"When a lone wolf is spotted in the wilderness it embodies the energy of freedom.
When seen in a pack it embodies
a sense of community." - Sayahda
The Dog and Fox
The Ranger Station
Friday, October 19, 2001
12:30 p.m.
At the loud sound of honking, Mulder looked up at the cerulean blue sky as a flock of Canadian geese flew overhead in a V-formation on its way south. It was a sign that winter was rapidly approaching, and it usually arrived earlier up in the mountains. Mulder was sitting out on the front porch at the ranger's station with John and Sean. They were sipping coffee and talking while waiting for John's father who was supposed to arrive sometime after noon. The day was sunny and warm, a perfect fall day.
Back at the cabin, the rest of the group was working on the new addition. On Monday, they had gone over the plans that Walter and Jim had sketched. It took several hours and a few more revisions before they all agreed on how the new addition should look. Then the next day, they started clearing the land on the east side of the cabin for the addition.
Mulder was amazed at how happy Walter was working with his hands and what a talent he had for woodworking and construction. It gave Mulder a warm feeling seeing Walter happy. He thought his former boss had found his calling and should have gone into home construction instead of working all those years behind the desk in law enforcement. Not that Walter was a bad A.D., far from it, but he just seemed much more happy working outside with his hands.
With ten men working on the addition, they should have it finished in a little over a month, hopefully before the first major snowfall. Unlike the Gunmen's bathroom that they had built quickly with two by six frame construction, foam installation, and drywall, their addition was being built completely out of thick logs to match the rest of the cabin. The logs for the walls came from the tall pine trees on the land that they wanted to clear anyway for next spring's planting. The fireplace in the new bedroom would be the tricky part since none of them knew anything about masonry. The book that Mulder had on the subject helped, but it wasn't enough. Luckily, a man who was part of the militia had offered to teach them what he knew about masonry, and according to Frohike, Helmut Schmidt was an expert. He already had them gathering the right sized rocks from around the property that would be used to build the fireplace and chimney.
"Fox, what are you thinking?" John asked as he noticed that his lover seemed to be a million miles away.
Mulder took a sip from the mug he was holding before answering. "How relaxed and happy Walter has been this past week. He seems like a new man."
Doggett nodded in agreement. "I didn't know Walter very well when I was assigned to work on the X-Files, but my first impression of him was that of a man who had been worn down by life. I think your abduction had a lot to do with that, and then there was having to work for Kersh."
Mulder frowned and was about to respond when the loud sound of a truck coming up the road pulled their attention in that direction.
Sean whistled as a pickup truck mounted on five-foot high tractor tires pulled into the station's lot, hauling a flatbed with an old tractor and a truckload of attachments and spare parts on it.
Doggett hurried over to the truck as his dad parked it off to the side. "Pa, did you have any problems getting here?" he asked as Paul Doggett climbed out of the truck with the help of three metal steps that dropped down from the driver's side.
"Nope. It's only a three-hour drive, Johnny. You should drive down to visit your brother and me more often," Paul said as he hugged his son.
"Paul, it's nice to see you again," Mulder said as he held out his hand.
"Fox." Paul pulled Mulder into a bear hug, lifting him off his feet and taking him by surprise. "So you've convinced my boy to take up farming?"
Mulder didn't correct him on the use of his first name. He'd gotten used to his friends' parents calling him Fox. "It was John who suggested that we try to expand the farm this coming spring if we're still alive and free."
"Is that true, son?"
"Sort of, Pa. The place isn't really suited for serious farming, but I figured we could plant at least six acres of feed for the cows we're raising...."
"Nonsense, son. Farms aren't just vegetables and livestock. These hills are fertile in other crops, such as nuts, fruits, and herbs."
Mulder smiled. "You're right, Paul, we have two old chestnuts trees on the property. We've already harvested dozens of bushels of nuts from them."
"There's no sign of blight on the trees?" Paul asked surprised. Almost all of the chestnut trees on the East Coast were killed off from blight during the late 1800s and early 1900s. At one time the chestnut tree had been the most prolific tree on the East Coast.
"Nope. I think they might have a natural immunity or the blight just never made it to that part of the forest."
"Then you have a valuable crop for this area. I wouldn't mind taking back a bushel of chestnuts."
"Paul, you're welcome to as many as you want. We also have quite a few black walnut trees, a variety of fruit trees, and berries. We've been canning and using the food dehydrator you gave us to preserve them for the winter."
Paul smiled. "Fox, it's nice to know that my son won't starve this winter."
Doggett sighed and noticed Sean standing by patiently. "Pa, I'd like you to meet Sean Smith, he's the ranger for this area."
"Ranger Smith, it's a pleasure to meet you," Paul said as he shook his hand.
"Mr. Doggett, I want to thank you for the vegetables that John brought back from his visit to your farm. We have several new families that have moved into the resort cabins, they arrived with very little, and really appreciated the food a lot."
"How many families?" Paul asked.
"Fifteen. Most have moved into the cabins over the past week and a half."
"Well, Ranger Smith, I'll see about getting another truckload of food up here next week. I have plenty of root vegetables that should get them through the winter. The military has plans to distribute a lot of my crop to the refugee camps, but I should be able to get at least one truck load to you."
"That would be great, Mr. Doggett! Mulder, John, and the other men have been making scavenger runs off the mountain the last few days for canned goods and processed food products, but the pickings from around the ruins have been getting pretty slim. We've been taking donations from the other families in the community, but I'm still worried about having enough supplies to get the new families through the winter."
Mulder leaned up against the truck. He hadn't known about the families that had moved into the Timberlake cabins until several days ago when Walter, Jim, Alex, and Blair had gotten home from the militia meeting. Most of the families weren't helpless and had all started to put in a supply of firewood. They only needed help putting in a supply of food. Most of the cabins had electricity that came from the hydroelectric plant fifty miles away. The plant had been unaffected by the alien attack, and only required a few of dozen of employees to keep it operational.
"How are we going to get the tractor back to the cabin?" Mulder asked.
"Its in pretty good running condition," Paul said, "I could drive it there."
"Pa, let me drive it. I know the paths to the cabin and a couple spots can be quite treacherous."
"Okay, son, you can drive it. Let's get the tractor unloaded."
~x~X~x~
The Bear, Rat, Panther, Wolf, Fox, Dog, Otter, Frog, and Puppy
The Cabin
Friday, October 19, 2001
3:00 p.m.
Krycek grunted as he spread his legs, bent his knees, and squatted to pick up one end of the heavy log, while Skinner hefted the other end. They fitted it on top of another log and into the cut out grooves at the ends. It settled into the thick layer of wet clay-mud mixture that was spread out over the length of the log beneath it. His bare chest dripped with sweat as he used a sledgehammer to tap down on the log to set it firmly in place.
In the month since Krycek escaped from the aliens, he had put back on most of the weight and muscle he had lost during his captivity. The muscles on his upper body glistened with sweat as he set down the sledgehammer.
All of the men working on the addition had stripped down to only their pants and boots. It had gotten hot and was a perfect Indian summer day. Jim and Jimmy lifted another log and set it down on the other side of the new log addition while Skinner spread more of the clay mixture on top of another log.
The new bedroom was going to be larger than the current master bedroom, due to the closet that they had planned into the design. It had been silently accepted that the bedroom would be Blair's and Jim's for however long they stayed.
The laundry, staircase, hallway, and foyer were off the parlor and kitchen, with a door off the hallway leading into the new bedroom. It hadn't been hard to find construction material on their scavenger trips off the mountain. Most of the other scavengers were looking for food, clothing, and blankets.
Sandburg walked into the cabin, filled a glass with cold water from the tap, and took a deep drink. They had been working hard the last four days. Thankfully Jim had started feeling better yesterday. Mulder, John, and Walter had picked up windows, sheets of glass, and doors for the bedroom and laundry room on the last trip off the mountain.
Tomorrow he, Jim, and Walter would be heading into the ruins to find a bed for the new bedroom. Although the bedroom wouldn't be finished for a few more weeks they wanted to get the bed while the weather remained mild.
Sandburg was looking forward to taking his first trip off the mountain since the aliens destroyed the cities. He wanted to see the destruction with his own eyes, since he was still having a hard time believing that it was actually gone. Life on the mountain seemed so far removed from what was going on in the rest of the country and world.
He had tried not to think about his mother, Naomi, who would have been somewhere in Europe when the aliens attacked. He was helpless to save her or anyone else outside of North America. If it weren't for their powerful military, the aliens would have enslaved this country, too.
Sandburg headed back outside. He stopped at his lover's side. Jim was looking off toward the path.
"What's wrong, big guy?"
Ellison grinned. "It sounds like it isn't going to require a lot of work for John to get the tractor in running condition."
Blair looked toward the woods as the sound of a tractor reached his ears. He bent and picked up his shirt, pulled it back on, as everyone stopped whatever he was doing.
John drove the tractor through the bushes and around the cabin to the farmyard and parked it. Mulder and Paul Doggett followed him on horseback.
Paul Doggett glanced around at the small well-kept farm with approval. He was holding a canvas suitcase in front of him. Mulder leapt off his horse and took the suitcase from Paul so he could climb down from the horse. Mulder then handed the suitcase back to the older man before taking the reins of the horses to lead them into the barn.
Doggett climbed down from the tractor as the men walked over to meet his father.
"Mr. Doggett, I'm Walter Skinner. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Skinner said as he shook Paul's hand.
"Walter, call me Paul."
"Paul, I'd like you to meet Jim Ellison, Blair Sandburg, Melvin Frohike...." Skinner went on to introduce all of the men to Paul.
"It looks like you've all been busy," Paul said as he looked over at the cabin construction project.
"With six of us living here, we figured we could use another bedroom," Skinner said.
Doggett took his Dad's bag from him. "Pa, I'll show you the house."
"Okay, Son. Then I want to check out the farm."
Mulder stepped out of the barn and walked over to where the others were standing. "I think I'll go and start dinner." He turned to the Gunmen and asked, "Are you guys going to be staying?"
"No. We have to head back to our place," Frohike said, "Langly's already there cooking dinner. I'd rather not leave him alone for too long, he's liable to burn the place down."
"You're not having much luck teaching him how to cook?" Mulder asked.
"No," Frohike sighed. Back at their old headquarters they had taken turns cooking, but Langly either called out for pizza or threw frozen dinners into the microwave.
"Fro, I was pretty hopeless in the kitchen until you taught me."
"Mulder, you were never as bad as Langly," Frohike said, "And besides with your photographic memory, I only had to show you how to do something once. And you don't even need to look at a cookbook for recipes that you've already made."
"We'll see you tomorrow," Byers said and started walking to where their bicycles were parked.
"What are you making for dinner, Mulder?" Bond asked, hanging back.
"Lasagna with garlic bread and apple pie for dessert." He made the apple pies that morning. They had agreed that whoever had cooking duties for the day didn't have to do any other chores.
"Jimmy, if we're going to suffer Langly's cooking then so are you," Frohike said as he pushed Bond in the direction of their bikes.
"Wait, Frohike, I baked three pies, you can take one home with you," Mulder said.
Bond looked at Mulder and mouthed. 'Thank you.' At least if Langly's dinner was inedible they'd have the pie.
Mulder winked at him as he hurried into the house for the pie. He brought it out and handed it to Frohike who set it in the wicker basket he had mounted on the back of his bike.
"Thanks, Mulder."
"No problem."
Doggett came back outside with his Pa as Mulder walked into the house to start preparing dinner. The other men went back to working on the addition. There were still a few more hours of daylight.
Their cows, Bambi and Phoebe, walked back into the farmyard heading for the barn.
"Pa, do you want to help me milk the cows?"
"Sure, Johnny, it's been a long time since I milked a cow by hand."
Two hours later, Mulder walked out the backdoor and rang the dinner bell. He had put the extra leaf in the table that Alex had found in the root cellar behind some boxes. He'd filled the wineglasses with a nice Merlot that they had picked up, with a couple of other cases of wine, on one of their scavenger hunts. Candles were lit on the table and he had placed the garlic bread in a basket with a linen napkin.
For some reason, he wanted everything to be perfect for John's Dad's visit.
All the men filed into the house and stood in line for either the bathroom or kitchen sink to wash up before sitting down at the table. Skinner walked into the bedroom to get a clean shirt. When everyone was seated, Mulder stood at the cook's table and scooped the lasagna onto plates. He set the first two plates in front of Paul and John. "There's extra tomato sauce in the bowl," he said as he headed back for the next two plates.
"Thanks, Fox, this looks and smells delicious. Do you handle all of the cooking?" Paul asked.
"No, we take turns, tomorrow is Alex's turn."
Ellison picked up his fork as Mulder set a plate of food in front of him. "Paul, the person handling the cooking for the day also does the baking, and butter and cheese making if it's needed."
"And each of you are able to do all of this?"
"I'm still learning the cheese making part," Ellison said, "But Mulder is a good teacher."
Krycek smirked and glanced over at Mulder. "He's a good student too, in other areas."
Mulder placed Krycek's plate in front of him and whispered in his ear. "Be good."
Paul bowed his head and gave silent prayer of thanks for the food. The other men looked guiltily at each other then bowed their heads and said grace, too.
Mulder walked back to the cook's table, dished up his own plate, and sat at the table. "There's plenty of lasagna left if you want seconds," he said, watching the men dig in hungrily.
"Seconds and thirds," Sandburg said between mouthfuls. "Mm, man, I'm famished and this is so good, Mulder."
Paul looked around the table. His son's friends seemed like good men and interesting companions. His uneasiness about John living out here had disappeared after meeting them. He knew his son would be safe with them and he wasn't blind to John's relationship with Fox. His son was an adult and could choose his own relationships. Paul was just sad that he'd never have another grandchild.
"Pa, Blair, Jim, and Walter are leaving tomorrow to get some more supplies. Is there anything you and Mike need for the farm?"
"Nope, if we need anything we can get it ourselves. Have you used those hams yet?"
"Not, yet. We're saving one for Christmas and the other for New Years."
"Paul, we really appreciated the food you sent us," Skinner said, "Fox had been only putting up enough food to get him through the winter when we showed up on his doorstep."
Paul took a sip of wine. "Ranger Smith mentioned all of the new families that have taken refuge in the resort cabins. I'm going to get another truckload of my crops to them next week."
"We've been picking up some canned and dry goods for them on our trips off the mountain. I don't think they'll have a problem getting through the winter. Several of the families have men and women that know how to hunt, and can help the others," Ellison said.
Sandburg stood and walked over to get another serving of lasagna. There was half the pan left.
"Pa, I'm going to get seconds, do you want some more?" Doggett asked.
Paul handed John his plate. "Yep, this is damn good. No wonder you want to stay here."
"Save room for dessert," Mulder said, "I made some vanilla ice cream to go with the pie."
Skinner chuckled. "You outdid yourself, Fox."
"Everyone was working so hard on the addition today, it was the least I could do." Mulder grinned. "Besides, I wanted to try out the ice cream maker. It's just too bad the Gunmen couldn't stay."
~x~X~x~
Stork, Frog, Otter, and Puppy
Frohike sighed as he looked inside the pan, he wasn't even sure if it was salvageable. They had the windows in the cabin opened to air the smoke out of the place. "Langly, how could you burn the beans and franks? It just needed to be heated!"
Langly shrugged. "I was talking on the radio with Jenny Myers and I forgot the beans and franks were on the stove."
Frohike shook his head in exasperation. "I give up, you're hopeless. From now on, it will be Jimmy, John, and me doing the cooking," he said.
"That's fine with me, dude," Langly said.
"You're not getting off so easily. Since you won't be cooking, your duty will be chopping wood for the stove."
"That's not fair!"
Byers sighed. "Langly, its fair. We all have to pull our weight. If you aren't able to cook a halfway edible meal, then you need to do something else."
"No, it's not fair! John, I can't help it if I'm a lousy cook."
"Okay, what do you suggest?" Frohike asked as he tossed the pan, beans and all, into the trash. It made a loud clang when it hit the bottom.
"Okay, I'll chop wood." Langly eyed the pie sitting on the counter. "Can I have a slice of pie?"
"After dinner," Frohike said as he pulled a skillet off the overhead rack.
~x~X~x~
The Bear, Panther, and Wolf
The Ruins
Saturday, October 20, 2001
1:00 p.m.
Sandburg still couldn't believe the destruction even as he gazed upon it with his own eyes. It had been a month since the aliens had destroyed the city and smoke still rose from the heart of the ruins. He sighed sadly as he stood next to the truck looking off into the distance, and thought of the millions of people that never made it out alive.
"C'mon, Chief, we just need to stop at Target then we can head home."
"Okay, Jim."
They had found the bed they wanted at the Slumberland store. Its frame was made of a heavy, black, wrought iron with an overhead canopy. He had convinced Jim of the practicality of having a canopy to hang mosquito netting from come summer. They also picked up nightstands, a dresser, and two comfortable rocking chairs for next to the fireplace.
They had stopped back at the Home Depot and picked up the lumber for the staircase, roofing material, and enough hardwood flooring to cover the new addition. Skinner had looked at the prefabricated greenhouse kits that were at the store, but there wasn't enough room on the truck to get one on this trip. Mulder and Sandburg had mentioned wanting to add a greenhouse off the laundry room.
When they arrived at the Target store, they found the shelves mostly empty. They were able to find a few king-sized sheet sets, pillows, and bedspreads still on the shelves. The food section of the store was completely barren. Skinner wandered into the electronics section. There were many television sets and DVD players on the shelves, but he decided it was something that they could do without. He enjoyed their peaceful evens of reading, listening to music, and talking together.
Sandburg stopped in the games section and loaded the cart with several jigsaw puzzles and board games.
When Sandburg returned to their truck, Ellison was loading the sheet sets and blankets into the back while Skinner had a cart with four folding chairs and a card table. He started putting the bags into the back of the truck.
"Did you find everything, Chief?" Ellison asked just as an old Ford pickup truck pulled into the lot with four armed men in the back and two in the cab.
Ellison and Skinner only had time to swing their assault rifles from their shoulders into their hands as all six men aimed guns at them.
"Drop the rifles and we'll let you live! We just want your truck!" one of the men shouted.
Skinner didn't believe him for a minute. If they dropped the rifles they were dead men.
The man then pointed the handgun at Sandburg. "Do it or your pretty friend gets his brains splattered all over the parking lot."
Ellison's eyes narrowed as the man cocked the gun. A low growl emanated from deep within his throat. His jaws widened and his body lengthened as he morphed into a large, black panther with deadly blue eyes.
"What the fuck!" one of the men shouted as all of them began to fire at the black cat. They failed to notice Skinner as he morphed into a large wolf, until the wolf was ripping out one of their throats.
"Ohfuckohfuckohfuck...let's get the hell out of here!"
Sandburg had taken shelter on the other side of Doggett's truck. He covered his ears as the screams and growls grew louder. Once the gunfire had stopped he braved a look.
Two of the men had locked themselves inside the Ford truck. The others were dead or wounded. The wolf and panther circled the truck looking for a way to get at their prey. Sandburg opened Doggett's truck door and called to the animals. "Jim, Walter, let them be! It's time to go home!"
The pair of animals looked up at him smugly then strolled to the truck and leaped into the cab. The wolf climbed into the backseat of the extended cab while the panther sat in the passenger seat and started licking its bloody paw. Sandburg climbed nervously behind the wheel and adjusted the seat and mirrors.
"You do know who I am...right, guys?"
The panther stopped licking its paw and set it on Sandburg's shoulder then leaned in and licked him.
"I'll take that as a yes," Sandburg said as he drove the truck out of the parking lot.
Three miles down the road, Skinner's voice sounded from the back seat. "Don't tell me, I changed?" He had morphed back.
"Yeah, man, it was amazing! You're a pretty good looking wolf, Walter!"
"How come Jim's a panther?"
"Maybe because his animal guide is a panther."
"Oh," Skinner said. It didn't make an ounce of sense to him. He'd have to ask Mulder what Sandburg meant when he saw him.
Ellison suddenly morphed back into his human form. He looked dazed and confused as he glanced out the window of the fast moving truck at the road then over at Sandburg. "Ah, Chief, how the hell did we get here? What just happened?"
"You turned into panther and killed some of the men that threatened to kill us and steal our truck."
"A panther? I thought I was suppose to change into a werewolf."
"I think your sentinel abilities made you slightly different from the others." Sandburg licked his lips nervously. "Jim, I know we've been avoiding having sex since you became infected, but seeing that you, Walter, and John didn't change into hermaphrodites like Mulder and Alex...I'm no longer worried about you infecting me. I'd rather be infected than to continue not having sex with you."
Ellison put his hand on Blair's shoulder and squeezed it affectionately. "If you're sure, Blair. You know you're going to be sick for almost three weeks, and there's no feverfew left to help ease your symptoms."
Sandburg smiled at him. "I'm sure. We'll have to wait until John's Pa leaves tomorrow."
~x~X~x~
The Rat
The Cabin
Saturday, October 20, 2001
2:00 p.m.
Paul Doggett sat at the cook's table while sipping corn whiskey and watching Krycek make butter, sour cream, and mozzarella cheese. The young man seemed to be enjoying himself.
His son and Mulder had taken the tractor to use it to haul some heavy trees that they'd cut down, back to the farm. Helmut Schmidt had stopped out that morning and had started constructing the fireplace and chimney. Paul had spent all morning helping his son, Mulder, and Helmut with the fireplace. Frohike, Bond, and Langly dropped by, helped with the chores, and removed the bark and branches from some of the felled tree trunks.
"You like living here, Alex?" Paul asked.
"At this point in my life, yes I do, more than you can know."
Paul was very observant; he could sense there was more to the young man than was obvious by his good looks and apparently easy nature. "What's your story, son?"
Krycek raised an eyebrow as he set the covered bowl with the sour cream aside. "My story? How much has John told you about us?"
"He's told me everything he knew about the aliens, the government cover up, and Mulder's involvement including his abduction and fight to expose the truth. He never mentioned anything about you."
"I worked from inside the conspiracy as a double agent. Let's just say, like Fox, I fought to stop the aliens and their collaborators. I sacrificed friends, family, and any chance at a happy future in my attempt to stop them. Now that they've finally attacked and most of the world has been invaded there's not much left for me to fight until they try to invade over here. For now, I'm putting my personal needs and happiness first. Paul, I like it here. I like the quiet beauty of these mountains, the companionship of your son, Fox, and the other men living here. I enjoy making butter, collecting eggs, building a life with my own two hands, and I even like milking the damn cows. This place is like an oasis in the middle of a storm."
Paul smiled and took a sip of whiskey. "I'm happy you've found some peace, Alex. It sounds like you needed it. My son seems happier than he has in years living here. At first I couldn't understand why because John always wanted to get away from our simple country life for the excitement of the big city. He was drawn to a life that promised adventure and constant challenges. I don't think he's changed, but I do think he's found everything he had been looking for in the city out here on this mountain."
"Aren't you worried about the future, Paul?"
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. I'm worried for my sons' and this planet's future more than my own life. Alex, I believe God is testing us, and with his grace we will overcome his latest trial more devoted and better people."
"You're a religious man?"
"I'm a Christian."
"My parents were Russian Orthodox...I never got into their beliefs." Krycek looked down at his hands and thought about all that had happened to him in the past several months. "I do believe that there is a higher power, but I'm just not sure what it is."
"I never try to sway others to my beliefs, Alex, so don't worry you'll get no lectures from me."
"I appreciate that, Paul." Krycek smiled and went back to work.
~x~X~x~
The Fox, Rat, Bear, Panther, Wolf, and Dog
The Cabin
Saturday, October 20, 2001
9:00 p.m.
Paul was heading back to his farm the next morning. He had enjoyed his brief visit with John and his friends. He'd be seeing them again next week when he came back up with the truckload of vegetables for the families living at the resort cabins. Paul picked up a puzzle piece and fitted it into the jigsaw puzzle that he was making with John, Blair, and Alex.
He glanced around the room. Walter was sitting on the sofa next to Jim; they had the plans for the addition spread out over the coffee table, and were discussing what they wanted to get done within the next few days. Fox had gone outside looking for his cat. Alex kept glancing anxiously toward the backdoor.
Krycek finally stood. "Maybe I better go help Fox search for Tiger, he's been gone an hour already."
Doggett frowned. "I'll come with you, Alex."
"Well, I'm going to wash up and turn in," Paul said as he strolled over to the bathroom.
"I'll be back in a little bit, Pa."
The backdoor opened before they could pull on their jackets and Mulder walked in holding a muddy trembling cat.
"What happened to her?" Doggett asked as he took Tiger from Mulder. The cat meowed loudly in obvious distress.
Mulder took off his jacket and muddy boots. "She's in heat and the Gunman's cat, Rocky, tried to mate with her."
"It looks like she put up a fight," Doggett said as he cuddled the cat against his chest and she started to calm down.
"She might have lost if I hadn't shown up and chased Rocky away," Mulder said, "The last thing we need is a bunch of kittens around this place."
"We probably should give her a bath and keep her inside from now on."
"You both could use a bath too, with the amount of mud she's gotten on you," Krycek said as he touched Mulder's mud smeared cheek.
"After we give Tiger a bath then you can give us one." Mulder smirked as he started filling the deep kitchen sink with warm water.
"Unfortunately the bathtub isn't big enough for three men," Krycek said just as Paul walked out of the bathroom.
"Well, maybe you boys should add a hot tub or a larger bathtub to the list of items you still need to scavenge," Paul said.
"Pa!"
"Oh please, Johnny, what do you think I'm blind?"
Krycek and Mulder were trying not to laugh as John's face turned bright red.
"I'm turning in now, I want to head home early tomorrow morning."
"Good night, Paul," Sandburg said as he fitted another piece into the puzzle.
"Good night, Blair."
Skinner and Ellison stopped talking and said good night to the older man as he climbed the ladder to the loft.
Mulder took the cat from John and kissed him softly on the lips. "I guess it would be okay to share a shower tonight."
"I can't believe he knows," Doggett muttered.
"John, he doesn't seem to mind." Mulder backed the cat into sink, so Tiger didn't see the water until she was in it, and it was too late for her to do more than meow loudly in protest until Mulder was done washing her.
She was none too happy as Doggett wrapped her in a towel and dried her wet fur.
"You look like a drowned rat, cat," he cooed then set her down on the rug near the potbellied stove. Tiger plopped down indignantly and started licking herself dry.
Mulder peeled off his muddy wet shirt and dumped it in the dirty clothes hamper next to the washing machine. Doggett did likewise. The hamper was empty...Krycek had done the laundry in addition to the days cooking duties.
"I think I'll make some apple cider tomorrow," Doggett said as he followed Mulder into the bathroom. He had cooking duties. On the wall by the door, Skinner had installed six hooks where their robes hung and beneath them on a raised shelf an inch off the floor were their slippers.
"Mm, that will be a nice change from iced tea and water," Mulder said as he turned on the shower then stripped off his jeans and socks. He had left his boots on the mat by the backdoor.
Krycek had followed them into the bathroom and took their discarded clothes to add to the dirty laundry. "I wonder if we could figure out a way to get orange juice up here."
Mulder sighed. "Yeah, I miss having oranges and bananas. It's amazing how you tend to take the small creature comforts for granted."
"I'll check with my Pa, he's might be able to arrange a trade with the military."
"I'd even settle for Tang," Mulder said.
Krycek chuckled. "You would."
Mulder smiled and stepped into the bathtub with Doggett and closed the shower curtain.
Krycek walked out of the bathroom and closed the door so the steam from the shower would stay inside the room. He dumped Mulder's and Doggett's jeans, underwear, and socks into the hamper as he planned another trip off the mountain in search of powdered orange concentrate.
Later that night, after they had gone to bed, Skinner turned to Mulder who was sleeping in the middle of the large, four-poster bed with Krycek on his other side.
"Fox, what is an animal guide?"
"Hmm? Do you mean like a guide dog for the blind?"
"No. Jim turned into a panther today, instead of a wolf. Blair said it was because Jim's animal guide was a panther."
They had discussed running into bandits earlier, out of John's Dad's hearing since they weren't ready to tell him about their being infected with an alien virus that had changed them into werewolves.
Krycek turned on his side and waited for Mulder to answer.
Mulder's brows furrowed as he thought. "In some ancient civilizations they believed there was a spiritual connection between all creatures on the planet...human, animal, and plant. Cave paintings and totems exist today of animal spirit guides from these civilizations. It was believed that each animal had its own power, message, and skill. The animal spirit would choose a human, not visa versa, and if the human was open, it would impart its skills and knowledge and act as a guide for him or her. It could be that Jim's sentinel ability made him more aware of his connection with his spirit guide. Panther's are believed to have mystical powers."
Skinner chuckled. "Okay, Fox, that makes a little sense." Then he turned serious. "I think on future scavenger trips off the mountain we should go in fours," he said. "There'd be less of a chance anyone would try to attack four heavily armed men."
"Except when I take the motorcycle," Krycek said, "I prefer going alone."
Mulder frowned. "If you have to, Alex, I still think you should take someone with you."
Krycek rolled on his side and placed a hand on his lover's chest. "Don't worry, Fox. My animal spirit guide is the Rat and we're born survivors."
"Brat." Mulder sighed and closed his eyes.
~x~X~x~
The Panther and Wolf
The Cabin
Sunday, October 21, 2001
9:00 a.m.
Sandburg stood in the barn's loft. He leaned against the handle of a pitchfork, while he breathed in the sweet smell of hay. He had been pitching the fresh hay down from the loft to the barn floor below where Ellison waited to spread it into the stalls. Now he was just relaxing, enjoying the simple pleasure that living here was affording him. The day was perfect, warm, and the first frost had gotten rid of most of the insects that had been a nuisance inside the barn.
"Chief, are you okay?" Ellison asked, climbing up the ladder.
"I've never felt better."
Ellison grew hard as his eyes fell on his young lover. Blair had taken off his shirt, dark nipples stood out against his hairy, sweaty chest, and bits of hay were caught in his long hair that he was wearing tied back in a ponytail. His musky male scent was highly arousing. Behind him was a soft pile of hay that he had been pitching down to the barn floor. Ellison walked over to Blair, took the pitchfork out of his hand, leaned it safely up against the wall, out of the way, before tackling his lover into the pile of hay.
"Oomph!" Sandburg had the wind knocked out of him. He didn't have time to catch his breath as Jim's mouth captured his in a soul-claiming kiss. Blair's arms wrapped around Jim's neck as he pulled him closer. He returned the kiss with equal passion. Blair felt his lover's fingers unbutton his jeans and pressed against his growing erection. He raised his hips wantonly to allow Jim to pull his pants down while they continued to kiss hungrily. God, he desperately wanted to feel his lover inside of him, it had been nearly a month since they'd last had sex.
Jim's mouth dropped to Blair's nipples, he alternated between them, sucking and nipping at them until they were hard, pert nubs. He chuckled at the sounds of pleasure Blair was making and the sluttish way his legs were spread open beneath him. Jim paused only for a moment to yank Blair's boots off and remove his lover's remaining clothes.
"I like you this way, Blair."
Sandburg looked up at him and licked his kiss-swollen lips. "How's that, Jim?"
Jim's fingers smoothed over Blair's bare sides. "Beautifully debauched and desperately needing to be fucked." He lowered his mouth back to Blair's nipples and continued to tease them while his hand stroked his lover's thick shaft. "You do want me to fuck you...don't you?"
"God, man, I've wanted you inside of me since yesterday."
Jim placed two fingers against Blair's lips. "Suck."
Sandburg did as ordered, taking his lover's fingers into his mouth and getting them nice and wet.
Jim pulled his fingers free, brought them down to Blair's ass, and pushed one of the damp digits into his lover's anus. He spent several minutes stretching Blair before he unzipped his pants and freed his own erection. Jim spit into his hand and slicked his erection as Blair placed his legs on Jim's shoulders.
"Come on, Jim, fuck me already!"
"All good things come to those that wait," Ellison said as he placed the head of his cock against Blair's small opening and pushed inside.
Sandburg moaned as he pushed up with his hips forcing more of the thick shaft inside him. This was what he'd missed so much, since Krycek had infected Jim and they stopped having sex. He wondered if he was now infected. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Jim's long cock sliding into him.
Ellison thrust in and out of his lover's body harder and faster. Blair's scent seemed even more arousing than usual. He could hear the blood being pumped through the younger man's veins. His pupils enlarged as his fangs grew.
At the feel of teeth biting into him, Sandburg's eyes popped open and a scream froze on his lips just before he lost consciousness. The panther licked at the wound as he continued to fuck his mate.
~x~X~x~
The Frog
The Ranger Station
Saturday, October 27, 2001
2:00 p.m.
Paul returned to the mountain hauling a truckload of vegetables. Frohike was at the ranger station holding a militia meeting with the members from the Timberlake resort cabins. They'd received notice of Paul's truck driving up to the station on the radio from the new guard station, after it had passed by the station. Everyone headed outside as the truck drove into the lot.
When Paul climbed down from the cab, Frohike shook his hand. "Hi, Paul. John mentioned that you'd be back this afternoon."
"Melvin, it's nice to see you again." He turned to Sean. "Ranger Smith, I brought those vegetables, if you'd like to give me a hand unloading the truck."
"Sure thing, Paul. These are some of the people your crops are for," Sean said then introduced the militia members to Paul Doggett. "We can store the crops in the stable, then I'll work with the residents on getting them distributed to the families."
With fifteen people helping, it didn't take long to unload the truck. Once they were done, Sean led a horse out of the stable. "Paul, you can use Xena while you're here."
"Thanks, Sean." He took the horse's reins and led it over to the truck. "I've brought a few things for my son and his friends."
"Do you need help carrying anything back to the cabin?" Frohike asked. He had borrowed Mulder's horse for the trip to the ranger station, and was sitting in the saddle looking down at Paul.
"Yes. Melvin, can you carry this?" He removed a large sack from the truck.
"What is it?" Frohike asked as Paul handed him up the sack. It was a lot lighter than it looked.
"It's filled with dried Portabella, Morel, Oyster, and Shiitake mushrooms." Paul strapped his suitcase onto the horse along with a couple of more bags before he pulled himself up into the saddle.
"After I saw the large, underground caves that the boys are using as a root cellar, I thought some of the tunnels would be perfect for growing mushrooms." Paul rode the horse down the path side by side with Frohike.
"Paul, that's a great idea! Since the caves are at a constant temperature, we should be able to grow mushrooms all year round."
"Do you like mushrooms, Melvin?"
"I love mushrooms. You should taste my stuffed mushroom raviolis with a mushroom Alfredo sauce."
"Well, I'll hold you to cooking me that sometime. At least the mushrooms will come in handy during the winter."
They were quiet for a while, as they had to ride single file where the path narrowed.
Frohike thought in the future maybe he could get John to use the tractor to widen and smooth out the paths between their cabins and to the ranger station.
Once they were again riding side by side they resumed their conversation.
"You seem to have a lot of responsibilities," Paul said.
"I spent a lot of my time in these mountains. I know them and the people living here...I had often thought of retiring up here some day." Frohike took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. "There's no place on Earth quite like this area."
"Do you know much about farming?"
"My Uncle taught me a lot about farming when I used to stay with him up here during the summer. He also showed me how to cook, fish, and to make shine." Frohike smiled as he thought about his uncle. "Your son seems to know a lot about farming. He's been a great help to Mulder and the other guys."
"John was always a quick learner and smart as a whip. He won a blue ribbon at the county fair when he was ten for the calf he had raised and groomed. I was disappointed that he didn't go into farming, and chose to join the marines." Paul frowned. "I never had much trust for the government or military."
"Word," Frohike said, nodding. He found a kindred spirit in Paul Doggett.
They arrived at the cabin a few minutes later. The men had been working on the addition. They stopped what they were doing and walked over to greet John's dad.
"What's in the bags, Pa?" Doggett asked.
"I brought some seeds, mushrooms, and some green tea for Blair. How's he doing?"
"He's pretty sick," Ellison said. He'd had sex with Sandburg six days ago, the day after Paul had left, and infected him. His lover had been suffering ever since.
"Hopefully he'll get better soon."
"How long can you stay?" Mulder asked.
"I need to head back in the morning. The military is going to start shipping my crops to the refugee camps, and I wanted to go with them to check out the camps. Maybe I can find a way to help some of the families more directly," Paul said.
"That's kind of you, Paul," Skinner said.
"I figured it's the least I can do." Paul looked around and noticed Krycek was missing. "So Alex has cooking duties?"
"Yep, why don't you go inside and get settled," Doggett said.
"I will, son." Paul turned to Frohike. "I hope you're staying for dinner, Melvin. I'd like to continue our discussion."
"We're all staying, Paul. Alex is making a large pot of borsch, and there is nothing I love better than a hot bowl of borsch with sour cream and a glass of vodka." Frohike put his hand on Paul's back. "Let's get your bag in the cabin, then we can share a cup of corn whiskey on the porch while we wait for dinner."
"Aren't you going to help us, Frohike?" Bond asked.
Frohike looked at the men, all sweaty and dirty from working hard on the addition. "Nope." He turned and started walking toward the backdoor. "Come on, Paul. I think we've both worked hard enough for the day and deserve a break."
Paul followed Frohike.
Frohike held open the door for him and asked, "So was John a tough child to potty train?"
Doggett glared at Frohike.
After the two older men entered the cabin, Mulder asked, "So were you?"
"How would I remember?"
Three hours later, Krycek rang the dinner bell and all the men headed into the house to wash up for dinner. Paul and Frohike came in from the front porch laughing, and quite obviously hammered.
Even with the leaf in the table, they still only had enough room for eight people, so Krycek had set up the card table with the folding chairs.
Frohike smirked at Doggett. "Your dad was telling me that when you were four you used to like to wear your mother's beads and carry her purse around the house. It's no wonder you joined the marines."
"Why's that, Melvin?" Doggett asked.
"Where else could you find a few good men, while getting to play dress up at the same time!" He and Paul started laughing.
"You shouldn't encourage him, Pa."
"You have to admit it was funny. I just wished I would have brought the family photo album with me." Paul sat at the table in front of a large bowl of borsch. "When I come up here next time Melvin is going to show me his farm, so I'll bring it then."
Doggett's jaw tightened, but he held his tongue.
Everyone sat around the table.
"When will you be back up, Paul?" Skinner asked.
"Weather permitting, Mike and I will be here for Thanksgiving."
"We should have the addition done by then," Doggett said, "So you and Mike will have a place to sleep."
"Your brother is looking forward to seeing this place." Paul then bowed his head and said grace before picking up the soupspoon.
After dinner, Paul turned in early, and Frohike, Byers, Bond, and Langly headed home.
~x~X~x~
The Fox, Rat, Panther, and Wolf
The Cabin
Halloween
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
6:00 p.m.
Four days later, Ellison came out of the bedroom with a tray and set it on the cook's table. He placed the empty bowl and glass into the sink.
"How's Blair doing?" Krycek asked.
"He's still really sick...he seems to be getting worse. I was able to get him to eat the chicken soup and drink some hot green tea," Ellison said worriedly.
"Look on the bright side, he should be better in eight days."
"I hope he is. What do you have in the oven?"
"Pumpkinseeds." Krycek pulled the cookie sheet out of the oven. He and Mulder had carved two pumpkins for Halloween. Mulder was outside placing them on the front porch. They were going to light them once it got dark in an hour, then spend the evening on the porch drinking hot apple cider while enjoying the mild weather and waiting for Walter and John to get home.
Skinner and Doggett were on militia guard duty together down in valley at one of the two roads that led into their community. Their shift was from noon until eight p.m. They'd taken Mulder's car from the ranger station and would drive it back there before riding their bicycles home. They should be home by ten o'clock.
Ellison sighed. "It's too bad Blair's sick. He always loved Halloween and roasted pumpkinseeds."
Mulder stepped back inside the cabin. He had a troubled look on his face.
"What's wrong, Fox?" Krycek asked.
"Don't you feel the pull of the moon?"
"Is that what that is?" Ellison had been feeling strange all day.
"There's a full moon in two days. I always start feeling its affect a couple of days before."
"Oh great. So we're going to be changing into werewolves again," Krycek said.
"We should get one of the Gunmen to sit with Blair," Mulder said.
"Why?" Ellison asked.
"Because we're all going to change, Jim, it's unavoidable," Mulder said, "What if Blair needs help?"
"The Gunmen don't know about you guys being werewolves and me a werepanther. Are we going to tell them?" Ellison asked.
"Yes. With five of us changing, and with Blair being infected, we really have to tell them. I wouldn't want to scare them if they saw us in our wolf or your panther form."
"Okay, we'll sit them down tomorrow and have a talk with them," Ellison said.
~x~X~x~
The Bear and Dog
Guard station
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
7:00 p.m.
Doggett strolled back inside the trailer and poured himself a cup of coffee. Since they started the around the clock guard duty a week ago at the two roads off the main highway that entered the valley and their mountain range beyond, other than Paul Doggett's truck, only one civilian car had tried to enter the area. Although there had been a couple of military vehicles that had drove up to the ranger station to see Sean. Otherwise the flow of vehicles that passed on the main highway had been light and primarily military vehicles.
The town of Holton, twenty-miles up the highway north of there, had its population grow from eight hundred people to over two thousand in the first week after the aliens attacked. The town was turning away all new refugees seeking shelter. They just didn't have enough resources to put up more than were already there.
Doggett made a face as he sipped the bitter coffee that had been on the burner since noon.
Skinner looked up from the book he'd been reading and set it aside. "We should have brought some of that cider you made."
"Yeah, we should have. I hate drinking coffee in the evening."
Skinner stood and walked over to him. "We only have one more hour before our shift is over." He reached out and took the coffee cup and set it on the counter before he kissed John.
"So what do you have in mind to get us through the next hour?" Doggett asked as he placed his hands on Skinner's hips.
"John, what do you fantasize about when you're alone?" Skinner asked huskily as his mouth moved to suck on the side of John's neck.
"Mm, I fantasize about what you're doing to me right now," Doggett said.
"Do you fantasize about Fox?"
"Fox, you, Alex...." Doggett moaned as Skinner fingers pinched his nipples through his shirt. He arched his back as his lover's mouth latched onto a patch of skin at the base of his neck and started giving him a hickey. Skinner continued to tease John's nipples with his fingers until they were hard, aroused nubs.
"How do you like to do it with Fox?" Skinner asked breathlessly as he pulled John's shirt up and lowered his mouth to the man's hard nipples.
"Everyway. I like it when he fucks me, and I like fucking him. God, and he gives the best blowjob with that mouth of his." Doggett spread his legs as Skinner unzipped his pants and pulled his erection free.
"I love how Fox's long legs and arms wrap around my body when I fuck him...the way he clings so tightly to me," Skinner said, "He's so beautiful...you're beautiful." He kneeled in front of John and took his plump cock into his mouth.
"What about Alex?" Doggett asked as he started rocking his hips to force more of his shaft into his lover's mouth.
Skinner's answer was to suck harder while taking more of his lover's shaft down his throat. John cried out and came. Skinner swallowed as fast as the come filled his mouth. Then he stood and held John until the trembles of orgasm quieted.
"What about Alex, Walt?"
"I don't know, John. Every time I think I can forgive Krycek, I remember him standing over me with that damned palm pilot as the nanocytes raged in my bloodstream like a million sharp pieces of broken glass through my veins. Or I'll see him on the hospital staircase, while Melissa Scully lay dying, he and his goons stole the DAT tape from me. With that evidence we might have exposed the conspiracy and ended it before anyone else died. How can I forgive him?"
"Fox has forgiven him. I think you owe it to yourself and our future to try and put the past behind you." Doggett tucked himself back in.
"I'll try, John, but I'm not promising anything," Skinner said gruffly.
Twenty-minutes later the next two people showed up to relieve them on guard duty. Skinner and Doggett headed home.
~x~X~x~
The Fox, Rat, Panther, Dog, Bear, Frog and Wolf
The Cabin
Friday, November 2, 2001
6:30 p.m.
Frohike sat at the dining room table in Mulder's cabin...he was going to watch over Sandburg for the evening. He picked up a piece of southern fried chicken and bit into it. The other men were eating quietly, there was a lot nervous energy coming off them. They kept glancing over to the window at the darkening sky. Krycek reached for the honey and drizzled it on a baking-powder biscuit.
"So, when are you going to turn into werewolves?" Frohike asked casually. He didn't believe them and thought they were playing some sort of joke on him, but he was willing to play along.
"As soon as the moon is full," Mulder said as he brought a forkful of mashed potatoes and gravy up to his lips. He had skipped the fried chicken. He just couldn't bring himself to eat any of the birds he had raised over the last six months. Now that the other men were helping with the chickens, maybe he wouldn't become so attached to them.
"So how do you change? Is it painful like in that movie American Werewolf in London?"
"I don't remember if it's painful," Mulder said.
Doggett had no idea if he'd change or not, but if he did, he wanted proof of it. "Do you have the digital camera, Melvin?" They'd be able to download the photos to Langly's laptop.
"Yes." Frohike smirked. "Do you think you'll pose for me before you try to tear me apart?"
"We're not going to hurt you, at least I hope not," Skinner said.
Ellison stood and carried his empty plate to the sink and set it inside. Then he went to see how his lover was doing.
Blair was tossing and turning in his sleep. At least he was sleeping, Ellison thought as he sat on a chair next to the bed. He zoned out as he watched his lover suffering. Ellison thought he heard Frohike cry out in the next room, but gave it no second thought as he hopped up on the bed and stretched his long sleek body protectively along the length of his lover while resting a paw on his chest.
In the next room, Frohike got himself under control and pulled out the camera he had in his pocket and started snapping pictures of the wolves. To his surprise all four posed for him before the wolf that was Mulder walked over to the door and used its jaw to turn the knob and open the door. He wagged his tail excitedly, as he looked back at the other wolves then dashed outside with the others following in hot pursuit.
"Damn," Frohike muttered as he closed the front door then sat back down at the table. His eyes fell on the open bedroom doorway.
"Ah, Jim, are you in there?"
He heard an answering growl. "I'll take that as a yes."
Frohike set the camera on the table then stood and started to carry the dishes to the sink. He figured if Ellison had wanted to eat him, he would have come out of the bedroom and done so already.
After he washed the dishes, pots, and pans, Frohike decided to check on Sandburg. He cautiously walked to the bedroom and looked inside. A big, black, panther was lying on the bed next to the young man. It looked up at him as he stood in the doorway.
"Jim, I'm just checking to see how Blair is doing. Would you mind if I took your picture?"
The large cat lowered his head to rest it on Sandburg's chest. Frohike took that as consent and walked into the dining area to get his camera off the table. He snapped several photos of the panther lying on the bed with Blair.
Outside and miles away from the cabin four wolves stopped on a bluff overlooking the valley. Krycek sat and looked at Mulder, Skinner, and Doggett.
'Do you want to hunt or play?' he asked.
'I'm not hungry,' Mulder said.
Doggett nuzzled against him. 'So do you want to do it doggy style?'
Mulder's voice chuckled in their heads. 'Sure, if you can catch me.' He then took off into the forest.
'He's mine!' Skinner barked as they all took off after the chestnut colored wolf.
Mulder enjoyed the chase. He was by far the fastest wolf. After all, he had spent most of his human life jogging for exercise, and it seemed to have carried over to his wolf form. Doggett proved to be slightly faster than Krycek. His lean body easily wound its way through the thick underbrush to finally corner Mulder in the ravine. Mulder didn't put up a fight as Doggett mounted him from behind. He was breathless and happy as the Doggett's long cock slid into his body.
Skinner trotted out of the woods and sat on his haunches to watch. He had been feeling sick and fatigued the past several days. He even vomited that morning but seemed to recover as the day went on. Now he was back to feeling fatigued.
Krycek circled the two wolves, waiting for his turn. His penis was hard and dripping precum.
Mulder yelped in pain and pleasure as the orange-sized knot that had swelled at the base of Doggett's cock forced its way inside of him, binding their bodies together. Despite the knot, the blue-eyed wolf continued to fuck his mate harder and faster as he started to come. Doggett finally stood still as his essence pumped out of him and into his mate.
'So how long do we stay tied?' Doggett asked as he licked Mulder behind his furry pointed ear.
'Until you shrink enough to pull out,' Mulder said, enjoying the feel of the large knot throbbing inside of him and the warmth of John's soft furry belly on his back. 'Hopefully it won't be too soon.'
Skinner looked over at Krycek. The sable-furred, green-eyed wolf had gotten tired of waiting and had sat, and was now licking his own penis.
Krycek glanced up from his pleasurable task at the older brown-eyed wolf. He smirked. 'Well it's one good thing about being a wolf.'
Skinner stood and walked down the hill to the stream.
Krycek got up and followed him. 'If you weren't such a mean bastard, I'd let you fuck me.'
'I'm not mean and I don't want to fuck you,' Skinner said as he took a drink of water from the stream.
'You're mean to me, and even if you wanted to fuck me I wouldn't let you.'
Skinner barked a laugh. 'As if you could stop me, Krycek, but don't worry I'm not a rapist. And I'm not mean to you either...only indifferent.'
'Go fuck yourself, Wally!' Krycek growled as he stalked back up the hill.
Doggett and Mulder had separated. They were licking each other clean when they stopped to look at Krycek. Doggett walked over and nuzzled against him affectionately. 'Don't let Walt get to you, Alex. He's still not ready to let go of the past. Give him time.'
'As if I care what he thinks of me,' Krycek said and stalked off into the woods.
Mulder sighed and took off after him.
Back at the cabin, Sandburg had awakened soaked in sweat to find a panther lying on the bed with him. "Jim, no offense, but you're too hot."
Ellison stood and licked Blair's sweaty brow before leaping off the bed and walking into the other room. Frohike came into the bedroom a few minutes later carrying a tray with the panther walking behind him.
"Hey, Blair, how are you feeling?" Frohike placed the tray on the dresser and removed a damp washcloth. He walked over to the bed and washed the sweat off the young man's face.
"I feel like I've been stomped by a rampaging elephant."
"You look like it, but don't worry I took care of Mulder when he was sick. It's important to keep fluids in you. I brought a glass of ice cold Tang."
Sandburg made a face. "Melvin, that stuff is all sugar."
"You could use some sugar, besides its high in vitamin C."
On Krycek's last trip off the mountain, he had brought back three, four-pound cans of Tang that was enough to make sixty quarts of the orange drink. Mulder had been thrilled. He also brought back dozens of packages of different flavors of Kool-Aid.
Frohike helped Sandburg to sit up and held the glass to his lips. Ellison sat on the floor watching.
"Do you need to use the bathroom?" Frohike asked.
"Yeah, man, and I could use a cold bath...if you wouldn't mind helping me."
"I don't mind, at least you're only a couple of inches taller than me, unlike Mulder. It was a bitch to haul him into the bathroom." Frohike set the empty glass down. "I'll go fill the tub then I'll come back and help you into the bathroom."
"Melvin, cold water okay?" Sandburg was sweating profusely.
"Warm water, cold would be too much of a shock to your system."
After Frohike had the bathtub filled he came back for Sandburg and helped the young man out of bed. His pajamas were soaked with sweat. Frohike decided to change the sheets after he got Sandburg into the bathtub.
"Do you think you'll be okay, while I change the bedding?" Frohike asked as Sandburg sank into the warm water.
"I'll be fine. Can I have some Tylenol when you get back?"
"Sure." Frohike looked at the panther that had settled down next to the bathtub. "Jim, watch him until I get back."
It was over an hour after sunrise when Skinner and Doggett finally walked into the cabin. Jim had already changed back and was making breakfast while Frohike slept on the sofa.
"Where's Mulder and Alex?" he asked.
"We don't know where they are...we found ourselves three miles from here and it took us twenty minutes to get our bearings straight to find our way back here," Skinner said.
Doggett looked at Frohike sleeping on the sofa. "I take it we changed, did he get pictures?"
Ellison nodded to the digital camera sitting on the dining room table. Doggett picked it up and looked through the twenty thumbnail images on the back. He whistled. That answered that question.
"Melvin was up all night taking care of Blair. He went to sleep after I changed back."
"What are you baking?" Doggett asked. It smelled good and he was hungry.
"Since I wasn't sure when everyone would show up for breakfast, I decided to make some apple-raisin granola." Ellison pulled two baking sheets out of the oven and set them on the counter to cool next to a cup of diced dried apple and a cup of raisins.
The smell of cinnamon caused Skinner's stomach to lurch and he hurried into the bathroom and vomited into the toilet bowl.
"Are you okay, Walt?" Doggett asked from the doorway.
"I think I might be coming down with the flu. I haven't been feeling well the last few days, but thankfully, it's not nearly as bad as I felt after Mulder infected me."
"I hope you aren't contagious."
"I'm sorry, John, if I am then you would have caught what I have when we kissed the other day." Skinner flushed the toilet then walked over to the sink to brush his teeth.
"I guess it's too late to worry. I'm going to get some coffee do you want some?"
"No, I think I'll just have some apple juice. I don't think my stomach can handle the caffeine."
Three hours later Mulder and Krycek walked into the farmyard. They were both covered head to toe in mud. Doggett had been in the barn milking the cows and was carrying the steel container of milk to the house for Ellison, who had cooking duties.
"What happened to you two?"
"I don't know, when we changed back Alex had me on my back in the mud by the stream about nine miles from here. We were both soaked and covered with mud." Mulder sneezed; he was freezing because they had morphed without their jackets on.
"Take your boots and muddy clothes off outside the backdoor then go in and take a hot shower. Walter and I already have most of the chores done and we want to get started on the addition."
"Do you mind if we eat breakfast first?" Krycek grumbled.
"No, Jim made granola...you can have some of that. Helmut is going to be out in about an hour to finish the fireplace and chimney, I want you and Fox to help him," Doggett said. He set the heavy steel milk container down and opened the backdoor then he picked it up and carried it into the kitchen.
Mulder and Krycek stripped down to their underwear, setting their boots outside the backdoor before carrying their clothes inside and placing them in the dirty clothes hamper. Since they'd gotten the automatic washer and dryer there was no longer a large pile of dirty clothes needing to be washed. The person handling the cooking usually did the wash, unless that person had extra cooking duties.
Ellison shook his head as he watched them. "What have you two been up to?"
"I wish I knew," Mulder said, "Whatever it was, I ache in all the right places."
"How's Blair?" Krycek asked as he stopped by the cook's table to cut off a slice of warm zucchini nut bread from one of the loaves that Ellison had cooling on the rack. Ellison had a cookbook opened to the baking section.
"He's still really sick. I just wish we could find some feverfew." They had looked in every heath food and drug store that they could find outside of the ruins with no luck.
"At least he should be better in five days," Krycek said before following Mulder into the bathroom and closing the door.
Tiger had come out from hiding and was eating hard cat food from her bowl. Doggett kneeled and petted the cat before heading back outside.
~x~X~x~
The Bear and Fox
The Cabin
Monday, November 12, 2001
2:30 a.m.
It was now twenty-three days since Ellison had infected Sandburg and still the young man showed no sign of getting any better. Everyone was beginning to worry.
Skinner sighed as he got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. He was having a hard time sleeping, it seemed he had to pee more often and he was still throwing up almost every morning. At least he had a lot to keep his mind off how miserable he felt.
The addition onto the cabin was coming along nicely. They had started installing the roof. Once the roof was on, they would start laying the hardwood floor. They hoped to have it all finished before Thanksgiving, including assembling the bed and moving the washer and dryer into the new laundry room.
After he was done in the bathroom, Skinner walked across the kitchen, opened the door, and walked through the doorway that they had cut into the wall from the kitchen to the new addition. He looked up at the star-filled sky through the still uncompleted roof. The new laundry room was just off the kitchen. They had installed a deep sink and counters. There was a doorway from the laundry room leading into a small, attached greenhouse. They would be venting the heat from the dryer into the greenhouse, and were using an electric space heater to heat the room during winter. The greenhouse would be used to start the plants for their vegetable gardens come spring, and to grow fresh herbs throughout the year. Sandburg was particularly excited about having the greenhouse. He had a list of medicinal herbs he wanted to grow, including feverfew.
The staircase going up to the loft was done. They had built a closet underneath it where their winter coats would be hung. Just off the hallway were an alcove with a built in desk and shelves where the Ham radio would be moved, and a foyer with a new front door. In the new bedroom was a large closet that ran the length of one wall. The fireplace had turned out beautifully. The stone chimney was the height of the high-beamed ceiling, and was a nice contrast to the honey color beams and log walls. They had custom built the windows that were on either side of the stone fireplace. The windows overlooked the woods and mountains. Skinner and Ellison had hand cut the double panes of glass to fit the shape of the windows. On either side of the windows were tall built-in bookshelves.
Skinner walked out of the bedroom and back into the hallway. He crossed the new foyer and pulled back a sheet of plastic that separated the new addition from the parlor. He stepped into the parlor. They had cut a wide opening through the thick log wall to open the room up to the spacious foyer with the staircase. It made the parlor look larger, although they did lose two of Mulder's bookcases when they cut through the wall going into the foyer. The books would be moved to the larger bookcases in Ellison's and Sandburg's bedroom, and the bookcases they had built into the back hallway.
"Walter, come back to bed," Mulder said tiredly from the sleeper sofa as he propped himself up on an elbow.
Skinner crawled back under the covers and into Mulder's arms.
"Are you still not feeling well?" Mulder asked as he hugged his lover and kissed his bald scalp.
Skinner sighed. "I think it's stress. We've had a lot to do these last few weeks before it snows. Once the addition is done, I should be better."
"We've been pretty lucky that it hasn't snowed yet."
"Hopefully it will hold off until we get the roof on," Skinner said as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth and strength of Mulder's body as he fell back to sleep.
~x~X~x~
Author's Chapter Notes:
Skinner has morning sickness, Ellison infects Sandburg, and Mulder and Doggett do it doggy style.
The Bear: Strength, introspection, and self-knowledge The Dog: Loyalty, courage, and unconditional love The Fox: Cleverness, adaptability, cunning, and discretion The Frog: Emotional healing, cleansing, and peace The Otter: Playfulness, efficiency, and healing power of laughter The Panther: Embracing the unknown and personal power The Puppy: Loyalty, courage, and unconditional love The Rat: Success, Restlessness, and Shrewdness The Stork: Growth and Unspoken Communication The Wolf: Commitment, family loyalty, and teaching skill