From: palmerdolph@yahoo.com   
      
   title: One thought part two   
   author: probe   
   email address: PalmerDolph@yahoo.com   
   category: post invasion, angst   
   rating:PG : language, a little grossness   
   spoilers: no   
   disclaimers : please don't sue me,   
   I'm a very loyal fan making absolutely no money from this   
   summary : what if Krycek had gotten to the alien fetus   
   before the faceless rebels   
   you really need to read part one to get the full gist   
   thank you : MaybeAmanda is the greatest beta reader in the history   
   of all beta readers and I am in continual awe of her superior brain.   
   also thank you to Franthewonderhorse   
    for being so amazingly supportive.   
   You are my favorite invisible friend.   
   And thank you to everyone who emailed me   
   about wanting a sequel; highly motivating!   
      
      
      
   ****************************************   
      
   Early November 2000   
   Eastern Colorado   
   Just outside Camp Four human territories   
   No Man's Land   
      
      
   Here's one of the reasons I always work alone: incompetent assholes.   
   Like this big guy, Vaughn, who was smoldering beside me.  There we   
   were, both face down in the dirt and waiting for the alien hover ship   
   to pull away.  You don't move, they don't see you.  Easy enough to   
   remember.   
   But the big moron had to look back and motion for Scully to stay   
   still.  He even whispered, "Don't be afraid, just stay still."  When   
   they zapped him, that idiot Vaughn probably thought he was dying a   
   hero.   
   Don't be afraid?!  It took all my willpower not to crack a smile. For   
   Dana Scully, 'don't be afraid' was a joke. In all the swarms of   
   killer bees, exploding cities and baby aliens feasting on human   
   flesh, I still had not once seen Dana Scully afraid.  It was part of   
   what kept me at her side, what drew me to her in the first place. I'd   
   been scrambling to stay alive for so long. I guess I wanted a little   
   of what she had.    Scully never scrambled.   
   The hover ship moved on.  Gotta love that blast of white light.  I   
   was rubbing spots out of my eyes after the ship took off. It was dark   
   and I couldn't see a fucking thing.  Please tell me we can go back to   
   the camp now.   
   "Get up." Scully was at my side and yanking   
   on my prosthetic. How many times   
   do I have to tell the bitch not to do that?   
   "It's what I said," came the bass whisper of Johansson.  "Women don't   
   belong out on these hunts."   
   Oh fucking great.   
   I was on my feet and forcing my pupils wide until I could see again.   
    Johansson was a barrel-chested   
   Ex cop and he looked at me like I was a punk kid he would have liked   
   to arrest back when he had a badge and a jail. "Vaughn should have   
   been minding his own business."   
    "Scully was an FBI agent before the invasion. She can handle   
   herself," I said, but that kind of logic was going   
   nowhere with old school Johansson.   
   "And when she can't, I take care of her."  There was the beat of a   
   second where I wondered if I'd judged correctly and the macho   
   posturing would work on these country cops.  I just hoped like hell   
   that Scully wasn't about to crack up laughing or behind me.   
   But it looked like I'd assessed the Camp Four honchos pretty well.   
   Johansson and the others nodded with comprehension.  Scully was my   
   woman as far as they knew and Vaughn had overstepped his bounds to   
   try and protect her.   
   I turned to face the laser eyed hatred from Scully.  It made her   
   angry to be confronted with any kind of dependence even when the two   
   of us were getting along, which we weren't at the moment. She   
   preferred to barely acknowledge that we were traveling together. Too   
   bad, Bitch; you wanted to come on this little alien base   
   raid.   
   Oh, I knew what she was thinking.  She was going to find   
   Mulder,and then she was going to drag his poetry quoting   
   Sappy ass back with us to the murder and starvation paradise that was   
   Camp Four.   
   The tension over the cause of Vaughn's death was pushed aside and we   
   all turned back to the distant blue glow of the alien base. I made   
   sure to wait for Scully and look more territorial.   
   So now it was Johansson, me, Scully and the three remaining camp   
   honchos on the raid.  Too big a group in the first place if you ask   
   me, but hey, my covert operations training on two continents   
   wouldn't impress the band of small town cops and survivalists who   
   make the decisions at Camp Four.   
   We trudged over the frozen mud and scrub grass. At least the wind   
   was at our backs.   
   Scully stumbled at my side, scowling as usual.  I tried to drop   
   behind her, save her from some of the wind.  "Listen," I told her,   
   careful that the others wouldn't hear.  "We should just hang back   
   this time.  Let these guys think they're showing us the ropes."   
   She pursed her lips at me like she had a lot to say and didn't trust   
   herself not to shout.  We let the others get ahead of us.   
   "Or maybe you should turn back, let me check things out," I repeated   
   for the hundredth time that day. "Let me get a feel for what Mulder   
   wants. "   
   I wanted to see what I could deal.  Mulder might have   
   access to food and weapons,  or maybe he could get us on board with   
   the winning side.  Oh, I wasn't about to trade him any of that shit   
   for Scully. She was my talisman.   
   I'd earned her,   
   and I'd earned the redemption she was going to bring me.   
   But I could   
   let him think I'd trade. The Mulder I'd known would believe anything.   
      
   Scully cocked an eyebrow at me. Even angry and dirty the woman was   
   all control and certainty. And, for the most part, she really did   
   take care of herself.  When the others were far enough in front,   
   she finally spoke,  "Do what you want, Krycek."   
   "You said he saw you and you saw him."  Facts always got her   
   attention.   
   She nodded at me and stumbled again.  I had to catch her a little   
   with my good arm and she pulled away so fast she nearly fell again.   
   "Okay, so maybe he was looking for you," I said.  "But," and   
   here was the source of our disagreement "maybe it was the chip he   
   sensed."   
   Her scowl intensified.   
   "Or maybe it was just the fact that the listening device was working   
   that he sensed."   
   She stopped to look me in the face and I nearly plowed into her.   
   Johansson and the others glanced back at us   
    with a few curious looks.   
    I would have bet my next meal that they thought   
   Scully was begging me   
   to be careful or telling me she was afraid OR some such bullshit.   
   "So what if it was," she said.  "I found him. We can help   
   him." She looked down and the wind whipped the ends of her   
   hair against my face. "Or he can help us."   
   This time when I brought my arm around her, I didn't let her step   
   away or squirm free.  My face was close to hers.  "He isn't on your   
   side anymore, Scully," I whispered between gritted teeth. I   
   didn't want Johansson getting too far ahead of us so I released her   
   from my hold.   
   "Mulder wouldn't turn on me," she said.   
   "He already has."   
   Sharp hate from her eyes.   
   That look might have scared Mulder but it only made me want   
   to fight. "You haven't seen him for two years.  You haven't heard   
   from him for two years. You don't know what they've done to him or   
   who he is anymore."   
   Even in the darkening sky, I could see that her eyes   
   were getting wet and it   
   made my stomach drop.  I'd seen her cry plenty of times.  In the   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)