WICKED GAME
By Mare
Chapter 6
Disclaimers in Chapter 1; Rated NC-17
If the sound wasn’t almost constant, it probably wouldn’t have bothered Scully. But it was; the 
incessant tapping and clicking invading her consciousness and making it impossible for her to 
concentrate on her book. Finally she put the book down and fixed her gaze on Krycek, seated at 
the desk in front of his laptop. "What’s got you so busy?" she asked.
"Work."
"What work?"
"Work."
She sighed. They had managed to settle into a fairly regular pattern over the last two weeks that 
included sex every two or three nights (or whenever she was desperate enough to proposition 
him), and reasonably comfortable coexistence all other times. They even managed small talk 
during meals, and the occasional spirited debate, usually over the news. There was no talk of the 
deal, no changes in its terms since the night he had gagged her. She was getting sort of used to 
his constant presence, and on occasion even welcomed the sympathetic ear he presented when 
she needed to let off steam about anything. Anything, at least, other than himself and the deal.
For now, though, there wasn’t a whole lot she could say about the deal. He promised her 
information and great sex on demand, and was delivering. She was making an effort toward 
being more proactive, and he seemed to appreciate it. It was getting easier, too. Once he saw that 
she was trying, he didn’t make her work so hard at it. No more asking twice. No more surprises. 
Well, no more bad surprises...
The one thing Krycek staunchly refused to discuss with her was his work. Scully had no idea 
what the hell he did all day, where he went when he ventured outside, or what kind of computer 
activity he engaged in. He normally didn’t do it in her presence, which meant that he felt that 
whatever he was doing now was important. And it was about time she knew what was going on 
under her own roof.
"Alex, I really hope you’re not doing anything illegal..."
"Nope."
When nothing more was forthcoming, she sighed again. "Well, what are you doing?"
"I told you. Work."
Her silence apparently prompted him to elaborate on that. "I heard something got out on the Net 
that wasn’t supposed to, okay? I had to fix it."
"Fix it?"
He looked back at her over his shoulder. "Hacking 101. Very popular class at Consortium U."
"You are doing something illegal, aren’t you?"
"No more illegal than whatever those buddies of Mulder’s do." He chuckled. "Might be 
interesting if you could arrange a meeting with the Lone Gunmen for me. I bet we could learn a 
lot from each other."
"Oh, I’m sure they’d love a chance to pick your brain," Scully said, rising from the sofa and 
moving behind him. "But you might not have any brain cells left once they’re done with you."
"Nah," Krycek said breezily. "Far as I can tell, they still haven’t downloaded the instructions for 
a proper mind wipe. Besides, you wouldn’t let them do that, would you?"
"Might be worth a try," she muttered as she idly watched a Web page load on his laptop’s screen. 
As he scrolled through it, a lot of little boxes appeared, with text after them. Apparently it was a 
checklist of some sort. She tried to lean in closer to read the text, but Krycek wouldn’t let her get 
close enough.
"What’s that?" she asked.
"One of the other things my Web search came up with. Thought it might be... interesting..." He 
laughed softly. "Oh, yeah, very interesting..."
Scully was about to ask again what it was when she noticed that the light on the printer sharing 
device Krycek had installed was blinking. A minute later, her printer had put out four sheets, 
which he handed to her. "You should find this amusing."
She had to read the heading twice before it sank in. "The Online Sexual Purity Test? You have to 
be kidding. This has to do with your work? Your Web search turned --" A sudden thought 
struck. Purity... Purity Test, Purity... Control? What did he know about Purity Control, and what 
kind of information was there online about it?
"No, this isn’t work, this is fun," Krycek interrupted her thoughts. "I told you, my search 
suggested this, and I thought it might be amusing. Whaddya think?"
She scanned the questions. "Have you ever... Oh, for heaven’s sake, are we back in high school or 
something? Have you ever kissed someone, on the first date, on the neck, while lying down... 
Alex, I really hope this isn’t where you get your ideas from."
"Nope, never seen it before," he said, furiously clicking on boxes. "Besides, it’s not quite as high-
school as you think. Look, even I’m 30% pure according to this."
"What does that mean?" Annoyed as she was, she was oddly intrigued too.
"That means I only had 70 yeses out of 100 questions." At her glare, he shrugged. "What can I 
say? I didn’t have the all-American adolescence you had. I probably missed some stuff."
"The tamer things, I’m sure," she said absently, even as she mentally added up her score. She 
couldn’t believe she was doing it, but she couldn’t stop. She soon realized that either he was 
right or she was even more sheltered than she’d thought. She scored 33 yeses.
"Let’s not think of it as ‘have you ever?’," Krycek was saying. "How ’bout we look at it more as 
‘would you ever?’"
"Would I ever... what? Pick up a stranger? Pay to see a live sexual display? Have four or more 
separate dates in three days? Have sex with two or more members of the same family? Sorry, I 
don’t think so, and if you think any of this is going to come up under our deal, you’re crazy."
"Hmm..." Krycek clicked his mouse a few times and a new page loaded. "Maybe that’s not the 
right one to look at. Too much stuff that wouldn’t work for the deal." He scanned the new page, 
then hit the print button. "Let’s try this one instead."
In another minute Scully had in her hand something called the Online BDSM Purity Test. She 
read only the first few questions before putting the paper down in disgust. "No, let’s not try this 
one."
"Aw, c’mon, Dana, where’s your sense of adventure?" She looked up to see Krycek grinning at 
her. "Look, you already have two yeses on this one that I know of, and both came through the 
deal."
She reluctantly picked up the pages again and scanned the questions, easily identifying the ones 
he had attributed to her. She couldn’t argue with them; she had been gagged, and she had had 
her partner take pictures of her during sex. Neither act was performed with her express consent, 
however. "You missed one," she said flatly.
He quickly scrolled through the page again. "Which?"
"Number 23."
He looked back at her. "You have not been punished for not doing something correctly."
"Haven’t I? What was that gagging all about, then? What about what you did before that?"
"That wasn’t punishment," he grumbled.
"Would you have done that if I hadn’t broken your hand-job rules?"
Krycek turned back to the computer without answering, which was enough of an answer for her. 
"I suppose you have at least fifty yeses on this one too."
"Far from it. Only seventeen."
That was mildly surprising. "Why only seventeen?"
He shrugged. "If we changed this to a ‘would you ever?’ list, there’d be more, but my lifestyle 
hasn’t really allowed me time for anything more than fairly basic one-nighters... until now..."
"You’d actually consider bringing this into the deal?" Scully asked, incredulous.
"Some of it."
"Like...?"
"Like... whatever you want. Pick something. Expand your horizons."
"Right. Pick something." She studied the list. "Does this mean I can tie you up?"
He laughed. "You wouldn’t know what to do with me. No, pick something you want done to 
you. I’m sure there’s something there that appeals."
"Sure. You really are crazy." She glanced over the sheets again and shuddered. "Genital piercing? 
Really, Alex..."
"Hey, I wouldn’t ask you to do something I wouldn’t do," he assured her.
"And you wouldn’t do that?"
"Let’s just say I’d rather avoid the watering can effect."
"What else here would you avoid?"
"To be honest, a lot of it," Krycek admitted. "But there are a few things that could be a real turn-
on." He looked up and caught her gaze. "Something in there turns you on, too, doesn’t it?"
She never would’ve admitted it if he hadn’t said it, but it was true. Some of the items on the list 
sparked very clear, highly arousing mental images... But could she really do something from a list 
that included whipping, water sports, and fisting?
"Oh, yeah, there’s something there you want to try." His voice was low, seductive. "What is it? 
We’ll try it sometime."
Scully shut down the mental images and put down the paper. "No, Alex, I can’t --"
"Of course you can. You want to. Go ahead, pick something. I already have..."
"What?"
"Mine can keep for a while, until the right circumstances come along. C’mon, which one do you 
like?"
No matter how hard she tried not to think about it, her eyes kept drifting to one question, and her 
mind kept presenting her with a lovely scenario about how it might play out...
"C’mon, plamennaya malyishka," he coaxed. "Tell me all about it..."
That snapped her to attention. "What did you just call me?"
He chuckled. "You’re a smart lady. Get a Russian dictionary and look it up."
Scully folded her arms across her chest. "Tell me. Now."
Her anger seemed to amuse him. "It’s nothing, really," he said. "Just a little pet name I have for 
you. Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. It’s kind of... cute."
"Then why won’t you tell me?"
"Because I want to see how long it takes you to figure it out. Now c’mon, pick something. If you 
could write the script for one of our deal encounters, what would you want?"
It didn’t even matter how much he antagonized her. She couldn’t deny her arousal; it was only a 
matter of time before she propositioned him anyway. Here was an easy way to do it. Besides, the 
one she picked seemed pretty safe. Telling him wouldn’t hurt, would it? "Um... Number 13?"
Krycek turned back to the computer and scrolled up to question 13. "Blindfolding?" he asked 
with a little surprise. "Good choice. Makes for a highly enjoyable sensory experience. We’ll have 
to try it --"
"Tonight," Scully interrupted. "Bedroom. Right now."
****************************
"Dana?"
A deep sigh came from the other side of the bed. "What?"
It was really too bad she always retreated to her little corner of the bed after they had sex. He 
supposed that it was just her way of dealing with this thing she hated herself for doing, and he 
couldn’t begrudge her that, but it would’ve been more fun if the bed were smaller. He idly 
wondered how far she’d go to avoid touching him while she slept.
Krycek let those thoughts drift away and concentrated on the question at hand. A great physical 
fuck deserved a followup mindfuck, didn’t it? It was always a challenge, making sure the 
mindfuck was as good as the physical one. Sometimes, he mused, the mental ones were even 
more satisfying.
The physical one had been particularly satisfying this time. Lately he’d been keeping his vow to 
try taking things a little more gently, and she had responded, especially this time. Boy, had she 
responded. The rest of her senses had obviously heightened once sight was taken from her -- he 
was pretty sure she came just from the attention he lavished on her nipples with a silk scarf. The 
short notice had limited his creativity a bit, but she hadn’t complained. How could she? The art 
of doing nothing but feeling was new to her, and Krycek was even a bit surprised at how much 
of a kick he got out of showing that world to her.
That realization worried him a bit, though. When he originally conceived of the deal, he’d 
thought that most of his pleasure would come from watching Scully surrender to her baser 
instincts. He wasn’t supposed to get any enjoyment simply from making her feel good, was he? 
What kind of mindfuck was that?
I must be better than I thought, he mused. I can even mindfuck myself.
The feeling was easily explained away as an ego thing, but it was still disturbing if he thought 
about it too much. Better to concentrate on the head games he knew he could control.
He had no reason for asking, really. He already knew the answer, knew that it was unlikely he’d 
learn anything new by pursuing this line of inquiry. When he got right down to it, he had to 
admit that the question was kind of cruel. Not that it mattered, though. If giving her pleasure 
made him uncomfortable, maybe making her feel uncomfortable would balance things out. 
Besides, what he was about to ask would be a valid question if it came from any other guy. Any 
other guy who didn’t know Dana Scully better than she knew herself. "Why aren’t you using any 
birth control?"
She stiffened briefly. "Excuse me?"
"You made such a fuss about my not using condoms, I figured you’d use something else. Why 
aren’t you?"
"How do you know I’m not?"
"No pills around. No evidence of any other method, and you’re not the IUD type. Why aren’t 
you using anything?"
"Why won’t you use condoms?"
The question surprised him a little, but pleased him, too. Turning the question back on him was a 
move he would’ve used himself; had used with her often. She was learning. "I told you, I don’t 
like them."
"Why don’t you like them?"
"Diminished sensation," he said, reciting what just about every other man on the planet would 
say. "Kills spontaneity." He paused, then added the more personal reason, very softly. "There’s 
no truth in advertising..."
She turned slightly, not quite looking at him but at the ceiling. "No truth in advertising?"
Damn, too loud. "Um... yeah."
Intrigued now, Scully turned a little more. "Meaning?"
Now that he actually had to say it, it sounded really stupid. True, but stupid. "Well... it seems 
that ‘large’ is a relative term..."
Krycek waited for her to laugh, but she looked to be processing his words instead. "You think 
they’re too small for you," she finally said.
It sounded even dumber when she said it.
"Don’t flatter yourself," she said, turning on her side again. "You’re not that big, pal."
"Like you’re qualified to make that comparison?" he shot back, immediately regretting the words. 
Petty and stupid, he chided himself. How could such a silly issue make him so uncomfortable? 
One of the more unwelcome consequences of telling the truth.
Scully sighed deeply and pulled the blanket further toward her side of the bed. "Who’s 
comparing? They do stretch, you know."
This was rapidly heading toward the "too much information" stage. Time to bury this and turn 
the conversation back in its original direction. "Stretch and break, Dana," he said. "Care to take a 
guess at the percentage of broken condoms in my past?"
"That’s what you get for using those cheap Russian ones. Here they make extra-large ones, extra-
strength ones... they probably even make extra-large extra-strength ones. You’re just being selfish 
and using that as an excuse because you don’t like them."
"Which is exactly what I told you before. Even if you don’t think the last reason is valid, the first 
two are, especially for somebody like me."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
Krycek started to answer, then thought better of it. "Never mind," he muttered. "You wouldn’t 
get it anyway."
"Whatever," she sighed sleepily.
"So why aren’t you using anything?"
Scully was silent for so long that he thought she fell asleep. But then her answer came, so soft he 
almost missed it. "It doesn’t matter."
"What?"
"It’s not an issue," she said, a little louder.
"Why not?"
Again she paused, weighing her words carefully. "I can’t get pregnant," she finally said. 
"Whatever your smoking friend and his group did to me left me unable to conceive."
There was a faint tremor to her voice, and for a second Krycek wondered if she were crying. He 
glanced over at her, noting that she still lay on her side, facing away from him, motionless. "What 
would you do if it happened?" he asked.
"What?"
"What if you could conceive and got pregnant? What then?"
She sighed. "It’s not going to happen, Alex. It can’t."
He knew he was pushing it now, but for some reason he couldn’t stop. Just how much did she 
really hate him? "Hypothetically speaking, of course. What would you do?"
Another long silence followed. "I’d give it up for adoption," she said at length.
Of course. Scully was too Catholic to even consider abortion, no matter how much she hated 
him. However... "You’d deprive me of my own child?"
"You’re not fit to raise a child!"
Her angry words stung, even though he knew she was right. He’d never even entertained the 
idea of reproducing; no way in hell was he equipped to raise a child, even if he wanted to. "But 
you are," he said. "Why wouldn’t you? Because you’re not ready to have a child? Or because it’s 
mine?"
Again she was silent for a moment. "I’m going to die, Alex," she said softly. "Why on earth 
would I want to bring a child into a world where it’ll be alone? If I even survive the pregnancy."
"You don’t have to die."
"Can you guarantee that I won’t?"
Krycek turned toward her, surprised. "Are you asking?"
His mind raced while she hesitated. Part of him desperately wanted her to say yes. That would 
mean that she finally believed him, maybe trusted him a little. Besides, the deal depended on her 
staying alive and healthy.
On the other hand, he wasn’t ready. If she said yes, he couldn’t deliver on his promise yet. He 
still hadn’t been able to track down the person who could arrange for the cure, and he wasn’t 
even sure that person would agree to make a deal with him, especially the deal he would be 
asking for. If Scully asked and he told her he couldn’t deliver yet, she’d never trust him again, 
and then she certainly would die.
She sighed again. "Doesn’t matter. There’s nothing to ask for anyway."
"What if there was?" he asked, pushing to the side the extremely mixed feelings her statement 
kicked up. "What if you weren’t going to die and you got pregnant? Would you still give it up?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Again she took her time answering. When she finally did, there was a definite tremor in her 
voice. "I can handle this deal for now," she said, "but when it’s over, I don’t want to have 
anything around reminding me of it. Nothing, not one little thing. No matter how I feel about it, 
it would always bring all this back, and I don’t think I can handle that. Besides, it’s not fair to 
bring a child into a relationship like this, if you could even call it that. Children should have 
parents who love them and each other."
Three things suddenly became crystal clear to Krycek. First, Dana Scully desperately wanted a 
child. Second, she hated him even more than she wanted a child. Third, somewhere deep down 
inside, a tiny little part of him felt extraordinarily guilty about doing this to her. "In short, you’d 
give it up because it’s mine," he said.
Scully didn’t answer, but curled up a little tighter.
"I’m sorry," he offered, a bit surprised to find that he meant it.
"I just bet you are."
"No, Dana, I really am sorry..."
"Go to hell, Alex!"
So much for the mindfuck. Trying to banish that tiny stab of guilt once and for all, he turned on 
his side and punched the pillow, resigned to what would probably be a sleepless night.
****************************
It wasn’t enough that Krycek spent the next morning trying desperately not to think about just 
how effective his mindfuck had been. It wasn’t enough that he knew he overcompensated for 
feeling uncomfortable about what was going on. No, Scully had to lay on the guilt trip, too. 
What other reason could there be for the suitcase in the living room?
He returned to the apartment after a morning excursion to find the suitcase sitting by the door, 
and Scully nowhere in sight. That could mean one of two things. Either she was throwing him 
out, or she was leaving. But wouldn’t she dump all his stuff back into his own duffel bag if she 
were throwing him out? And if she were the one leaving...
"Thought I heard you out here," Scully said from the hallway. "I was wondering where you 
were."
Krycek looked up, momentarily startled. "Out," he said flatly.
"Well, at least you’re back now. I won’t have to leave a note."
Leave a note? "Going somewhere, Dana?"
"As a matter of fact, I am." She moved further into the living room and picked up her purse. 
"Those little snippets of information you’ve been giving out are starting to make some sense to 
Mulder. We’re going to check some of it out."
A business trip. Perfectly normal and to be expected. Krycek heaved a silent sigh of relief. "Do 
you really have to go with him?"
Scully sighed heavily. "This isn’t just his work, you know, Alex. It’s my work too. It’s my quest 
too. It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t go, and --"
"And...?"
Eyes downcast, she bit her lip and said quietly, "And I think I need to go. I need to get away for 
a few days."
"Get away..." he repeated slowly. "From me?"
She said nothing.
Dammit, I knew I was going to push her too far... "Is my presence here really that oppressive?"
"You’re always here!" she burst out. "My home isn’t my own anymore. Every time I turn around, 
here you are. Always, always, always here."
"Where else am I supposed to go?" he asked quietly.
"Anywhere! Just... somewhere else!"
"I thought we discussed this when the deal started."
"The deal --" She stopped and took a deep breath. "Look, I just need some time to myself. You 
have all day to yourself. I have to spend every day with Mulder, and every night and weekend 
with you. I never have any private time anymore, and I need that."
"So of course you go away with Mulder."
"I don’t sleep with him!" Scully snapped.
Krycek could see his whole carefully constructed deal blowing up in his face. She’d go away, 
spend a few days under Mulder’s influence, tell him about the deal... "What makes you think 
you’ll get any private time with him?" he asked. "When you go away on cases, how much time 
does he let you spend alone? How long does he let you sleep? Does he listen if you tell him to go 
work in his own room?"
"If I ask him to give me space," Scully said quietly, "he does." She came a step closer and looked 
up at him. "Alex, I just need a break. Just for a few days. I need... to think, to get my head 
together. That’s all. You can understand that, can’t you?"
Think. Get your head together. Realize what you’re doing and end the deal... "You won’t... The 
deal..." He let his voice trail off, unable to find the words to ask what he really wanted to know.
"The deal will benefit from me having some time alone," she said. "Once I have a chance to think 
about it, and see what comes of the information you passed along, I’ll be better able to look at 
the deal objectively and decide what I want."
Like bagging the whole thing? Krycek’s eyes met Scully’s. "And what do you want?"
"Right now, some time to myself. After that... I don’t know yet."
It sounded like she was still committed to the deal, but there was no telling what a few days with 
Mulder would do to her mind set. "How long?" he asked.
"I’m not sure. Mulder thinks three or four days."
Three or four days of nothing but Mulder, without him there to keep her focused. And there was 
no way to keep her from going.
Well, maybe a little distance was a good thing. It would give her time to get over their discussion 
of the previous night. Time to realize that she missed the deal encounters. Time to realize how 
good the deal was for her, on so many levels...
And time to tell Mulder all about it. There was just no way around that.
Then again, she could’ve told Mulder about the deal at any time since it started. She hadn’t. Why 
would she tell him now? Unless Mulder came to the wrong conclusions about the information 
he’d gotten, and they decided that it was worthless. Not a likely occurrence, but possible. More 
than possible. In fact, unless Scully was 100% committed to the deal, pretty damned likely. And 
he had no way of knowing just how committed she was.
Krycek bit his lip and swore mentally. He really had no choice but to trust her. "Maybe you’re 
right," he sighed. "Maybe a vacation from each other wouldn’t be a bad idea." He moved away 
from the door, allowing Scully access to her suitcase. "Have a nice trip."
She slowly moved forward and picked it up. "Thank you, Alex," she said quietly. "I really do 
need this." She opened the door. "See you in a couple of days, then."
"Yeah, see ya. Happy hunting."
He waited until he was sure she was in the elevator before he slammed his fist against the wall 
and started swearing in Russian.
****************************
Scully sighed and rolled over in bed for about the twentieth time in the last hour. It was the same 
that night as it had been the previous two nights of the trip -- little or no sleep.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t sleep. Mulder’s agenda was chock-full of activity, between the 
traveling, the official visits to various clinics, corporations, or whatever, and the unofficial, 
nocturnal ones. By the time he dismissed her each night, she was dead tired, and usually fell 
asleep almost immediately. The problem was the dreams.
The dreams... highly erotic dreams, some based on memory, some entirely original, but always 
involving Alex Krycek. Krycek and the things he’d done to her, the things her subconscious 
wished he’d do to her, the things he made her feel... She awoke from these dreams highly 
aroused, needing release, reaching across the bed toward the man who could give that to her...
But the other side of the bed was always empty.
Then she’d remember that she was on the road and Krycek was at home, and no release was 
forthcoming unless she took care of it herself. She thought about doing it, thought hard, and 
even caught her hand straying between her legs at one point, but then the memory of what had 
happened the last time she did that hit her and she had to stop. Krycek wasn’t with her to finish 
it like he had the last time, which was what she really wanted, so what was the point? She could 
wait until she got home.
Still, the dreams made her wonder. Was she really so obsessed that she couldn’t even go away on 
a case without the deal -- and Krycek -- invading her thoughts? Was she in so deep that she 
couldn’t even sleep anymore without dreaming about him? She never dreamed about him when 
she was home... but at home, he would be right next to her, ready and willing to help her out 
should she have an erotic dream. Did she only want him so much now because she couldn’t have 
him?
No, she had to admit to herself, she wanted him that much even sitting right next to him. But she 
rarely propositioned him until she was desperate. Why? Krycek obviously wanted her to take 
advantage of the deal more often. He never disappointed her. Why shouldn’t she indulge her 
desires whenever she wanted? She had the opportunity. She got information each time, too. 
There was really no reason not to indulge whenever the need struck, was there?
None at all, she told herself. Up until now, she’d been thinking of her arrangement with Krycek 
as his deal. Well, it was hers too. She was an equal partner. She was giving him what he wanted; 
it was time she got what she really wanted from him, on her own terms.
Things would change when she got home. Things would definitely change.
Scully rolled over again, and fell into a deep, restful sleep.
****************************
Krycek bolted awake, gasping for breath, his heart pounding so hard in his chest he thought it 
would explode. His eyes darted around wildly, recognizing nothing at first. He sat there in bed, 
panting and clutching his chest, until the terror of the dream began to fade and the familiarity of 
the room started to register.
A dream, he told himself. Just a dream, only a dream, like all the others...
Except that it wasn’t quite like all the others.
Krycek was no stranger to nightmares, especially over the last few years. Rare was the night that 
he didn’t relive at least part of one of his recent traumas. In his dreams, he sometimes didn’t 
make it out of the car before it blew up. Nobody rescued him from the silo. The Russian peasants 
didn’t stop at cutting off just his arm.
This nightmare was probably about the forest, though he couldn’t tell for sure. The horrific 
images from the dreams usually haunted him for a while after waking, but this one was clouded. 
He couldn’t remember exactly what it was about, but assumed it had to be about the forest 
because the lingering image, the one he did remember, was of a long knife, red with fresh blood.
Most times the nightmares didn’t hit him with as much force as this one had. He usually woke 
fairly quietly, not even making enough noise to wake Scully, and lay awake for an hour or so 
until he was able to fall asleep again. It had been a while since he’d awakened screaming from 
one of the things; probably not since he was in the hospital in Russia. This nightmare was one of 
the bad ones, like he had then.
Except that it wasn’t quite the same as the dreams from those weeks in the hospital. Those were 
clear, this one was not. And this one felt... older, somehow; the terror even more visceral than 
that in the forest dreams.
As his heartbeat eased and his breathing gradually slowed back to normal, Krycek turned the 
dream over in his mind. He couldn’t remember anything but the bloody knife. A really big 
bloody knife... just like the one the peasants had used to saw through his shoulder joint. This 
nightmare had to be about the forest; couldn’t be anything else. He was only three months 
removed from that trauma; it was the dominant one in his dreams over that time. His shoulder 
throbbed now as it usually did after a forest nightmare. The only other experiences he’d had with 
knives were minor things, not even worth nightmares at the time they happened. So it just had to 
be about the forest. But why was it so fuzzy?
Knock it off, he told himself. ’Bout damn time those forest dreams got fuzzy.
The forest dreams didn’t usually cause headaches, but he had awakened with a nasty one. With a 
groan he stumbled out of bed and to the bathroom, where he washed down three aspirin and 
splashed cold water on his face. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and stood up 
straight to look more closely.
He looked, he decided, like hell. Looked like a man with a painful shoulder and a pounding 
headache. Looked like a man who hadn’t slept in days.
And he hadn’t. His nights had been restless since right before Scully left. Because she wasn’t 
there? Or because he was alone with his thoughts?
His thoughts, he had to admit, weren’t pleasant companions. During the day he could keep busy, 
distracting himself from them well enough, but at night, without Scully around to play with, 
tease, have sex with, or even just talk to, he couldn’t escape. In the wee hours, all the glaring 
mistakes he’d already made with the deal stared him right in the face... and those were the easy 
thoughts to handle.
The mistakes were one thing. The consequences thereof were something else. By this time he’d 
pretty much resigned himself to being thrown out, arrested, or maybe killed when Scully came 
back from her trip. He’d pushed her too far that last night; she’d definitely tell Mulder now. Why 
would she come back just to continue sleeping with somebody who picked open old wounds 
every time they talked? By now Mulder would have the full story. If Scully were successful in 
restraining her partner, Krycek would only be arrested. If not...
Even if Krycek managed to stay alive, Mulder would probably be dead, or close to it, and that 
would definitely push Scully away forever. That didn’t bear thinking about, but late at night, he 
couldn’t keep the thoughts at bay.
And when he did manage to escape into sleep, the traumas his conscious mind could bury 
surfaced to menace him.
Krycek sighed heavily and made his way back to bed. There was no way in hell he could get 
back to sleep now, but according to the clock, it was only 3:47 a.m. Too late to go out, too early 
to get up. He didn’t have much choice but to lie there staring at the ceiling for another couple of 
hours. Stare at the ceiling and try not to think about anything at all.
It must have worked. The next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes to a room that was 
flooded with sunlight, and the clock read 9:33 a.m. He had slept, but didn’t feel rested. His 
shoulder felt better, but he still had a headache; not as bad as it had been, but still there. And his 
mind still insisted on presenting topics he didn’t want to deal with.
The only way to shut his mind down, he figured, was through work. Not his own; that required 
mental input, and was on hold pending research anyway. Physical work would give him 
something to concentrate on, with the added benefit of exhausting him so maybe he could get to 
sleep later without the damn nightmares. So he threw himself into a thorough cleaning of the 
apartment: scrubbing tiles and floors, dusting and vacuuming, washing windows and curtains, 
polishing every wood surface he could find.
The work was calming, bring back pleasant memories he hadn’t thought of in years; memories of 
giving his grandmother a hand with the very same tasks, a lifetime ago. That brought a smile to 
his face. Wouldn’t it blow Scully’s mind, hearing those stories? And if he told her his 
grandmother’s pet names for him...
But she’d never hear the stories. It didn’t even matter that she wouldn’t want to hear them, or 
that Krycek wasn’t about to tell her. No, as soon as she came home, he’d be out the door, one 
way or another.
The work took most of the day, and achieved its purpose. By the time he was finished, he could 
just about manage a shower and some microwaved leftovers before collapsing on the sofa to 
watch a hockey game. It wasn’t long before he dozed off.
He never heard the key rattling in the lock.
****************************
Scully stood outside her apartment door, keys in hand but curiously unable to use them. After the 
way she’d left a few days ago, she was a little afraid to face Krycek. She knew what she wanted 
now, but the sex was the easy part. Could she really push aside all the other ways he made her 
uncomfortable -- ways brought into sharp focus the night before she left -- just for the sex?
The low-level arousal that had been simmering through most of the trip kicked up a notch. Yeah, 
the sex was worth it. Besides, if she put in a little effort, she could probably give as good as she 
got with the mind games.
Not only that; right now she just needed to get laid. Mulder had noticed her distraction during 
the trip, especially toward the end, but had refrained from saying anything until the flight home. 
Even then, he was surprisingly discreet, asking only, "First separation?" She was a little 
embarrassed that she’d been so obvious, but Mulder seemed okay with it. He didn’t bother her 
further, just left her with the thoughts of acting out one or more of the many erotic dreams she’d 
had.
With all her thoughts of sex, it really didn’t occur to her until she was outside her apartment that 
there might -- should -- be lingering discomfort over the discussion she and Krycek had had the 
night before she left. The idea that he’d use her infertility against her did still bother her, but she 
could deal with it. Better not to let him see how much he got to her, anyway. After a few days, 
she was able to put the discussion in perspective. The question was, how would Krycek handle 
it?
Having already drawn blood on that issue, he’d probably ignore it. Never mention it again. That 
suited Scully just fine. Besides, she could easily distract him from it if the need should arise...
So she unlocked the door, just about at the point where she might just jump him and rip his 
clothes off... but she found him asleep on the sofa, the television providing background noise. 
She closed the door, dropped her suitcase, kicked off her shoes, and hung up her coat, and he 
didn’t move. She removed her suit jacket too, and came around to the front of the sofa.
She’d never really watched him sleep before, and was struck by the innocence she saw in his 
face. No crafty looks now. No deceit in his eyes. Like this, he could be just anybody. A very 
sexy just anybody.
Maybe jumping him wasn’t a bad idea after all...
Almost as if he had heard her, Krycek stirred. His eyes opened slowly and he blinked a few 
times when he saw Scully standing in front of him. "Hi," she offered.
"Hi." He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. "Didn’t expect you back till tomorrow."
"Well, here I am." She glanced at the television. "Who’s ahead?"
Krycek studied the screen for a moment. "Rangers over Caps, three to one. Figures." He swung 
his legs down to the floor and shut the TV off. "So, was the hunt successful?"
"Pretty much. We couldn’t put much together, but we saw enough to convince Mulder that my 
informant’s on the level."
"And that’s what we want, right?"
"Right. He stopped saying the information’s useless; now he just wants to know when I’ll have 
more."
"Well, that’s up to you..."
"Oh, I know." Krycek was staring at her now, that intense look driving her arousal up yet again. 
"In fact, I’ve come to a decision about that."
"Oh?"
"Yes." Scully took a deep breath. "I think maybe the fact-finding missions might become a little 
more frequent..."
"Fact-finding missions?" He grinned at her. "Sounds like a plan to me..."
Krycek’s voice trailed off as he continued to stare at her. Not at her face, but at her shoulder. "Is 
that what I think it is?" he asked.
She let her gaze follow his, finally resting on the open collar of her blouse, through which her bra 
strap was visible. She’d almost forgotten that she took his gift with her, and that she was wearing 
it now. A plan suddenly started to form in her mind. Desperate as she was, she could wait a little 
longer for sex. Not much longer, but a little. Besides, turning the tables and teasing him for once 
might be even more fun. "Depends on what you think it is," she said lightly.
"C’mon, Dana, that bra strap looks awfully familiar. I think I remember seeing it for the first time 
in Nieman Marcus..."
"Yes..."
"You swore you’d never wear it for me."
"Who says I’m wearing it for you? It was just about the only clean lingerie in the room when I 
was packing, so I took it with me. No big deal." She moved a little closer to him. "By the way, 
it’s very comfortable."
"See, I knew you’d like it." He sat up a little straighter. "Okay, great, that’s the strap there. Is the 
rest under there too?"
Scully smiled. So he wanted to play too. "Yes, of course there’s more," she said, fingering the 
collar of her blouse.
"Do I get to see it?"
She hadn’t planned on letting him see her in his gift, but as long as he was playing along, what 
was the harm? "Sure, why not?" She undid two more buttons. "Here’s more..."
Krycek sat forward a little, a playful gleam in his green eyes. "Can I touch it?"
"Touch it? Or touch what’s underneath?"
"You want me to touch what’s underneath?"
That was one thing she had to say for Krycek -- he stuck to the deal. He’d play with her, but only 
on her initiation. It might be fun to see how long she could make him wait... She untucked her 
blouse from her skirt, unbuttoned it all the way, and let it fall. "What do you think?"
He leaned forward a little more, the playful look in his eyes now turning predatory. He lifted a 
hand to reach for her, but dropped it a second later. "I think I need to see the other piece too."
On an objective level, she had to applaud his restraint. This little game was having the 
unexpected effect of arousing her as much as it was apparently arousing him, and right about 
now she wanted him to touch her; wanted the feel of his hands or his mouth, rather than the silk, 
on her breasts. She wasn’t sure she’d have the same restraint if their situations were reversed. 
"You want to touch what’s under the other piece, too?" she asked, suddenly a little sorry that she 
hadn’t just jumped him when she walked in.
"You know what I want to do to what’s under that... if you want me to..."
Yes! Yes! her mind screamed, but she managed to hold herself in check. "Guess I’d better show 
you, then." She peeled off her pantyhose, dropped her skirt around her ankles and kicked it 
away, then struck a pose. "Like what you see?"
By the look in his eyes, she knew he did. "Oh, yeah," he sighed. "Can I touch it now?"
She moved a few steps closer. "Sure." He reached out, but she slapped his hand away and 
straddled him on the sofa. "But not with your hands." She entwined her fingers in his dark hair, 
pulled him closer to her and kissed him hungrily, all the while grinding herself against him. She’d 
never dry-humped anyone in her life, but it felt so good after those long days and nights of no 
contact at all. She felt him growing harder underneath her, and wondered if he could feel 
through their clothing how wet she was. It briefly occurred to her that the moisture her body was 
producing probably wasn’t the best thing in the world for the silk, but the contact felt much too 
good to break for even a second.
Taking her actions as the invitation they were meant to be, Krycek slid his arms around her and 
reached for her bra hook. Not quite finished with her game, Scully drew back from him and 
caught his hands in hers. "You can touch what’s underneath," she purred, "but not with your 
hands and not until I say you can." She reached around, unhooked the bra herself, and let it fall 
from her shoulders. Momentarily breaking contact with his groin, she shed her panties too, then 
straddled him again. She nibbled at his ear, then whispered, "Touch me if you want."
The good thing about a man who gave a lot of directions was that he also knew how to follow 
them. Dipping his mouth to her breast, he laved the nipple as she slowly rubbed herself against 
him again, relishing the feel of denim against her clit. "Oh, yes," she murmured. "Feels so good..."
He turned his attention to her other breast as his arms snaked around her and caressed the small 
of her back. She threw her head back and reveled in the sensations coursing through her, feeling 
deliciously decadent as she rubbed her naked self against her clothed partner’s body. He pulled 
her closer and kissed her again, his hands roaming down her back and over her ass.
Wonderful as the contact felt, it wasn’t enough. She wanted and needed him inside her, and 
she’d thought that the deal had progressed far enough by now that he’d know enough to take the 
hint. She ran her tongue around his ear and purred, "Is this all you want?"
"You know what I want. Is this all you want?" he countered.
She gasped as he gently bit her nipple. "No... God, no... need more..."
He nipped at the other nipple. "More what?"
"More... more... oh, God, Alex, are you gonna fuck me or what?"
His tongue traced a trail from the hollow between her breasts up to her lips. "If you insist," he 
said lightly, reaching for his zipper.
Before his hands could get down far enough to really distract her, she stopped him. "Allow me." 
Trying not to betray her eagerness too much, she pulled gently at his zipper, but her fingers 
couldn’t seem to get a firm hold on it and she ended up yanking it down. She could’ve just 
opened his fly a little and opened up his boxers, but flesh to cloth contact wasn’t good enough 
anymore; she needed to feel his skin against hers. She slipped her arms around behind him and 
nudged, and he took the hint and lifted a little, allowing her to slide jeans and boxers part way 
down his legs; far enough that she wouldn’t be sitting on cloth at all. She straddled him again 
and pressed close against him, trapping his erection between their bodies. Figuring that he’d 
probably take over, she kissed him greedily and whispered, "Any time now..."
"Any time, what?" he asked, kissing her shoulder, her neck, her ear.
What the hell did he think? "You can start any time now..."
He laughed lightly. "This seems to be your show. Why don’t you fuck me for a change?"
Take charge? "I don’t... I can’t..."
"You can," he breathed into her ear. "Don’t think, just do it."
She was just desperate enough to do it. She closed her eyes and emptied her mind of everything 
but what she was feeling, letting her body take over. It didn’t matter that she’d never really 
taken charge before, didn’t matter that she’d never done it like this except in a bed, with a prone, 
not sitting, partner; her body knew what to do. She raised herself up, positioned his rock-hard 
penis at her entrance, and slowly sank down on it. Despite how wet and ready she was, she 
found the entry slightly difficult, more so than at any other time they’d had sex; even a tiny bit 
painful. She felt tighter in this position, and knew he felt it too by his long, low groan as she 
impaled herself on him. She pushed down a little harder and finally sank down all the way, 
taking him deeply inside her body with a soft moan.
Her favorite part of the sex under this deal (besides the orgasms, of course) was always the first 
thrust, the first moment he was fully inside her. That moment was especially delicious now. She 
sat motionless, just enjoying the glorious fullness of having him inside. She was definitely tighter 
this way; she barely had to squeeze at all to feel every topographical detail of his penis, and it felt 
utterly fabulous. She squeezed harder, drawing a sharp gasp from Krycek.
"D...do something," he hissed. "Move..."
She hooked her arms around his neck and raised up a little. "Ohhh, yeah, like that..." he breathed. 
"Good, so good..."
She groaned as she lowered herself again, and stopped. Wonderful as the friction was, she 
needed to feel him fully inside for as long as she could, and that wasn’t going to happen if she 
continued the way she’d started.
It took a moment before she realized that her body was moving again, rocking gently, keeping 
him inside yet still providing some friction. She shifted position slightly, and was rewarded by 
contact between her clit and the base of his shaft. This wasn’t quite what she wanted, but it 
would do; it would more than do for now. She pulled him closer, licked around the rim of his 
ear, and whispered, "Didja miss me?"
He gave a quick upward thrust that sent a shiver of pleasure through her. "Miss me?" he 
countered.
"Missed this..." She squeezed hard with her internal muscles, drawing a cry from him that she 
silenced with her tongue in his mouth.
"Never... woulda guessed," he panted.
His hands settled on her hips now, rocking her faster, directing her movement, taking back some 
of the control he’d given to her. She could feel him growing larger inside her, throbbing, and she 
wanted to scream at him. Not yet, not yet, you can’t come yet, it’s not enough yet, I need more! 
she mentally railed, but she knew it wouldn’t be long for her, either. Pressure was steadily 
building up inside her, and it wouldn’t take much now to make her explode...
She pulled herself even closer to him, intensifying the friction against her clit, when without 
warning her orgasm hit; waves of pleasure rippling through her lower body. The rhythmic spasms 
of her climax sent him over the edge too, and with a groan he released his warm flood deep 
inside her.
They remained like that for a while, motionless except for Scully squeezing his softening organ in 
an effort to keep it hard, until Krycek gently nudged at her. Realizing what he meant, she got up 
very reluctantly and started gathering her clothing. It wasn’t enough. She could still walk, a 
definite sign that it wasn’t enough. Her orgasm hadn’t been as satisfying as it could’ve been. She 
wanted one... or more... of those mind-blowing, total-body, screaming orgasms she tended to 
have when he was the one in control. He had just told her she was done for now, but she wasn’t 
finished yet. Not after four days. Not by a long shot.
"Now, aren’t you glad you didn’t return that gift?"
Krycek’s voice sounded sleepy, and she turned to find that he’d already zipped up and was 
stretched out again, the way he’d been when she walked in. She’d let him relax if that was what 
he really wanted, but as soon as he was recharged and she was ready again...
She brushed past the sofa on her way into the bedroom. "If I’d known that was going to happen, 
I would’ve worn it sooner," she said, loud enough for him to hear. She dumped the now 
hopelessly wrinkled clothing onto the chair, slipped into her robe, and went back out, suddenly 
realizing how hungry she was. "I’m going to grab something to eat," she called from the kitchen. 
"You hungry?"
No reply.
"Alex?" she called again. "Want anything to eat?"
When she still got no answer, Scully went back out to the living room, where she found Krycek 
dead asleep on the sofa. "Figures," she sighed. "The one time I want him to be awake after sex..."
So she ate, cleaned up, and then sat down with a book, waiting for him to wake up. But the 
words on the page didn’t seem to make sense, and after realizing that she’d been staring at the 
same page for more than a half hour, she gave up and closed the book. She tried to watch 
television, hoping to either distract herself or wake him up, but that didn’t work either. Instead 
of concentrating on the program, she found herself sending mental wake up wake up wake up 
vibes in Krycek’s direction. He didn’t, and it finally occurred to her that if she wanted to be able 
to sleep later, she was going to have to wake him up now.
Scully leaned forward in her chair, studying him, and was suddenly overcome with desire so 
strong it was almost painful. It took all the self-control she possessed not to jump on him and rip 
his clothes off. If he’d been awake, she would have. As it was, she could only stare, sitting on 
her hands to make sure they wouldn’t stray between her legs. She hadn’t relieved that tension 
herself while she’d been away; she certainly wouldn’t do it with her own personal sex slave lying 
right there in front of her.
"Oh, God, how did this happen?" she sighed. "Why you, Alex Krycek? Why do I want you so 
badly? With all the awful things you’ve done, with all the other men out there in the world, why 
are you the one I can’t keep my hands off?"
Deep down, she already knew the answer to that. To her knowledge, he hadn’t done anything 
awful in the weeks he’d been with her. All he’d done was rock her world. Rock it? He changed 
her world, changed her. He was the one man in her world who forced her to face her sexuality; 
brought out a side of her she never knew she had. A side she didn’t especially like, but one that 
craved attention after lying dormant for so long. Yes, she still knew intellectually that he was a 
liar, traitor, and murderer, but her personal experience with him earned him a different title; one 
she didn’t want to bestow on him, but one he richly deserved.
Lover.
She immediately shook that thought out of her head. Not lover, he could never truly be her lover. 
Not with his history, not with the kind of relationship they had. She wouldn’t allow it. What, 
then? What did you call someone you wouldn’t give the time of day to on the street, but 
couldn’t get enough of in bed?
"Business partner," Scully said firmly, slowly moving toward the sofa. "It’s a business deal, his 
deal, and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t take full advantage of it." With that she knelt next to 
the sofa and started nibbling gently on his ear.
It took a few moments for her action to register. Krycek came awake with a start, and it took him 
a moment to orient himself and realize what was going on. By that time she was no longer licking 
his ear. She had his zipper open and was already coaxing his penis back to life. "Dana, what are 
you doing?"
"It’s only been four days. Did you forget already?" she cooed.
"No, but -- ahhhh... God, you oughta do this more often..."
"This? Or... this?"
He gasped harshly. "That... all of it... Something... something happened to you while you were 
away..."
"Something happened to you too. You don’t usually fall asleep on the job like this." She took her 
hand off him. "Aren’t you glad to see me?"
Now he turned his full attention to her. "What, did I forget to say ‘welcome home’ while you 
were doing that python squeeze on my cock?"
"You could’ve shown a little enthusiasm," she pouted. "And with that control thing of yours --"
"I do not have a ‘control thing’," he interrupted.
"Of course you do. Look, all I’m saying is, I don’t feel I got my effort’s worth for deal 
purposes."
Now he laughed at her. "You came, didn’t you?"
"Only once..."
Krycek sighed. "I had a rough day, okay?"
She stroked him lightly again. "Are you telling me no? I don’t think you’re allowed to do that..."
"My deal," he murmured, relaxing into her gentle massage. "My rules..."
"Well, here’s my rule," Scully said. "You led me to believe you’d never say no, so if you do, this 
deal’s over. Got it?"
He slowly focused on her again. "You have changed. What the hell did Mulder do to you?"
"It has nothing to do with Mulder. It’s all about you, Comrade Krycek. I thought you’d be glad 
that I’m finally taking your deal to heart."
A slow smile spread across his face. "I guess it is all about me, isn’t it? You must’ve missed me 
an awful lot these last four days..."
Abruptly she stopped fondling him and stood up. "Like you said, it’s your deal. Seems to me you 
ought to be the one doing the work. If you’d like to let me know how glad you are that I’m 
home, I’ll be in the bedroom." She strode down the hall, not at all certain that Krycek would 
follow her.
He made her wait just long enough to think that he wasn’t coming, long enough for her to start 
wondering how firmly she stood behind her rule. The sex this time was exactly the way she 
wanted it -- fast and hard. Her two orgasms were just as explosive as they usually were, and from 
what she could tell, his was equally so.
When it was over, and they could breathe again, he spoke. "Comrade, Dana?"
She laughed softly. "It was the only thing that came to mind on the spur of the moment. Bothers 
you?"
He sighed heavily. "Well, nobody in my family was ever a card-carrying communist, but if that’s 
what you want to call me, I don’t suppose I can stop you."
Had she irritated a nerve there? "Tell you what. I’ll come up with a better pet name for you when 
you tell me what yours for me means."
"Uh-huh." He turned over on his side. "G’night, plamennaya malyishka."
*************************
Krycek was just starting to drift off to sleep when he heard Scully’s voice again. "Alex?"
Not again, he mentally groaned. The one night I want to sleep, can’t you just leave me alone? 
"Mmm?"
"The video that you made..."
That was enough to wake him up again. He’d been wondering when she was going to say 
something about it. Why now? "Yeah, what about it?" he asked with some trepidation.
"How’d you do it? I never saw a camera anywhere."
That was definitely not the first question he expected to hear. He hadn’t really expected 
questions at all, just a tirade. What was she getting at? "It’s on the top shelf of your closet, so 
you probably couldn’t see it. The lens is on top of the molding around the door. It’s also all 
really, really small -- you’d be surprised what they’re doing with electronics these days. 
Surveillance-type camera... picture was surprisingly good, wasn’t it?"
"Very good picture," Scully agreed amiably. "How’d you control it? The tape started when we 
hit the bedroom. Is it motion-sensitive or something?"
Krycek shook his head and held up the small remote control that he kept behind the lamp on the 
bedside table. "Remote. I’m surprised you never noticed this, or saw me pick it up that first 
night."
"I had... other things to concentrate on that night." She took the remote and inspected it. "Is that 
was this thing is for? I did see it, but I guess I never thought to ask about it. Very clever."
He put the remote back in its place. "It serves its purpose."
"And what is that purpose? Why’d you make the tape?"
There was the expected question. "You’re a smart lady, Dana," Krycek said. "You tell me why I 
made the tape."
She was silent for a moment. Then, softly, "You made it in case I told Mulder what happened. 
To prove that... what I said that night wasn’t true."
He smiled to himself. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner."
"Was that the only reason?"
"Use your head here, Dana. What’s the obvious purpose of a tape like that?"
"I thought you preferred live stimuli to the visual kind," she huffed indignantly.
"Oh, I do; no question about that," he assured her. "But sometimes... in a pinch... And at those 
times, I much prefer homemade videos to the professional ones. Memory is a powerful, powerful 
thing..."
He felt her shudder beside him. Yeah, she knew about memory, didn’t she? And what 
homemade videos could do to a person...
"You left it out on purpose, didn’t you?" Her voice was low, husky. "To... encourage me. You 
arranged for me to see it."
On purpose? Well... it had been a calculated risk... "Actually, that was an honest mistake," 
Krycek said smoothly. "I meant to put it back; I just forgot. Why would I leave it out on 
purpose? I figured you’d go through the roof if you saw it. I never in a million years expected to 
see --"
"What did you see?" she broke in, very quietly.
What did he see? Only a wet dream come to life.
He had opened the door the first time several minutes earlier than she thought he had. She’d 
been much too engrossed in what she was doing to hear him, and for that he was extremely 
grateful. The sounds; the cries, moans and sighs coming from the television and the sofa, had 
stopped him dead in his tracks. He had crept further into the room, far enough to get a good 
view of the sofa, and what he saw there was something he’d never, ever forget. The very sight of 
Dana Scully half naked on her sofa, wantonly masturbating to a video of herself having sex with 
him was very nearly enough to send him over the edge, without even touching himself. It took 
every bit of strength he possessed not to touch himself or her, and to tear his eyes away from the 
sofa before something happened that he didn’t want. He had been pretty sure that leaving the 
tape out would push her into starting the deal, but never in his wildest dreams did he think she’d 
approach it that way. He knew he’d blow it if she saw him, so he exited the apartment, got 
himself somewhat under control, and came back in, making sure to announce himself the second 
time. "Not much," he told her. "You heard me come in. I didn’t see any more than you know I 
did."
"Mmm-hmm, right. Well, there is something I have to say about that video..."
He tensed, knowing that the expected tirade was imminent. How far would she go? Would she 
really throw him out over a stupid video? He drew in a deep breath, waiting.
"I liked it very, very much," he heard her say. "Let’s make more."
He choked on that deep breath, and spent the next three minutes coughing. When he could 
breathe again he asked, as calmly as he could manage, "Could you repeat that, please?"
"I said..." He could almost hear the smirk in her voice. "...that I liked it very much and I want to 
make more."
Yup, she had indeed said what he thought she said. She really was taking the deal to heart. 
Krycek smiled to himself, almost ready to grab the remote and turn on the camera, but the time 
wasn’t right. He’d have to confirm this with her some other time; make sure she really meant it. 
Besides, he wasn’t up for another round. "Not tonight, okay? I really do need to sleep."
Scully laughed softly. "No, not tonight. But I’m just wondering..."
When she didn’t elaborate, he prompted her. "Wondering...?"
"...if you taped when you used the blindfold. I’d like to see just what you did."
He couldn’t help but laugh. Who was this woman? Certainly not the Dana Scully who’d fought 
him tooth and nail on every aspect of the deal. "I’ll leave that one out for you tomorrow, okay?"
"Thank you. Are there any more?"
"Nope, that’s it. For now."
He heard a throaty chuckle. "That’s too bad. But we’ll fix that, won’t we? Just not tonight."
"Right, not tonight."
"Soon, soon. Good night, Alex."
"G’night." Krycek rolled over from his side onto his back, and almost immediately fell into a 
deep, mercifully dreamless sleep.
End Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Note - "plamennaya malyishka" translates literally to "little fiery one." Krycek’s English 
translation is slightly different. He’ll share it when he’s ready ;-)
Send Mare feedback: MareZX@aol.com