When they arrived back at Scully's apartment Mrs. Scully was just putting Jenny down. Scully joined her in the bedroom, and helped put the baby to bed.
"She has been so sweet, Dana," whispered her mother, not realizing Dana had a guest with her.
Dana waited until they returned to the living room before introducing her mother to Alex.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Scully," Alex said in a very pleasant burr that Dana was totally taken aback by. Who knew that the double agent could be so pleasant? Alex was seriously charming her, and she thought she should be upset by this, but she wasn't, and it made her wonder.
Mrs. Scully warmed to Alex immediately, which surprised Dana completely. Usually, a strange dangerous-looking man wearing leather in Dana's apartment would upset her mother-not that there'd been all that many strange and dangerous men in her life, but still. Instead, her mother just seemed happy enough to find Dana with a man. Dana snorted to herself, 'She just wants me to find a husband and quickly.' Apparently, legitimizing baby Jenny had taken on a high priority with her mother, and she was scouting for suitable applicants. It also appeared that no one was beyond consideration, not even a one-armed rat.
If her mother noticed her trying to smother a grin, she didn't comment. Instead, she said: "Well, I need to get home, Dana. Nice to have met you, Alex." There was a lilt in her voice that spoke volumes about wanting to leave her daughter alone with her 'man.' Dana chuckled to herself, thinking her mother had finally given up and lowered her expectations completely. At the door, her mother whispered, "Such a handsome, polite young man--you should keep him!"
Dana just shook her head at her mother, gave her a warning look, and thanked her for looking after Jenny. After her mother left, Dana sighed heavily, leaning against the door. Then she turned back to the task at hand.
"Come on, Alex. I need a urine sample and some blood."
"Blood?" Scully was surprised to hear a nervous crack in Alex's voice.
"Yes, I want to see if the nanobytes are in your blood or if they are localized in your body. I could not find evidence of them in Mulder's blood, but I have a feeling they are localized in his abdomen." Her tone took on a clipped professional timbre that was surprisingly sensual, although she probably would have argued the point, if Alex had chose to mention it, which he didn't. He simply stood and looked at her hesitantly, and she added: "Just a moment." She slipped past him, went into the bathroom and came back out a moment later holding a small clear plastic container with a screw on top. "Fill this as much as you can, then I will take your blood."
"And we haven't even kissed yet." Alex smirked, before taking the container and entering the bathroom. Dana ignored his smart-alecky comment, realizing he was just reacting defensively because he was upset over his possible pregnancy.
She went into the kitchen and opened the fridge, thinking of making something quick to eat. She hadn't eaten anything since before she went to visit Mulder. She hoped Alex was hungry as well, then had to shake her head at the oddity of that domestic thought.
After discovering some things in the fridge that she could conceivably turn into a meal, she went to the bathroom with a small plastic bag to put the urine sample in. Alex watched her warily as she took the sample from him, then put on some latex gloves and, using her medical kit, which she kept in a cupboard under the sink, she found the necessary items and prepared for taking a blood sample. First, she tied Alex's upper arm professionally. She then asked him to clench his fist and swabbed the inside of his arm. After quickly finding a vein, and a needle from her supply, she bent to administer the needle. Alex shut his eyes as she pricked his arm and she smiled. 'The big bad assassin is squeamish when it comes to his own blood?' She was surprised by this, and surprised, too, at how endearing a quality this seemed to be.
When she pulled the needle out, Alex's eyes were still closed. Impulsively she bent down and brushed her mouth over his. His arm immediately shot up and grasped her head and pulled her face closer to his, kissing her more passionately, licking her lips until she let his tongue enter her mouth.
She pulled away after a moment to catch her breath, and sighed, "Alex-you need to put pressure on your antecubital."
"My what?"
"Here." She pointed to where a drop of blood was slowly trickling down his arm.
She took a ball of cotton and pressed it to the little puncture wound on his arm. She then bent his arm up to hold the cotton ball in place. He saw that she was blushing furiously, hectic red spots staining her cheeks and forehead, and he didn't know if it was a reaction to him, or what they had just done. Point of fact, he didn't care. The pinking of her skin, which could be grotesque on a redhead, just made her seem all the more lovely to him.
"You are beautiful," he murmured, pressing his face to her ear and licking her earlobe.
She moaned. "A-alex-maybe we should stop." But she didn't seem interested in stopping.
"Are you sure?" he breathed softly against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Y-yes, Alex. I- you may be pregnant. I - I think we should take this slowly." Apparently this was a definition of slowly that involved him being the prudent one, as she was running a hand up and down his back, and twisting her head without pulling away.
"Very well." He stepped back from her with obvious effort and regret, and said, "I will call a taxi."
"You don't have to do that, Alex. You can stay here tonight, if you want-oh, and if you don't mind sleeping in the same room as Jenny. You don't snore do you?"
"Well, not so loud that anyone ever complained," he grinned.
"My brother couldn't sleep in the same room with Jenny--he snored too loudly," she admitted to Alex, relaxing a bit and ignoring the suggestive nature of his last statement.
Alex smiled. "I have no problem sleeping in the same room as Jenny. She is as beautiful as her mother."
Dana reined in her thoughts and feelings, knowing they were pretty useless and potentially dangerous at the moment, and stripped off the gloves to wash her hands. Then, taking both the samples, she moved to the door, saying, "Come on, Alex. I just made a salad. You should eat something."
He opened his arm, saw that he was no longer bleeding, and threw the cotton ball away. While he washed his hand, she watched, fascinated that he could wash his one hand quite efficiently. He followed her into the kitchen and let her feed him, and not just in that soup and salad way. He listened to Dana Scully talk about such diverse topics as motherhood and nanotechnology. He thought that being with the fairer sex would be a nice change.
*****
Mulder was beyond tired of being in the clunky hospital bed in the middle of the living room. Walter had rearranged the living room so he could answer the phone, watch the TV, turn on the VCR, and the stereo anytime he wanted to. Unfortunately, he couldn't switch movies in the VCR. Walter had not bothered to put a movie in before he left for work, and Mulder supposed he should be grateful for this, knowing his lover's penchance for old war movies and westerns. He thought that non-stop Duke flicks and I-love-the-smell-of-napalm-in-the-morning fare might have driven him completely insane. Not that the daytime talk shows were any better, but at least they offered more variety.
They had worked out a plan this morning, that if anything happened he would either ring Walter or Dana up, especially if he began experiencing any more contractions. He had insisted they go about their normal routines to ensure no unwanted eyes would notice any changes in their schedules.
Mulder finally decided he needed company other than Oprah and Jerry, so he called up Scully's apartment and was happy to hear Alex answer the phone. Dana had mentioned earlier that Alex had spent the night at her place.
"Alex, do you want to come over and keep me company?" He tried to sound nonchalant, but Alex could hear something needy in his tone, and he warmed to it.
"Sure thing, baby. I was just waiting on the wrecker service to bring my car up from your mother's house."
"You left your car at the house?"
"Yeah, it had a flat tire."
"Oh. How long do you have to wait?" Patience had never been his virtue, and being confined to a hospital bed with what felt like a watermelon pressing down on him, wasn't helping.
"Should be here any minute, babe."
"Okay... Hey, Alex, thanks for doing this. I am going out of my mind with boredom over here."
"No problem. I miss you." There was a wistful quality in Alex's voice that Mulder had never heard before.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, Mulder, I'm fine. I will talk to you soon, all right?"
"Sure, and thanks again." Mulder hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment, considering options that ranged from the Lone Gunmen to dial-a-dream to Domino's. He sighed unhappily, his short respite from boredom over, and reached for the television remote, then flicked on the TV. Some 'cutie-patootie' actor on Rosie held his attention just long enough to numb his higher brain functions, and he felt himself drifting off.
Just before sleep claimed him, he heard the front door open, and he struggled to sit up, not panicking exactly, but a little worried as he called out: "Alex?" nervously, unable to see the door from the angle he was in.
"Hey, it's me." Alex approached the bed with a smile.
Mulder's eyes lit up and Alex thought he'd never seen the man look so beautiful, and he knew he'd never seen Mulder look so pleased, especially at seeing him.
"So, what's on the agenda today, Mulder?" he asked. "What can I do for you?" He threw in a wink and a leer, and discovered that Mulder could blush nearly as well as his partner.
"Could you make me a sandwich?" he asked shyly.
Alex guffawed. "Sure thing, babe."
Just then the phone rang and Mulder picked it up as Alex made his way to the kitchen.
"Skinner residence."
"Hey, baby, it's after noon--are you hungry? I will call Antonio's and..." came the very familiar voice over the phone.
"S'okay, Walter. Alex is here and helping me. He's making something for me."
"Alex? Are you certain about that?" Mulder could picture the tic in Walter's jaw as it clenched, even as he spoke, and he hastened to allay the fears he thought his lover was having.
"Yeah, but don't worry. I doubt I look like anything he wants anyway."
Walter hesitated, then, in a soft tone that held as much threat to Alex as it did concern for Mulder, he said: "Call me if he is too much of a burden. I do not want him to disturb you. You need your rest."
"I can handle it, Walter. I promise. But I'll call if I need anything." He paused a moment, then added softly, "I love you."
"I love you, too." Walter hung up the phone and frowned at it for a second, not sure if he liked the idea of Alex spending time with Mulder. But he was not about to raise a stink; it would arouse suspicion in Mulder. At least someone was with him, someone who knew the situation, and would hopefully act accordingly should any sort of emergency arise. He would just have to trust Alex to protect Mulder in every way, from calling 911 if he had to, and to not drop the bomb about their little peccadillo.
******
The phone rang again after they had just settled down to eat and watch a movie that Alex had picked out. Mulder sighed heavily and picked it up.
"Skinner residence."
"Mulder, have you heard from Alex?"
"Hey Dana, I'm just fine, thanks for asking. How are you?"
"Oh, sorry, um, I am fine. I need to speak to Alex if he's there, Mulder, it's urgent."
"All right. Far be it from me to keep you two love birds away from each other."
Dana knew Mulder was just teasing her, as was his habit, but she felt like a knife was stabbing her in the back. Why she felt that way, she had no clue. 'It would be Mulder feeling like that if he knew,' she told herself.
"Hey, pretty lady; something you need to say to me?"
Dana could tell he was just being his usual flippant self but she could hear the underlying tension in his voice, and she suspected he was as anxious about the results of her tests as Walter was, and as she had been.
"Alex, um, before I tell you, please promise me something."
"Dana, I will not tell Mulder how you threw yourself at me last night." She could hear Mulder laugh in the background.
Dana snorted. "You wish." Then she was serious again. "Please promise me that you will wait a bit before deciding anything."
"You don't have to say anything else. You've just told me everything I need to know." He sounded a little shocked, but mostly determined, and not in a good way.
"Alex, please!" she exclaimed. "Promise me you won't do anything rash. I am still working over the test results of your blood and I am very worried about something."
"What?"
"I am afraid that your life may be in danger if you, or I, or anyone else tries to terminate the pregnancy."
"Dana, what are you talking about?" Alex ignored the quizzical look Mulder was giving him over the top of his sandwich.
"The nanobytes may make it difficult for me to terminate the pregnancy." She'd only done some preliminary work, but the results were making her nervous. The life force of the nanobytes, their mindless determination to bring new life into the world, made her worry for Alex, and for Mulder.
"Wh-how can you be certain of that?"
"I am not certain of it, Alex. I just have a feeling." She didn't have all the facts, yet, and she was willing to concede that, but it didn't lessen the nagging concerns she was having.
"Intuition, Dana? That doesn't sound like you at all."
"I - I just don't want to put you at risk unnecessarily."
"Let me make that choice, doctor," Alex replied coldly, trying to ignore the concern he could hear in her voice. He'd always looked out for himself, alone, why should this latest crisis be any different?
"Please promise me you will wait," she begged.
Alex sighed, realizing that he wasn't alone on this, whether he liked it or not, then agreed. "I will wait. If only to see what else you can find out. When you have more facts, you have to tell me, Dana."
"I will, Alex. I promise. Maybe I'm just being paranoid."
Alex didn't reply, so she asked, "See you later?"
"Sure thing, Dana." Alex felt something as he hung up the phone, and it took him a moment to realize that it was relief at not having to face something alone, coupled with an absurd affection for the people who were currently in his life.
Mulder asked, "What was that about?"
"Nothing important."
"She trying to get you to wear a dress?" Mulder joked.
Alex laughed. "Yeah, something like that."
"Well, don't do it. The last time I wore one..."
Alex laughed out loud. "She actually made you wear a dress?"
Mulder blushed. "Well, I sorta had to do it for an assignment."
Alex looked into those bright hazel eyes, then impulsively bent and pressed his lips to Mulder's.
Mulder froze for a second before relaxing and kissing Alex back. It was Alex who pulled away first.
"What was that about?" Mulder murmured.
Alex shrugged. "Felt like it."
"Well, if my boyfriend finds out."
"Don't worry, he won't." And with that Alex bent and kissed Mulder again.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
My beta, the Goddess Michele, is the best in the world!