminding them of things they have done for one
another. I tap further into her psyche and make her super aware of
the feel of him, the physicality of him. I pull back and check Alex.
 
He is feeding Mulder images of her that most arouse him, one after the
another. *Easy, Alex. Not too much.*
 
He smiles and pulls back, feeding a few tender moments into Mulder's
memory, though he doesn't need a lot of help in that department. I
hear Mulder ask her finally, "Do you love me, Scully?"
 
She whimpers and his lips fall to her ear. "Tell me, damn you. I
need to know. I know you love me. But are you IN LOVE with me, the
way I am with you?"
 
She sobs once and breathes out her answer. "Yes," so quietly I wonder
if he even heard her. We did, of course.
 
I nod at Alex and we race for the house, entering silently through a
window in the study.
 
"Let me make love to you, Scully," he coaxes as they sit on the couch
in front of the fire.
 
She nods against his neck. He wastes no time and lifts her off his
lap. I direct my will and make the fire in the fireplace suddenly
flash in a brilliant explosion.
 
They both look at the fire place and he says quietly. "I think our
ghosts approve."
 
I make the fire expand and flash again. Scully's expression is
priceless. Mulder asks the thin air, "Is this what you want?"
 
I race around the perimeter of the room and back into the hallway,
making the curtains flutter. "My God," Scully whispers.
 
"Have you noticed Scully?"
 
"What?"
 
"All they've done."
 
"They?"
 
"Well, we don't know if it's one or more. But they moved your stuff
into my room, twice! They set romantic tables for us. Whenever we
are being affectionate with one another, the harassing stops."
 
She looks at him as she registers what he is saying. "I can't believe
that."
 
"Want to test the theory?"
 
"How?"
 
"I'll bet you won't be able to leave this room right now without me."
 
"Don't be ridiculous!" She turns and heads for the arch way.
 
*Don't let her leave, Alex.*
 
He moves so fast, neither one of them can see him at all. As she
reaches the archway, he grasps her around the waist, lifting her off
her feet just enough to twirl her back toward the room and pushes
hard, causing her to stagger precariously. Mulder is up on his feet
in a flash and catching her in his arms before she falls.
 
She is panting and Alex is back by my side, smiling like a maniac as
we hide in the shadows, pleased with his new abilities and the
opportunity to demonstrate them.
 
"Oh my God, Mulder!" she exclaims breathlessly.
 
He smiles softly at her. "I think, Scully, that if we want to get out
of here in one piece, we'd better do what they wish."
 
She looks at him for a moment. "You're not doing this just to get us
out of here are you?"
 
He grimaces. "You know I'm not, Scully. I love you. I've made no
secret of the fact that I want to make love to you. And I think you
want to make love to me too."
 
She swallows heavily. "Make love to me, Mulder."
 
"Upstairs."
 
"We can't leave the room."
 
"I'll bet we can together," he whispers.
 
He takes her hand gingerly steps toward the archway. We are still and
silent as he bravely leads her into the hallway and to the foot of the
staircase. He grins at her and tugs her hand, pulling her up the
stairs.
 
* You need to be careful, Alex. You don't know your own strength yet.
You could have hurt her if you pushed any harder.*
 

*Oops,* he replies without a hint of remorse.
 

PART 11 (NC-17)
OLD FARMHOUSE
BULL'S BRIDGE ROAD
KENT, CT
THAT SAME EVENING
 
Whether she is convinced at last, or merely unwilling to test it any
further, she sees herself in a corner from which there is only one
way out. She needs to make love to Mulder.
 
The irrational reasoning behind this is immaterial. It is what it
takes for her to enter into this without hesitation or remorse. It is
the fulfillment of a deep seated desire, but she soothes her
conscience by telling herself that she is getting them out of here
alive.
 
She doesn't want to end up a corpse, drained of all her blood. How
this happened to the others, she still has no clue. She doesn't
believe in vampires. Mulder does, but he is unable to make the
connection between the ghosts and what he thinks the victims have
fallen prey to. He has danced with the devils before. He is one of the
few who believes in our existence.
 
He is thinking, one mystery at a time. Their coming together is
glorious. We exit the house and stand in the shadows among the
trees. When you probe someone's mind, there are depths. A gentle
probe will just give you the most conscious thoughts. A medium probe
will give you the emotions that go with it. A deep probe will give
you emotion, thoughts and unconscious beliefs and feelings. This is
the wellspring of human behavior, those unconscious thoughts that
make humans behave so strangely. For the most part, they aren't even
aware of it.
 
Alex asks, *Can we join them?*
 
I am amused and ask, *Which one do you want?*
 
*Dana. I've always wondered what it feels like for a woman.*
 
*Probe her, pet. I'll join Mulder. Be careful though. Enter slowly.
You are not adept yet and you don't want her to detect your presence
and stop responding to Mulder because she is confused by feeling you
there.*
 
*I understand. I'll go slow.*
 
He is actually better at this than most fledglings. He knows the
skill of subtlety in life and it serves him well here. I don't want
to inflate his ego too much, though. I only encourage him in areas
where he is insecure and this isn't one of them.
 
I direct my presence to the house and into the master suite that I
know so well. I easily and stealthily enter Mulder's mind and sink
into a deep probe. It is as if I become him, only I am aware of even
unconscious feelings and thoughts that he is only vaguely aware of.
 
They are naked already and Mulder is kissing her, marveling at the
texture of her skin as his lips skim over the creamy texture. He
loves the sounds she is making in the back of her throat, thrilling to
the fact that he is causing them. I want to enjoy this connection he
has with her. I sink to the deepest level where I can feel everything
and I ... become him.
 
I do not direct the show, I merely observe. But I can see everything,
feel everything. My heightened sense of touch, smell, and hearing
enhance his own and he becomes caught in the clutches of his senses as
he borrows my sensitivity.
 
XXXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17
 
'Oh God, it's never been this good.' My lips, his lips slide down her
breast bone. His tongue, my tongue reaches and swirls around her
protruding nipple, feeling the gooseflesh of excitement, hearing her
moan, feeling her tremble as he/I suckle on her turgid flesh.
 
*Oh Christ, Gareth, this is incredible.*
 
*Shh, we'll talk after.*
 
xxxxxxxxxx
 
I see her through Mulder's eyes and she is beautiful.  I sink deeper
into his psyche and become him, feel his feelings, physical and
mental.  My own appreciation is expressed though him as he makes love
to her.  We become two parts of the same man, experiencing the act
from two different views, but sharing our appreciation.   I surrender
to his perception of the experience.
 
xxxxxxxxxx
 
I tingle all over as I stare at her alabaster skin, absently noting
that the ghosts of the house are quiet. I know this is what they
want. People denying their love makes them angry. I feel a presence
here with me. It is voyeuristic, but doesn't bother me much. I feel
as though this ghost is using me to feel a connection with his love. I
wonder if Scully feels a presence with her. I would bet money that
Ana Quinn, the girl that killed herself, is with Scully now. This is
not the ideal situation for our first time, but frankly, I don't
really care.
 
Whatever makes it O.K. for her to be here with me is fine with me.
I'm confident that once we are together this way, there will be no
turning back for either one of us. Somehow, a ghost presence doesn't
make me feel like a performing monkey. I love Scully. And I am happy
to help the ghosts with this if it will give them peace.
 

My hungry mouth finds the shrine between her legs and begins to feast,
coaxing her juices into my mouth and her epicenter of pleasure to
swell and throb on my tongue. I continue to worship, bringing my
hands into play. An amazing little amount of effort lets me feel her
muscles quake on my fingers and her bundle of nerves vibrate on my
sensitive tongue. It's as if all my senses are on high alert. I have
never been so aware of her, everything about her.
 
"Muullddeerr!" she cries out and then just moans as her orgasm dies
down. I crawl between her legs, bracing my weight on my elbows and
knees.
 
Her tiny hand on my engorged flesh makes me jump and thrust into her
palm, smearing it with pre-ejaculate. She guides me to the entrance
of my most holy place ... her body.
 
Her smile is angelic as she nods once to say she is ready. I push
slowly into her, savoring her wet, hotness. I am unable to hold back
the groans of astonishment and pleasure as her tunnel grips my
throbbing flesh and tugs at it with insistence.
 
I sink into her to the hilt, feeling my head pushing on her resisting
cervix. She moans and arches her back as her muscles adjust to my
size. She is so tiny.
 
xxxxxxxxxx
 
I sink deeper into her, seeing Mulder through her eyes.  He is a
handsome man. I feel my skin heat up and my crotch tingle as I feel
what she feels each time he touches her.  I meld myself to her, become
one with her, using her body to experience these feelings with her  I
float along with her and let her express what we both feel now.
 
xxxxxxxxxx
 
I feel a presence here with me. It is voyeuristic, but doesn't bother
me much. I think, 'Well, ghosts, enjoy the show. I hope this is what
you wanted.
 
He is Michelangelo's David, perfectly sculpted as he looms over me on
his hands and knees.  He seems larger than life and I start as I
imagine the face of a fierce exotic man flashing behind my eyelids. I
blink and focus on him again. His expression is one of exquisite
pleasure and joy. I stare into his eyes and see the love
shining there. I know I have made the right choice. I must have him.
 
I can sense the approval of the presence within me. I feel her
presence craving for his manhood alongside my own desire. It
heightens mine. The presence is vaguely masculine, but mostly just
craving penetration. She was probably a virgin. I sense that she
longs to know what it feels like. My orgasm has left me with post
coital lethargy, but I move my hand down to grasp him.
 
He is hot and hard in my hand and I guide him to my entrance, perching
him there, his large head just separating the folds of my sex. He
enters slowly and it is exquisite torture, feeling his hard flesh part
my walls like a forceful wave.
 
My body rejoices and I arch my back, begging for more. He sinks
completely inside and I feel him pushing on the entrance to my womb.
All I can do now is moan and delight in the sensation of the most
RIGHT thing I have ever done in my life. I sense the presence with me
again, amazed and overwhelmed at the magnitude of the sensations. I
can only agree as Mulder lowers his head to kiss me, one hand pinching
my nipple lightly.
 
Why did I wait for this? He begins to stroke into me gently and it is
like fireworks, my nerve endings on fire.
 
I am aware of him like never before. I see, feel and sense every
quiver of his muscles, every drop of sweat, every sound of pleasure
that issues from his mouth and echoes in my head. I have never been
made love to with such passion, such single minded purpose and with
such love and tenderness. Yet he is fierce and unbridled and unable
to hold back his need.
 
I whisper, "Come to me, let it go."
 
He cries out my name and to God. His mouth opens on a silent scream
that becomes that a blast of pleasure/pain as he ejaculates into me,
filling me with warm life giving seed.
 
My body responds to his ecstasy and follows him into the abyss,
convulsing on his spurting staff and sending waves of pleasure through
my body.
 
XXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION
 
We quiver with aftershocks and he lies atop me, panting heavily. I
feel the presence leave me. I feel lighter, and content with my
decisions.
 
I will never be separated from him again, I vow. As this thought
crosses my mind, the lights flicker off and back on as if in
agreement.
 
xxxxxxxxx
 
I have to coax Alex to disengage. He was in deep. I'm amazed she
wasn't distracted by his heavy presence.
 
*COME BACK, ALEX. LET HER GO - NOW!*
 
He finally returns to himself. He is panting and wide eyed.
 
"That was incredible. It was like I ... BECAME her. Just
incredible."
 
"And something you shouldn't do often."
 
He frowns. "That could become addictive."
 
"Exactly why you shouldn't do it often. This was a special case,
Alex."
 
"I understand."
 
"Do you? Don't forget the responsibility that comes with this power.
It is not a game and it is not a toy. Grave consequences can come
from the misuse of power. You've seen that in your mortal life. You
hated those abuses. Don't become what you despised, Alex."
 
"With great power comes great responsibility?" he teases, quoting Stan
Lee from Spiderman.  I give him a look that tells him I'm not amused.
This is serious.  He hangs his head. "I won't forget, but damn, that
was great."
 
I smile at him, unable to stay irritated when faced with his boyish
enthusiasm for his new abilities. "We have to go soon."
 
"How soon?"
 
"Half hour or so."
 
"I'm so fucking horny I feel like I'm going to bust."
 
I laugh softly and pull him further into the trees. I sense his
confusion despite his extreme arousal. I find a tree I can put my arms
around. I take off my long wool coat and watch his brow furrow. I
drop the coat and turn from him, letting my pants pool around my
ankles.
 
XXXXXXXXXX
THIS PORTION NC-17
 
He gasps at the sight of my bare ass. I hug the tree, and bend
forward, bending my knees to make my hips line up with his and
whisper, "Take me, pet."
 
He groans quietly and I warn him. "Be quiet, now."
 
He grasps my hip tightly with one hand, then lowers it to finger my
ass. I grunt and tell him, *I don't need to be prepared, love. Just
fuck me.*
 
I hear his groan echo in my mind. He is learning to internalize
sounds to maintain his silence. He is a quick student.
 
He nudges my sphincter with the head of his engorged shaft. His hand
returns to my hip. The stump of his growing arm presses down on my
other ass cheek. He adjusts himself and then thrusts forward with
force, burying himself deeply in my ass.
 
I hear his grunts in my mind as he plows into me like a sex starved
maniac. You'd think he hadn't had sex in months. Feeling Dana's
pleasure has really made him wild. It also shook his foundations of
maleness again. He needs to feel male again. He still isn't one
hundred per cent comfortable with the homosexual side of himself. So
I let him have this reaffirmation of his masculinity. Soon he will
lose the distinction that causes him distress and see pleasure as
pleasure and gender as just a state of being.
 
He loses control at the end and does moan out loud as he ejaculates
inside me. I shiver at the warm splash I feel as he jerks his hips
into my ass. He collapses forward, his dick still embedded in my ass.
I'm still wearing my black turtleneck but I feel his muscular chest
against my back. He grinds into me, swiveling his hips, unable to let
go just yet.
 
Finally, he pulls out. I clench my muscles to keep his fluids from
leaking out and pull up my pants. Complete and total muscle control,
with a little practice, is another benefit of being undead. I hate
that term and rarely use it, but I guess it is apropos. I pick up my
coat and put it back on.
 
XXXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION
 
I turn and he falls into my arms. I kiss him gently. "O.K., now?" I
ask. He realizes I know exactly what this was all about.
 
He smiles sheepishly. "I can't help it. God, being with her through
that. It scared me how much I liked it. How much I liked feeling
like ... a woman?"
 
He ends with a question, still unsure. "No dear one, just feeling her
pleasure. It is much the same as being penetrated as a man.
Penetration is penetration. Love is love. The sensations are only
slightly different. Stop attaching gender to it. Some of us like
being impaled, some of us like being the impaler. It's a preference,
that's all. Which brings you the most pleasure? The most intense
pleasure?"
 
"And you?"
 
"I enjoy both, but I must say I like being dominant."
 
He chuckles. "I never would have guessed," he says facetiously.
 
"We need to go now, Alex. Time is running short. I cut it too close
last time. I don't need to get careless at this point, especially
with you with me. I can't go quite as fast with you in my arms."
 
"Let's go then." He molds his delicious body against mine and I
enfold him in a tight embrace that he returns. His feet take up
residence on my boots and I shoot up into the air, heading for home.
 
We arrive well before dawn and lay down to catch some sleep. I note
that his arm is almost fully formed now, with the hand being the only
thing left to materialize. I realize I haven't fed in quite a few days
and have been letting him drink from me all week.
 
I made the flight without too much effort but I feel exhausted now and
it's not a feeling I'm used to. I don't like it. I must feed
tomorrow night.
 
The hunt for Kersh is in full swing. Another few days and he will be
given up for dead. This won't stop the search, but it will mean that
changes will be made.
 
XXXXXXXXXX
 
I am approached the next day by Director Mullen. He doesn't want
Kersh's position open any longer.  If he returns, he will be
reinstated, but he wants the position temporarily filled. He is
polling the other Deputy Directors for their recommendations for a
temporary Deputy Director. The position will become permanent if
Kersh is found dead. I heartily recommend Walter Skinner and cite
many instances of his good decision making ability and his fairness
and loyalty to his subordinates.
 
I did do a little tampering and hypnosis so that every time someone
says the words Deputy Director, he sees a picture of Walter Skinner in
his mind. Two days later, despite receiving many other
recommendations, he appoints Walter Skinner as Deputy Director.
 
I look forward to telling Mulder and Scully when they check in next
time.
 
PART 12 (R)
HOOVER BUILDING
THIRD FLOOR OFFICES
WASHINGTON, D.C.
 
Mulder has finally gotten around to researching vampire lore and
pulling out the old file on the unholy trinity that he was involved
with some years ago. Memories of his abhorrent behavior with Kristen
Kilar are painful and he hopes to not have to reveal this Scully,
especially now that they have been intimate.
 
Of course, Scully is the consummate skeptic, totally disbelieving of
vampires and citing Schere's Disease, an form of acute hepatic
porphyria. Symptoms include extreme photosensitivity, anemia and even
a craving for blood. She explained that patients live a nocturnal life
to avoid sunlight, which can cause first degree burns from only minor
exposure. They generally follow a liquid diet as they have trouble
digesting solid food. They appear pale due to the anemia and have
been noted to remain youthful in appearance. Their physical features
age very slowly but they actually have short life spans, topping out
at about age 50.
 
She puts forth the supposition that someone with this disease,
uneducated and untreated, could possibly convince themselves that they
are a vampire and attempt to live out the lifestyle.
 
Mulder counters with questions about the length of time between
murders, reminding her that if that's true this guy has been at it for
over 15 years. Assuming he was an adult when he started, he would be
near the age of death by now. He also pointed out that they had no
evidence the perp was a nocturnal creature. She doesn't buy his
theory. He doesn't buy hers. What else was new?
 
We let them go on for several weeks hashing over theories and doing
further investigation. Scully works at the Emergency Room in New
Milford about a half hour away and does research on various diseases
that might account for the behavior of their UNSUB.
 
Two more weeks have gone by. I have fed and in turn, fed Alex with my
stronger blood. He is fully formed now, with no evidence of his former
handicap. This thrills him to no end. He has spent a lot of time
simply staring at his hand and flexing his fingers and turning his
forearm as if fascinated by its existence.  I'm happy for him. This
was the lure for him, or the biggest one. He says the pain was worth
every second.
 
I am fortunate to have sensed another blood drinker in Washington D.C.
A new plan takes shape. I have figured out how to remain anonymous
after all and still have them in my debt. I love it when a plan comes
together.
 
This blood drinker is weak, not even a couple of decades old. By
virtue of my blood, Alex is already stronger than he. I seek him out
and scare the hell out of him when he realizes how powerful I am.
My mind is able to hold him in place as though he were bound by
invisible chains. He explains that his master had made him and
abandoned him. He didn't mean to kill the innocent, but he didn't
know what else to do. He hated being the creature he had become. He
was not made willingly and begs my mercy, saying he would leave the
city. He wished to die. I decide to give him his wish, unbeknownst
to him. We set him up. His name is David.
 
The more he talks, the more stupid we realize he is. This man was not
a smart man in mortal life. As a creature of the night, he is
reckless, stupid and a danger to us all. He is self-destructive in
the extreme, as though he wants to be captured and destroyed.
However, he is not brave enough to destroy himself. I read him easily
and realize he is the answer to my plan.
 
We tell him there are two humans that we want to dispose of and give
him the location. We tell him if he disposes of them, we will teach
him what he needs to know. He travels by plane to New England and we
are waiting when he arrives.  He is totally unaware of our presence.
 
As he enters the house, I wake Mulder and Alex wakes Scully. They
jolt into awareness as we probe their minds quickly. They believe the
ghosts have awakened them. They sense danger but hear nothing.
 
They remain in bed, having grabbed their weapons from the bed side
table and wait. This fool is so inept that he manages to make noise
on the floor boards in the hallway. In life, his IQ was probably in
the double digits, and I can't imagine why anyone would have chosen
him for a companion.
 
Why Zebrosia hasn't found and destroyed him is beyond me. His
bumbling is a danger to all of us.
 
He does manage to open the door without sound and hide in the shadows.
But Mulder and Scully are awake and see him enter, waiting motionless
and pretending to be asleep. He is so inept he cannot even tell they
are awake.
 
We race for the house, entering silently and make our way upstairs.
We enter through the bathroom window off the master suite. We easily
make the leap to the second story and I hold Alex steady, hovering,
while he opens the window carefully. I boost him up first and then
pull myself through. It's a tight fit for me but I make it. These old
houses have huge double sash windows.
 
We wait, listening. Then we hear him hiss and lunge. Through
the open bathroom door, we see Mulder's arm rise beneath the covers
and fire, hitting the poor creature right in the heart.
 
It hollers an awful, pitiful sound, momentarily stunned. Scully is
now sitting up in bed, aiming her weapon should Mulder need back up.
She snaps on the light to see better and they both gasp, seeing him
grimace and show his fangs.
 
He leaps again and we decide it's time to intervene. A nod from me and
Alex races into the room, taking the creature up from behind and
tossing him into the wall. It is crazed for the blood now, having
anticipated the kill. He strikes out at Alex, who easily subdues
him. The lights remain off in the bathroom and they cannot see me.
They are not looking this way anyway.
 
Alex has the creature in a wrestling hold. One hand restraining
his arms behind his back, the other putting him in a choke hold, he
looks up to find Mulder and Scully staring at him in astonishment. He
did not move so fast he could not be seen. But he moved fast enough
to reveal that his movements were not natural.
 
David wails, "You bastard! You set me up!"
 
I reach out and give him a picture of himself burning and he goes
quiet, frightened into paralysis. I don't want Mulder and Scully
knowing we've manipulated this situation as much as we have.
 
Alex smiles at them and says casually, "Looks like I'm coming to
your rescue again, Agents."
 
Scully is horrified and Mulder aims his weapon at the creature's
chest, threatening to shoot both the creature and Alex.
 
Alex clucks his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, Agent Mulder. That will do you no
good. You slowed this pitiful creature down but it won't do a thing
against me. Besides, I die and you die. This creature will kill
you."
 
Scully finally finds her voice. "What the hell is it?"
 
David hisses at this moment, his head back, eyes rolling back in his
head with his torment at being denied his feast. I knew he hadn't fed
in days. He is ravenous.
 
His fangs are once again in plain view. Alex turns his head to David,
looking amused, then back to Mulder and Scully. "What does he look
like?"
 
Alex laughs now. Mulder slides out of bed and puts on a pair of jeans
that were laying a chair by the bedside table. He tosses Scully a
robe which she hastily pulls on over her sexy camisole and belts it
tightly.
 
Mulder stands, his weapon now at his side, but still cocked and ready.
"He's a vampire," he states with conviction.
 
Alex smiles. "Very good, Agent Mulder. What was your first clue?" he
asks sarcastically. I press my lips together to hold in my amusement.
He is so irreverent at times.
 
"Fuck you, Alex!"
 
Alex shakes the creature and he hisses again. He asks me
telepathically. *Can I have him?*
 
*Yes.*
 
Scully asks, "Then if he's a vampire, what the fuck are you that you
can restrain him?"
 
He grins. "That's an astute question, Agent Scully," he mocks.
 
I don't really care for his arrogance in this situation.  *Easy, Alex.
No showing off. The basics will be impressive enough.*
 
His smile fades and he is serious once more. "I, Agent Scully, am a
more
powerful vampire than this one," he states mildly.
 
"You expect me to believe that?" she exclaims.
 
He shrugs as if to say it doesn't matter whether she does or doesn't.
He speaks to me again. *Watch them in case they want to interfere.*
 
I shift my stance to be able to see both of them from just inside the
bathroom. He is not really giving me an order. He is asking for my
protection.  He doesn't quite realize yet that he doesn't need it.
Not here anyway. However, I don't want him shot, simply because it
is painful, although it heals. And I'd like to keep this as neat as
possible. He's had enough pain in the past weeks.
 
He curls his lip up and pushes his tongue against the roof of his
mouth, extending his now fully formed fangs. He stands there with his
mouth open, letting them see. Then he smiles, yanks David's head to
the side and sinks his fangs into his neck.
 
David jerks beneath him and screams like a wounded elephant. Mulder
and Scully are both out of bed now, Scully pulling jeans on under her
robe as they both stare in awe at what is happening before them.
 
Alex drinks deeply and I see the blood flush his cheeks. In a matter
of two minutes he has drained him dry. He licks David's neck, watching
the wounds heal up, and then drops him like a sack of potatoes at his
feet. He holds his mouth open and they watch his bloody fangs
retract. He smiles showing his normal teeth, which are slightly
tinted pink, until he licks them clean.
 
Scully had come to Mulder's side of the bed but now he pushes her
behind him. Alex laughs. "I'm not going to hurt you."
 
"Yeah, and you've always been so truthful with us before," Mulder
replies sarcastically.
 
Scully mutters, "As if he wasn't dangerous enough already. I can't
get my mind around this."
 
She steps to Mulder's side, unwilling to let him shield her. They
look at the drained body at Alex's feet.  "I'll get rid of him, don't
worry."
 
They are silent, wondering what he wants. Mulder finally speaks.
"Why were you even here to help us? Why would you help us? When did
this happen to you? None of this makes sense!" he says through
clenched teeth. The magnitude of what they have just seen is sinking
in for him. Scully is still in denial, thinking it must be some sort
of trick.
 
Instead of answering right away, Alex holds up both hands and wiggles
his fingers at them. "Do you like my new acquisition?"
 
They both stare in shock, Scully gasps, at once fascinated and
repelled. "It's got to be a fake, just a really good one."
 
"It's no fake, Scully. It grew back."
 
"That's impossible!"
 
"Obviously not," Mulder adds, "Not if you're a vampire."
 
"There are no such things as VAMPIRES!" she shouts. She is shaken and
totally losing her composure.
 
Alex tilts his head to the side. "Let me see if I can answer some of
your questions. Your first question was why I here to help you.
Well, my master knew of this creature . He was a bit of a rogue, I'm
afraid, and killing innocent people, leaving a trail exposing us
unnecessarily. I'm afraid your victims here were his work. So my
master was going to teach him the rules of the road, so to speak. He
brought him back to D.C. and bought this house, generously letting
you rent it when the investigation came up. We had him in the city so
we thought you were safe. Unfortunately, this creature turned out to
be dumb as a box of hair. He doesn't learn a thing. So ... Plan B."
 
"What is Plan B?" Mulder asks.
 
"Destroy him."
 
Neither has a response to that, so Alex continues. "Unfortunately, in
the meantime, he must have heard us talking about you and having you
investigating the deaths here.  He took off, figuring you were easy
prey out here in the middle of nowhere. And it was a chance to get
away from ..."
 
He hesitates and I tell him, *Yes, you can use my real name.*
 
"Who?" Mulder asks.
 
"My master, Gareth." Of course, they don't know this name so it rings
no bells with them.
 
"Why did he want to get away?"
 
"Maybe he realized Gareth planned to destroy him."
 
"Why wouldn't he just fight him?" Mulder asks.
 
Alex laughs heartily now. When his laughter dies down he says, "Did
you see how easily I overcame him?"
 
"Yes," they both reply.
 
"I'm ten times stronger than a human being now."
 
"So what?" Mulder asks, as if this is not an unusual trait to have. I
have to give him credit. He's keeping his cool.
 
"Well, imagine strength ten times greater than that."
 
"And ...?" Mulder asks.
 
"And that's how strong my master is. He could squash me like a bug."
 
Scully finally joins in. "He must be something. I didn't think Alex
Krycek would concede defeat to anyone."
 
"I'm not an idiot, Dana. Besides, there's nothing to concede. He is
my maker, my master. He taught me how to survive this way."
 
"Were you taken against your will?"
 
"No, I went willingly."
 
"Why?"
 
"I wanted my arm back. The Consortium as I knew it was destroyed. I
was ... adrift, so to speak."
 
"This simply defies all medical explanation," Scully throws in.
 
He smiles at her. "So the second question was why did I help you?
Well, my master told me to go after David here. As soon as we
realized he was gone, we figured he might have come here. Obviously,
he was right. I arrived none too soon. I'd hoped to catch him before
he got here."
 
That is a lie, but a nicely placed one. "What will you do now?"
 
"I'm the muscle for the new Consortium. With my new abilities,
carrying out my assignments should be much easier than before."
 
"The New Consortium?" Scully asks.
 
Mulder's brow creases. "I'm confused. Why would your master want to
help us?"
 
"He wants your help."
 
"Our help?" Scully asks, sounding like this is the most ridiculous
thing she's ever heard.
 
"Yes. He wants to locate another of our kind."
 
"Why?"
 
"I'm not entirely sure. He won't tell me the whole story."
 
"And that doesn't bother you?" Mulder asks, immediately seizing on
Alex's weakness. Bravo, Agent Mulder.
 
Alex winces. "Yes, it does."
 
"So why are you bowing down to this guy?" he taunts.
 
Alex grimaces again. "It's not like that. He gave me something
precious, just as he promised. He never said it would be wine and
roses. He was very forthcoming about the disadvantages of being a
blood drinker."
 
"This is surreal," Scully mutters.
 
"So what happens if we don't want to help?" Mulder asks. Isn't he
full of questions this evening?
 
Alex is silent, just looking at them as if to say, 'You can figure
that one out all by yourself.'
 
Mulder looks at Scully. "I don't see where we have a choice."
 
She purses her lips, obviously annoyed. "We're being manipulated
again, Mulder."
 
He sighs. "I know, but whoever or whatever this guy is, we owe him."
 
"For what?"
 
"He just saved our lives, I think."
 
"Alex saved our lives!" she cries. She goes silent suddenly,
realizing this wasn't a good admission to make.
 
Alex smiles. "I appreciate your gratitude," he says sarcastically.
 
"We didn't ask you to come here!" Scully yells.
 
Calmly, Alex says, "You'd be dead if I hadn't."
 
"And he wouldn't have come if this Gareth hadn't sent him," Mulder
concludes.
 
"Just so," Alex puts a period on the discussion.
 
I speak to Alex. *Alex, toss David out the bedroom window in about a
minute or so.*
 
I turn and leave by the bathroom window, not making a sound. I stand
in the shadows of a maple tree and wait, listening.
 
"Where is this master of yours?" Mulder asks.
 
"He doesn't wish to reveal himself to you yet."
 
"But he exposed you readily enough, didn't he?" Mulder taunts him
again.
 
*Don't let them get to you, Pet. You know what they are trying to
do.*
 
"He figured you wouldn't run from me. You at least know my face."
 
"Do I know his face?" Mulder asks slyly.
 
"I ... doubt it," Alex replies. His hesitation was just enough for
them both to pick up on it.
 
"You're lying," Scully boldly states.
 
Alex shrugs and says, "Let me get rid of this garbage for you." He
picks up the lifeless body and opens the sash. Bending him in half,
he feeds David ass first through the window.  The body falls like a
rag doll, rolling down the roof that covers the back porch and falling
with a thunk to the ground. I wait until I see them all looking out
the window. Alex retreats to give them room. When I'm sure they are
looking at the body, I ignite it into a ball of flame. The fire burns
hot and fierce, disintegrating the body quickly and leaving nothing
but a black smudge on the lawn.
 
"Holy shit!" Mulder exclaims. "Did you do that?" he asks, looking
warily at Alex and backing into the room again so as not to have his
back to Alex. Scully does the same.
 
I sense he unsure how to answer this. *Tell them, no.*
 
"No," is all he says and lets the implications of that seep into them.
 
"He's here, isn't he?" Mulder utters, barely audible.
 
"Who?" Scully asks, still not following his train of thought.
 
"This master ... this ... Gareth. He's here somewhere, isn't he?"
 
"Yes, he brought me here."
 
Scully is suspicious now and nervous as they look around the room as
if I might appear suddenly. "How Alex? How did he bring you here?"
she asks.
 
Alex smiles. "We flew." He doesn't explain further, but laughs and
says. "I think your investigation is over, Agents."
 
"Wait a minute. You said this vampire was killing innocent people.
The victims here weren't innocent," Mulder states.
 
I'm wondering how Alex will handle this one.
 
"True. We wouldn't have minded him ridding the world of these
scumbags, but in this case, he left the bodies, ergo, leaving a trail.
Bloodless bodies tend to attract a bit of attention, don't they? He
was too stupid to dispose of them properly."
 
Neither could argue with that. Nice cover, I think. "I see," Mulder
says.
 
"I don't," Scully adds, but she doesn't say anything further.
 
"We're not supposed to leave the bodies about, Agent Scully," Alex
adds.
 
"I gathered that." She pauses. "This can't be true." She is still in
full denial mode.
 
"Our best defense is that people like you don't believe we exist,"
Alex says and smiles. "You protect us a great deal with your denial."
 
"Scully," Mulder entreats. "You HAVE to start believing what your own
eyes tell you, even if it's frightening."
 
She stares at him, slightly embarrassed that he has chastised her in
front of Alex.
 
Alex breaks in. "She is a good skeptic, Mulder. She makes you work
hard for your proof. That's why you are such a good team."
 
Scully gathers her courage and stalks toward Alex. "I don't believe
any of this. Open your mouth!" she shouts, pulling his jaw down with
her hand.
 
I can't decide if she is the bravest or most foolish person I've ever
seen. *Don't hurt her, Pet.*
 
Alex stands placidly and opens his mouth. "There are no fangs
here!" she cries triumphantly. "Where did you put them?" She is
thinking it's some sort of slight of hand and he has fake fangs up his
sleeve.
 
Alex's tongue rises up and pushes on the roof of his mouth, his lip
curling up and his fangs descend in the space of about two seconds to
their full length. She gasps, but doesn't pull away. "They're fake.
They have to be!" She is almost frantic.
 
"Scully, don't push him!" Mulder steps forward, a full fledged
believer now if he wasn't before, and he is panicking, afraid for her
in her foolishness. He didn't trust Alex before, now he really doesn't
trust him as the realization sinks in that he could snap Scully like a
twig.
 
She shrugs Mulder's hands off her shoulders.
 
Alex says, "I won't hurt her, Mulder. I promise."  Alex must have read
him as easily as I did. His mind is screaming with frustration and he
is in full protect mode. Mulder still stands close by, ready to yank
her to safety.
 
She steps back and grabs his arm, pushing his sleeve up to find his
fully formed arm. "Oh my God!" she says under her breath, thoughts
of limb regeneration whizzing through her head. Most people wouldn't
be willing to pay the price, I think. But the doctor in her can't
help but be fascinated.
 
Scully pushes the pad of her thumb against his fang and gasps as it
easily punctures her skin. She tips his head back and peers at the
bottom, seeing the small hole in the bottom of the canine fang.
 
He grabs her hand, startling her and she tries to pull away. Slowly
he holds her palm up, exposing her thumb. He rests his fang gently in
the drop of blood on her thumb and sucks, vacuuming it into his fang.
He shivers in delight at her innocent blood and I hear him in my head.
 
*Oh my God, Gareth.*
 
*Yes, lover. There is a difference between the innocent and the evil
ones.*
 
*She's fertile right now, Gareth.*
 
*What?!*
 
*I'm telling you, she's fertile. She just ovulated.*
 
*Tell them.*
 
He lets her pull her hand away and now she is frightened and backs
away, stopping when she hits the wall of Mulder's chest. Mulder
places his hands on her hips, keeping her close. He no longer cares
how it looks. He is frightened for her and himself.
 
Alex smiles at her and speaks to both of them.
 
"Make love to her again ... soon, Mulder."
 
"What?" he cries.
 
"Just what I said, make love to her soon, within twelve hours."
 
"You bastard! Our relationship is none of your business!"
 
"I know you slept together. It's all over your face, Mulder."
 
"How? How did you know?" Scully cries.
 
"It doesn't matter." He pins her with his gaze. "If you've never
believed me before, believe me now. You are fertile right now,
Scully. You can become pregnant. I don't know for how long, though."
 
"You liar.  That's just cruel.  Why would you say something like
that?"
 
"I'm not lying. Your window of opportunity is small, though. Make
love to her tonight, Mulder. Return to Washington tomorrow. I'll be
in touch. Gareth wants your help and he will have it one way or
another. If you get pregnant ... consider that another gift from
him."
 
With that, he lithely vaults out the window and jumps to the ground,
landing in a crouch with the grace of a cat. Two stories is not a big
jump for us.
 
*Nice touch, a gift from me.*
 
*You're welcome,* he says sardonically.
 
*We need to leave.*
 
*Do you want them to see us go?*
 
*Yes. I can move fast enough so they can't see our features.*
 
Alex shouts up to the window. "Hey!"
 
They come to the window and look out. "What?" Mulder shouts.
 
"Watch behind that maple tree over there."
 
He strides over to me where I am hidden as part of the trunk. He
steps into my embrace in a tangle and press that is familiar to us
now. The tree is between us and the window. I back up out of range
of the branches and lift into the air. I hover for a second just
above the tree's highest branches. Alex waves cheekily. We are far
enough away that they cannot see our faces.
 
I take off into the air at such a speed it must have looked as if we'd
simply disappeared. Even from this distance, I can hear them. "Holy
Christ, Scully!"
 
There is a pause and then she says, "I think I need to get my eyes
checked."
 
Alex and I both laugh at that as we race toward home.
 
THE END.
 
TO BE CONTINUED....